Objectives:
1. To discover how to create a panorama (a cohesive triptych or polyptych from three or more images) electronically.
2. To introduce you to the various aspects of exposure and color-correction of scanned transparencies.
3. To introduce you to sending files electronically to service bureaus for high-quality output (ink-jet posters).
4. To introduce you to constructed virtual environments via Apple's Quicktime Virtual Reality Authoring Studio.
5. To begin to experiment with more sophisticated, conceptual methods of producing imagery.
The panorama was one of the most influential forms of visual display and popular entertainment in the nineteenth century, as historian Stephan Oettermann has observed. Throughout the hundred-year history of the panorama, it enjoyed a popularity on a par with that of television today. More than simply another kind of image, the panorama represented "an architectural and informational component of the new urban spaces and media networks." Tremendous curved-surface viewing buildings were constructed for the public display of these panoramic paintings (primarily) and photographs (to a lesser degree) all over the world. Currently, there are less than forty remaining panoramas such as this worldwide.
Crucial to the concept of understanding a panorama is understanding the shift from central (or single-point) perspective to the "multiperspective" of the panorama. Here we turn to Oettermann for guidance: "For the construction of a picture in central perspective, the eye is assumed to be a fixed point; the composition is then oriented toward this point of sight opposite the eye. This means that there is only one spot from which to see the picture in proper perspective, and only one person can stand in that spot at a time. As a form of art that yielded to the pressure of the horizon, the panorama produced a side effect that was certainly unintentional: it created a more 'democratic' perspective."
This democratic perspective was achieved through rigorous mathematical terms involving "orthagonals" (perpendiculars) and the "stitching together" of several flat sketches. Multiperspective means that a single viewer may experience the image from multiple vantage points simultaneously, or that several viewers may enjoy "exclusive" views of portions of the image. Put another way, "...there is a viewing point for every point of view..."
Guidelines:
1. Shoot and process at least two rolls of color-slide film (E-6 process only) or color negative film (C-41 process only). You may have the slides mounted--it usually doesn't cost extra. Make sure you indicate "normal" on the order form for processing. I recommend taking your film to either McGreevy's Pro Lab or Bokland Custom Visuals, as they have the two most reliable E-6 lines in town and offer 4-hour turnaround on slides. Don't forget to mention that you are in my class--you'll receive a 20% or 10% discount, respectively. If you opt to shoot color negative film (far less expensive to purchase and process, but slightly more difficult to scan), do not have the prints made. Have the negatives processed only. This should only cost a couple of dollars and takes but an hour or two. If the lab you go to does not do the film on site, pick another lab.
2. With the Epson flat bed or the Nikon film scanners, digitize the images in RGB color. The files should be at least about 5 - 10 megabytes each (again, depending on how many you are using). Save them on a CD-R and to your folder on the server.
3. Create a composite image that includes at least 10 individual stills. This may be a montage from one image to another so that the seams are invisible or a collage that emphasizes the sutures, or anything in between--the choice is entirely yours.
4. Subject matter is up to you, but please thoughtfully consider the meaning that you wish to "fix", as well as the concept of multi-point perspective. Traditional panoramas dealt with a continuous horizon line and thus, usually, tended to deal with landscape description. You'll find that most panoramic software is limited to this kind of description, as well. You may choose to work within or to depart from this tradition. In fact, I enthusiastically encourage you to be as creative as possible in interpreting this assignment.
5. An additional component of this project will be to experiment with QTVR and Hugin--authoring packages for producing panoramic environments and 360-degree views of objects for CD-ROM or web display. My extra-credit challenge for this week: see if you can "break" the software.
Recommended Readings/Resources :
The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction by Walter Benjamin
How to Do Things With Pictures by William J. Mitchell
David Hockney's Place Furstenberg collage and his Pearlblossom Highway
Critique:
One final ink-jet print on high-quality paper from either our Epson 4000, 7600 or 9600, or a dye-sub, Iris, or Lightjet Digital C-type print from the service bureau of your choice (provided it is a high quality, archival print), as well as one QTVR panorama or object (if you chose to work with this software) will be critiqued Thursday, March 31.