3D/4D/5D
Natural history drama Flight of the Butterflies has been a huge large format hit
“ONE OF THE COMMON ELEMENTS IN THIS NEW STYLE OF IMMERSIVE PRESENTATION IS RAPIDLY EXPANDING ACCESS TO SCIENCE VISUALISATION DATABASES. THESE CAN BE APAPTED, MODIFIED AND INTEGRATED INTO COMPLETE PRODUCTIONS”
NO PLACE LIKE DOME One interesting experiment was the transferring of a large format (Imax-style) production Flight of the Butterflies into the dome environment. This is a lovely human drama with a compelling storyline, super photography and pretty good acting. Canadian producer Jonathan Barker
attended IMERSA and talked about how he and his team at SK Films had re-rendered the large-format film specifically for the dome environment – making a plea for others to proactively do the same. This is one of the rare times I’ve seen a tender human-scale story well told and presented in a planetarium-like environment. It’s commercial success has led to the production of a range of themed shower curtains. When was the last time a planetarium or dome show achieved something like that? One of the common elements in this
new style of immersive presentation is rapidly expanding access to science visualisation databases. These can be adapted, modified and integrated into complete productions, or (as I’d pre-
60
fer to see in terms of taking advantage of a unique medium) presented with well delivered, authoritative, live commentary for immediacy, relevance to audiences and timeliness. Dr Donna Cox, a leading luminary
in computational science – especially astrophysics, earth sciences, engineering and related data domains, continued this theme with her keynote speech. She held us all spell-bound – as she and her colleagues have with audiences worldwide with Hubble 3D and other significant contributions to public understanding of the universe. Mark C Petersen walked us all
through the Loch Ness Productions database of worldwide dome theatres. Available online, it’s a valuable resource, not only as a snapshot in time, but for spotting trends in the medium. Dario Tiverton from Italy has also compiled a fulldome data base. It’s a truism that there’s no higher honour than to be recognised and celebrated by one’s peers. This was true for Jeri Panek, long time representative of Evans and Sutherland Corp, who received a lifetime achievement award.
At least a dozen speakers paraded in front of the open mike at the closing banquet to express appreciation for Jeri’s indomitable spirit, for the many contributions she has made in the field, and for her legendary ability to make and keep friends, even among fierce commercial competitors. Jeri told some priceless stories and needless to say, she received a prolonged, standing ovation at the closing banquet. I have it on good authority that the
next summit IMERSA will again be held at Denver Museum of Nature and Science in 2015. IMERSA’s board is actively involved in collaborative agreements with several like-minded, parallel organisations (including IPS, GSCA, ASTC and Ecsite) and recognises that the time has come to expand the board to take into account age, gender, geographic, topical and other currently under-represented areas. l
Ian C McLennan, Ian McLennan Consulting Tel: +1-604-681-4790 Email:
ian@ianmclennan.com
AM 2 2014 ©Cybertrek 2014
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