Carly: There's another exhibit in DC I think we should look into further. It's a more contemporary take on computer generated images and immersion but for technical sakes it may be interesting. The exhibit is Directions: Grazia Toderi at the Hirshhorn. And maybe, if not completely up our alley, if we have time we could visit the American Art Museum for their moving image display. Once again, it could benefit us to look at how these images are being projected and presented to an audience. To me, it would be best for a sense of what's been done before and, therefore, what this area is moving towards.
This visual virtual tour of the Sri Andal Temple is interesting. They created a 3D model of the temple by using Photosynth which utilizes point clouds to create a 3D model using photographs. While great if the project could actually go the sites and take photographs, it seems that this type of 'easy route' may be beyond our grasp. Or is it? Would a program such as Photosynth work using Uhle's archival photographs?
Clark and I have mentioned the Popol Vuh illustration a few times in passing. For Carly, an excerpt of it is here. I saw it as a planetarium show at the Franklin Institute, so imagine it being projected onto a dome that you're looking up at. Here is the website for the entire project; the introduction to it is shows great shots of the 3D reconstructions that were done. The rest of the myth was created in 2.5D (?) and is based on the art of the Quiche Mayan ceramics. The 3D reconstructions of Chichen Itza in the beginning are positively incredible. After looking at the production website closer it appears the designers used 3D capturing (correct me if I'm wrong, but essentially creating a 3D image of an artifact or building by using an existing photograph?) and then brushing up everything in MeshLab.
A concern of mine with this Pachacamac exhibit is how to transition visitors into immersive images on the coast of Peru without losing their interest somewhere along the way. An introduction to the myth of Pachacamac (maybe minimally graphic, because he was a little nuts) or a general introduction to the Incas done in a style similar to the beginning of the Popol Vuh video would give visitors a chance to transition into the culture and the geographic area. Additionally, I find the music in this video minimally annoying.
And last but not least: an article that puts 3D reconstruction into terms that I understand! To be preserved for posterity right here (the PDF in the bottom right hand corner).
Lots of great finds! We definitely need to schedule a trip to D.C.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of opening the exhibit with an animation that shows some of the Pachacamac mythology as well as a basic history of the ethnic groups involved with the actual site. Depending on the length of the intro video we might want to create a mini-theater, that kind of setting always makes me pay more attention to a video rather than crowding around a small screen amongst text panels.
The whole Maya project/website looks amazing (I went to Chichen Itza when I was 10!). I'm not sure which paper you were referring to in your last paragraph but there are plenty of interesting ones on the site.
- Carly