dm-l January 2007

dm-l@uleth.ca

6 participants
12 discussions

Some member news
by Daniel O'Donnell 12 Jan '07

12 Jan '07

Hi all, I thought I'd pass on this interesting news item about one of our members. Apologies for the delay... it has been sitting on my to do list for a couple of days, but it has been one of those weeks. -dan > For Release: Jan. 9, 2007 > > Contact: Clayton Berry > Phone: (314) 977-7117 > E-mail: berrycl(a)slu.edu > > Theologians Use Video Game Technology to Create Virtual Tour of 13th > Century Basilica > Users can fly around structure and see famed frescoes up close > > ST. LOUIS -- Using technology typically associated with video games, > two Saint Louis University theologians have created an interactive, > three-dimensional tour of one of Europe's most important churches. > > Theology professors Jay Hammond, Ph.D., and James Ginther, Ph.D., > spent more than a year building the virtual version of Italy's > landmark Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi. Located two hours > northeast of Rome in Assisi, the basilica is the third-largest > pilgrimage site in the world, drawing more than 5 million visitors > annually. > > Their three-dimensional model permits virtual tour-goers to walk > nearly everywhere in the upper basilica, and even fly up close to the > church's famed frescoes and beautiful stained glass windows. > > That's in stark contrast to most other virtual tours of historic > buildings, which rely on 360-degree panoramas and offer limited > interactivity. While some other projects have been equally advanced, > the SLU professors' tour is one of the first to run on your home > computer. > > "That's why we chose a game engine to build our model," Ginther said. > "We wanted to ensure that the virtual basilica would run on the > average PC, not just expensive computers that only universities can > afford. Preservation has no meaning unless there is access." > > The virtual basilica uses controls and functions similar to the > popular video games, such as "Quake" and "Doom," sans the fighting of > course. > > "We're both educators, and we wanted this project to connect with > young people," Hammond said. > > Based on laser-accurate measurements of the basilica, the virtual tour > was built with approximately 4,000 photographs, all taken prior to a > 1997 earthquake that blew out two sides of the basilica. Because the > basilica's leaders do not replace artwork that has been destroyed, the > disc offers a version of the church that cannot be seen today, > including frescoes that are forever lost. > > The virtual tour is available on the newly released CD-ROM, "The > Virtual Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi," through the Institute of > Digital Theology, a non-profit foundation affiliated with Saint Louis > University. Proceeds will fund research, similar digital projects and > student scholarships. > > The CD-ROM also features maps of the basilica as well as guides for > the frescoes, which were painted by some of the leading artists of the > day. Users can click on any fresco to read about its historical and > religious significance. All told, the tour features 175 links for > additional information and a 35,000-word text. There also is an > animated friar for scale. > > The CD-ROM is designed for Windows 2000/NT/XP. It is available for > purchase on the institute's Web site, www.digitaltheology.org and > Amazon. > > With the upper level of the basilica complete, the SLU professors will > create similar virtual tours of the lower church, crypt and exterior > gardens. In June, the duo will break ground on another major project: > a virtual tour of York Minster in York, England, the largest Gothic > church in northern Europe. > > The Institute of Digital Theology is a registered non-profit > foundation, affiliated with Saint Louis University. Its mission is to > support research and teaching in theological studies and related > humanities disciplines through the creation of multimedia projects, > Web-based databases and other electronic resources. Housed in the > University's department of theological studies, the institute focuses > primarily on the preservation of historical artifacts and texts that > have significant religious or theological meaning. > > Saint Louis University is a Jesuit, Catholic university ranked among > the top research institutions in the nation. The University fosters > the intellectual and character development of more than 12,000 > students on campuses in St. Louis and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818, > it is the oldest university west of the Mississippi and the second > oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Through teaching, > research, health care and community service, Saint Louis University is > the place where knowledge touches lives. Learn more about SLU at > www.slu.edu. > -- Daniel Paul O'Donnell, PhD Department Chair and Associate Professor of English Director, Digital Medievalist Project http://www.digitalmedievalist.org/ Chair, Text Encoding Initiative http://www.tei-c.org/ Department of English University of Lethbridge Lethbridge AB T1K 3M4 Vox +1 403 329-2377 Fax +1 403 382-7191 Email: daniel.odonnell(a)uleth.ca WWW: http://people.uleth.ca/~daniel.odonnell/

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DM News: Medievalismo Digital, numero 29
by caedmon＠uleth.ca 01 Jan '07

01 Jan '07

A new article has been added to the news section at DigitalMedivalist.org -- Medievalismo Digital, numero 29 To view this article, please follow this link: http://www.digitalmedievalist.org/news.cfm?n_ID=83

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dm-l January 2007