Abstract
Being present at a location of historical significance, often demands imagination to understand the full scope of the area. An approach to spark one’s imagination is to present a mediated simulation of a historic location in situ. As an application example, we used the sitsim AR platform to develop a simulation that conveys the history of fishermen in the historic fishing village of Storvågan in Lofoten, Norway. The study presents a rendition of the sitsim AR platform’s functionality for engaging presentations of historical photographs. This functionality is enhanced from solely representing buildings in a historical photograph into also representing animated human characters. In Storvågan, a museum (Lofotmuseet) occupies historically significant buildings amid the historic surroundings. This museum exhibits a historical photograph of fishermen that also shows how the area once looked. This photograph is remediated into a 3D animation, presented as a real-time generated simulation, at the location where the photograph was originally photographed. The study documents a design experiment including the modelling and animation of a 3D representation depicting the photograph. The functionality is evaluated based on user feedback from a case study of a beta version on location in Lofoten. Users reported that the animated fishermen contribute to an engaging experience and a feeling of being “part of the history.” The majority of users perceived the 3D representation as credible. An analysis of the modelled characters concludes that the 3D-models lack perceptual validity; hence, the case study’s positive results were somewhat unexpected. Three theories are presented as conceivable explanations for the unexpected result. Ultimately, the study provides a method for modelling and animation of people from a historical photograph, and showcases how the animation of human characters in a sitsim may be applied to convey cultural heritage in an engaging way.
Highlights
AND BACKGROUND This study represents part of a larger project initiated through «Connected Culture and Natural Heritage in a Northern Environment (CINE)» led by Museum Nord
The experiment indicates that the credibility of human character animation is dependent on the media form where the animation is presented
The study provides a method for modelling and animation of people from a historical photograph
Summary
AND BACKGROUND This study represents part of a larger project initiated through «Connected Culture and Natural Heritage in a Northern Environment (CINE)» led by Museum Nord. A sitsim app employs indirect augmented reality (AR) to present a historic site in 3D, combined with various multimodal texts, in order to present its history in a new way. Media design employs conventions from existing genres and media forms to develop new media forms, preferably by applying novel digital technology. The synthetic-analytic methodology is a circular process, where a new synthesis develops on the foundation of a previous one (Liestøl, 1999). This study presents such a synthesis, accompanied by an analysis of the rendition
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