Advancing 'Synesthetic Media' & Immersive Entertainment The Entertainment Technology Center @ Carnegie Mellon University Developing Immersion and Digital Interactivity in Live Theatrical Performance.
For the past several weeks I have been in Los Angeles undertaking courses at High End Systems The Courses have included WholeHog Lighting Software and Desks, DL.2 Dynamic Digital Lighting/Projection System, and a technical certification for their entire line of moving luminaries including the all new ShowGun. This training has been fantastic and incredibly informative. The possibilities for the use of this technology within the context of Immersive Theater is fairly obvious. The Path it has led me down is to begin forming a concept for interactivity with dynamic digital projection systems. I am beginning conversations with High End System CTO about this concept, the results should be very interesting.
This week I had a meeting with an Acoustical Engineer at Kirkegaard in Boulder, CO to discuss the immersive properties of sound. Among our discussions was speaker placement and configuration for various types of spaces. The challenges of immerisve sound in Dome environments. "Immerison Jocky's" and their anologe counterparts Organists. Among his suggestions was that I speak to Organ Builders about their discussions on sound color, placement, and filling spaces with auditory illusions. Very Interesting. On to LA tomorrow. Where I will be exploring the world of Digital Lighting and Dynamic Digital Projection Systems.
I have been doing some reading this week on Rainbows, the science of optics, the myths and legends, the universality of the human appreciation of this immersive experience. As I continue to develop this blog on Synesthetic Media it seems important to look to the history of 'perceptive experience' and comment on ways in which our world provides natural analog illusion and wonder. As we look to become the creators of new immerive experiences we must look at how we can come even closer to the synesthesia of color and imagination which is transformed in our appreciation of the synthesis of light and water. One of the most interesting things I have learned through this research is that a third tier of a rainbow is 140ยบ from the anti-solar point, meaning in order to see one you have to look in the opposite direction to the first and second rainbow. In context to the Full Dome Cinema discussions from DomeFest (see below) this was quite revolutionary.
The Rainbow Book "Immensely popular book on rainbows and their significance; many contributors, hundreds of photos and illustrations, printed on multi-colored paper" Created for the 1975 Bay Area Rainbow Show by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and published by Shambhala Puplications in Berkeley.
This book goes into great depth and understand through essays to describe all of mythological, cultural, artistic, and scientific knowledge on the human experience of rainbows and aura light phenomenon. Check it out and grab a copy if you see it as this book is no longer in print.
Synesthesia in relationship to immersion is the modal blending of communication mediums to stimulate crossed sensations for an audience. This idea of stimulating all of the senses includes visual, auditory, olfactory, tactatial, gustorial, equilibrial, thermal and kinesthetic. The goal is to stimulate the observer by connecting pathways to various sensory layers in a way that alters the perception of reality and envelops observers in the experience. This is a transformational medium of artistic expression when combined with a dynamic narrative which engages a sense of agency through interactive participation. Thus the creation of a new form of immersive creative expression, Synesthetic Media.
Congratulations! to David Beining for organizing an outstanding event.
Festival Highlights
US Premire of SkySkan's Dinfiti3D Stereo 3d Full Dome Projection System.
An unbelievable experience in full stereo immersion. An overwhelming experience of the visual cortex giving new meaning to interactive media in the 21st Century.
In one particular scene from NOAA footage from NASA's Weightless Environment Training Facility (WETF). The bubbles from the Astronauts and Divers were so real you felt as if you could touch them. When an astronaut gave you a thumbs up and then tapped you on the glasses it was as if you were really in the tank with them. Incredibly real and immersive.
The World Premiere in Stereo 3d of the Sloan 6 Digital Sky- Real-Time visualization was spectacular. Giving the audience a new experience in understanding the scale and dimension of the Universe in a way never seen before.
Coming soon to a Full Dome Theater near you this piece of CG has the highest attention to detail I have ever seen in a rendered image. The raytracing, modeling, and materials are incredible. Documenting the history of the Space Race this 45-minute Journey was incredibly well written and beautifully delivered. This piece won the 2007 Sony 4k "Domie" Award. It is incredible, so check it out.
An incredible journey of real-time 3d animation and immersive art. Presented for the first time in Stereo 3D at Dome Fest this is a experience that needs to be seen to be believed. Mesmerizing in its ability to completely take over the visual synapses to draw the audience into the work like nothing ever experienced before. J.Walt is an incredible gift.
Shannon Harvey is a Consultant with Alchemica Productions Specializing in Digital Theatrical Engineering and Entertainment Technology in the field of Immersion and Ambient Special Effects.
