In just a few hours, DomeFest 2009 arrives in Albuquerque with premieres, shows, talks and demos exploring the past and exciting future of the fulldome medium.
Info on schedules and more is at our DomeFest site, but meanwhile a few highlights from Today's schedule:
Friday Night @ the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
9:00 - 11:30 AM
'Touching the Edge of the Universe'
US premiere screening and talk on the making of "Touching the Edge of the Universe," a new European fulldome film produced at the creative department of the "Mediendom" of the University of Applied Sciences Kiel (Germany). It involved up to 100 people and innovative techniques like 360° digital Red-One video camera filming.
Two Space 2009: The Dome Version
By Larry Cuba
In 1979, at the dawn of the computer-graphics age, Larry Cuba made a short, experimental film called Two Space. The film was released in the 16mm film format, a relatively inexpensive exhibition technology that (at the time) fell into a sweet-spot on the spectrum between the highest resolution available and the most affordable. Although accepting the limitations of 16mm, the artist imagined the film as a totally immersive experience, completely encompassing the audience's field of view, perhaps to be exhibited someday in a venue of the future --- a sci-fi speculation he thought of as The Ideal Theater.
As technology advances, wild speculations such as these turn into daily reality. In 2009, the artist was able to transfer the original film to digital form and then replicate each frame to fill the expanse of the Full Dome Master. This presentation will briefly review the processes involved in the film's original production in '79 and current rebirth as a full dome experience, finally realizing the artist's original vision, 30 years later. TRT ~6.5min.
Friday Night @ the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
6:30 - 9:00 PM
'DomeFest Retrospective'
A 50-minute reel of the best of DomeFest from the first five years (2004-08). Includes some celebrated NM works and show some of the progress and directions in fulldome since 'the early years.' Produced in partnership with the Adelaide Film Festival with the support of the Australian Network for Art & Science.
'Celestial Mechanics'
Gabriel Dunne
Scott Hessels
Celestial Mechanics is a planetarium-based artwork installation that visualizes the statistics, data, and protocols of manmade aerial technologies -- a graphic display of the paths and functions of the machines hovering, flying, and drifting above our planet. The sky is filled with aircraft that transport people from place to place, perform utilitarian duties, assist in communications, enact military missions, or wander above us as debris. Celestial Mechanics combines science, statistical display, and contemporary art by presenting these mechanical patterns and behaviors as a dynamic visual experience. TRT ~10-min
