Lessons from Collaboration
david beining
director
LodeStar Astronomy Center,
University of New Mexico
dbeining@nmmnh.state.nm.us
Overview of LodeStar Programs
& Personas
• As a daily planetarium & museum
• Educational Mission
• Community Service
• As a UNM academic center
• Art, Science & Education
• Research
• As a community resource and center
• Entertainment
• Economic Development
• Digital Plaza
LodeStar Mission
• Primary Mission
– Expand community’s science literacy through informal
education based in astronomy
• Secondary Mission
– Support and augment UNM formal programs
• Core Values
– Serve community through available means & needs
– Create a culture of “Exploding the Frame”
Dome Theater
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SkyVision/DigitalSkyHD by Sky-Skan
17M, 25-degree tilt dome
5.1 audio
150 seats
L* as a UNM Center
• Digital art courses for students
• Computer Science (Maya)
• Media Arts (video & digital arts)
• Research for faculty & researchers
• Immersive science visualization
• Real-time system development
• Rendering, data management, etc.
• Art & art education programs
– Arts Technology Center
• Artists-in-Residence programs
• Lectures, workshops & events
• Show clips by UNM staff
“Will animate for food”
As community center
• Productions by local pros & others
• Art, Entertainment, and Education
• For L*, for self, for export
• Community event center
• Student/Community presentations
• “Flicks on 66” Digital Film Festival
• Rio Grande Chapter of SIGGRAPH
• Economic development in digital arts
• ‘Real-world’ production opportunity
• Digital Pueblo Project, DAWGStars, etc.
As art house
• “The immersive cognitive environment offered
by digital domed theaters offers unprecedented
opportunity for artists to expand narrative;
break from the expected traditional visual codes
of scale, time and ground; and work at the
foundation of building a breakthrough aesthetic
in a new medium.”
– Danae Zoe Falliers,
Assoc. Director
Arts Technology Center
Courtesy: Gronk w/ Hue Walker
As art house
• With UNM & Larger Community
– UNM faculty, instructors & students
• Danae Falliers, Arts Technology Center
• Bryan Konefsky, Mary Tsongias, etc., CFA
– Other universities’ faculty
• Santa Fe Institute,
• UC-Berkeley, Stanford, Mills College
– Professional artists & media producers
• Gronk, Lynette Wallworth, Gregg Stephens, etc.
• Michael Stearns, Brad & Andrea Carvey, etc.
Courtesy: Gail Wight, ATC Artist-in-Residence
Starting Collaborations
• Encouragement by IMAX Pros
– Ben Shedd & Michael Stearns
• Identifying key supporters
– Faculty & Instructors
• Pro producers as lecturers & models
• Orientation to technologies
– Processes, vocabulary, specs, etc.
• Events & meetings
– Increase dome time
– Class reviews, public show
Building Understanding
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Ben Shedd’s talks & writings
Playtime for key instructors & artists
SkyVision & in-house library
Instructional materials
– Fulldome animation
– Production manual
• Student orientations
& review sessions
• Talks & screenings
Courtesy: Ben Shedd, Princeton
Working with Students
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Full-Dome projects optional
Encourage experimentation
Theater tour & shows
Techniques & specs
Instructor direction
L* staff support
Little dome-time
during production
• Closer to real-world
Courtesy: Mark Nava, UNM
SOP for Collaboration
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Orientation to medium
Screenings
Primer document
Camera Rigs
Folder Sets
Feedback Loops
Spitz’s Glom
www.domefest.org
DomeFest
• A place for sharing &
experimenting
• 2003 & 2004 Programs
– See tonight @ Sky-Skan Festival
• DomeFest 2005
– Submissions 11 Feb 05
• DomeFest 2008
– IPS, Chabot?
• www.domefest.org
Standard Thoughts
(by Nat Handy)
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Agree on medium’s moniker--needs branding
We’re all in this medium development together
Most standards will evolve through experience
Double-edged digital sword: Flexibility
Story first, distribution second
Redesign part of production budget
Leave legacy (analog) standards behind—now
Collaborative spirit and practice
Support creativity, experimentation & diversity
DomeFest as resource/opportunity
“Arrow to the Sun”
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Gerald McDermott & LodeStar
Character-based
Community-driven
Not for every theater
– Design
– Style/Spirit
Links
– LodeStar
• www.lodestar.unm.edu
– DomeFest
• www.domefest.org
– Fulldome Users Group (coming)
• www.fulldome.org
– Arts Technology Center
• http://atc.unm.edu/
– Digital Pueblo Project
• http://atc.unm.edu/digitalpueblo.html
– Ben Shedd
• www.cs.princeton.edu/~benshedd/
– me
• dbeining@nmmnh.state.nm.us