Exploring the Old Using the New Santos, Sandra #1,

#

Superior School of Technology and Management Portugal Polytechnic Institute of Leiria | Association for Inovation Development and Science |

1 sandra.santos@estg.ipleiria.pt, dolpo.pa@gmail.com; 351 969007741; Portuguese;

Abstract— Are you aware that our vision mechanism is able to observe and retain 24 images per second? A film strip is composed of many thousands of still images that pass through a movie projector at great speed. Amazing… But before there was ever photography or movies, many were they who, for scientific curiosity or just curiosity in itself, looked for that fascinating effect of moving images. It was the Time of Pre-cinema. And the discoveries happened; each opening a window for future accomplishments. In the sequence of the changing installations for the renovated Museum of Moving Image (m|i|mo), the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria is developing new and rediscovered ways to learn and explore not only those moments passed and their protagonists in the fantastic world of inventions, but also new approaches to these same objects, prolonging their significance through the eyes and lifes of their visitors. Some of these are reconstructions of preexisting objects, others were born specially for this museum, for it’s public and ultimately will be a fundamental part of it’s existence. Because we all seek for something… This Project is built on a multi-disciplinary basis and vises the symbioses between Art, History, Science, Technology and pure enjoyment, reinforcing the dynamics of the relationship between the Museum and it’s Publics. For this, we are creating new ways and reinventing old ones to bring the movie world to everyone’s eyes and minds. Because time is immense and does not stop, our eyes look also at the present and the future…

KEYWORDS: technology; cinema; pre-cinema; light; movement;

I. INTRODUCTION

The circle of life

Life is a journey, a road upon which we all must travel from the cradle to the grave. We all share the experience of life; good fortune or bad, success or failure, youth, maturity or old age and finally death.

We mark these changes in our lives, these steps along the road, in our outward appearance. Our clothes, jewellery, hairstyles and body decoration all proclaim to others our status, beliefs, attitudes, sex, occupation or origin.

Different cultures in different times have all found ways of saying, “Look, this is me. This is who I am.

Introduction Panel at the The Circle of Life Exhibit, Museum and

Gallery of the Nottingham Castle, 1994.

As an Institution dedicated to the pursuit and development of Knowledge, the IPL is determined to extend it’s range of action into areas that, besides being complementary to the thematics of it’s educational curriculum, set new and broader horizons in what concerns the role of a Superior School in it’s local, national and even international context.

Previous to engaging on the current project with the

museum of moving image, the IPL has collaborated with the Living Science Centre in Alcanena, Portugal, developing computer 3D films and electronic and mechanical modules to enhance visitor experiences. With this project, the team acquired some of the Know how needed to collaborate with m|i|mo. This previous experience associated with the creative potential and scientific and technological knowledge of the School sets the basis for this cooperation.

This paper aims to present the main features and

ongoing results of the work being developed by a multidisciplinary team of the IPL, through the Superior School of Technology and Management with the collaboration of The Superior School of Art and Design, as well as external consultants.

International Conference of Cinema - Art, Technology, Comunication, Avanca, 2010.

II. NEW TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPMENT FOR THE MUSEUM OF MOVING IMAGE

This project’s path is lead by the search for ways of implementing the knowledge of Science into various fields such as the development of technologic equipments to mediate cultural communication.

The intimate relation between visitor and object, theme and significance, is the goal we expect to reach.

A. The Process Constant communication between the museum’s and

the IPL teams is, not only required but, essential to ensure the success of the project.

Once discussed the kind of modules to develop, the necessary research has been undertaken, to assure the fidelity to the principles and concepts inherent to the objects and contents being created.

Those who love historic or any other kind of research know that, once opened, this is a path that seems endless. References multiply themselves leading to others references, and, in this context, rarity always assumes the face of wonder. Old or modern, books, catalogues, scientific treaties, periodic publications, patent registrations, are some of the sources where one may find the necessary information, and like so, set the priority in the research process.

After research is done [Although it must be completed

at some point, as to allow the work flow, in reality it is very rarely “felt” as finished], the following step is to organize and systemize all the information gathered, and share it with those who need it to develop their work. To do so, descriptive memories for each and every object are created, where everything must be specified, from general descriptions, objectives, functioning principles, human and material resources, electronics, computing and mechanics, Historical references, to construction and finishing details, all of these must be continuously discussed, evaluated along the way. In short, every object must have a complete and unique Identification sheet available to everyone that integrates the internal project team. During the process, communication and team work are the main keys to encounter our objectives.

B. The Museologic integration Physically and organically, the Museum is composed

by Three distinct but complementary areas: a permanent exhibit “The Wonder of the Eye”, an essentially

interactive area “The Workshop of the Eye”, a visitable reserve, and a temporary exhibits gallery.

The modules being created by the IPL are to be

distributed though the permanent exhibit, where they will coexist with museological historic objects, and the interactive “Workshop” and are “brought to life” by the work of an “inter” and “multi” disciplinary team that integrates several areas of knowledge: Computer engineering, Electronics engineering, Mechanical engineering, Museology, Industrial and Graphic design, sound and image, among others.

The result we are observing and experiencing now is due to the conjoint work and communication of all these essential areas and their respective elements.

III. RECREATING THE OLD WAYS - “THE WORKSHOP OF THE EYE”

C. Context and main features

The Pre-cinema thematic dominates the most part of the interactive area at m|i|mo. Here, visitors can interact with what, in the late nineteenth century were known as Philosophical Toys. The original collection was designed by Experimental Cinema students of the Art Department of the Siegen University, about twenty years ago, and under the supervision of Professor Heinz Pramann and the technical support of Kurt Mankel and Georg Hoffmann.

These Toys are, in fact, the joint between scientific physics principles that set the pace for the birth of cinema, and the discovery of entertainment ways, long before a crowed small room watched the arrival of a train on a screen, at the hands and minds of the Lumière brothers.

In spite of the care in maintaining the proper conditions in which to preserve the integrity of the materials, the frequent handling of the objects contributes immensely to their deterioration.

To preserve the originals and simultaneously

maintain the interactive offer of the museum, one of the tasks undertaken by the IPL in this project was to take the original objects created by the University of Siegen, which themselves have been influenced and/or adapted from historic inventions, and create new ones.

Resorting to fundamental knowledge expertise in several different areas and technologies, the creative design process, along with the technical study and development, were allied as to create objects, with

renovated esthetics, built with more durable, modern materials and with the necessary museologic requirements.

The mechanization of several of these recreated objects allows them to be more safely controlled in terms of automation and functioning as well as facilitating the accessibility trough the use of a prototype capacitive button that works together with a pace motor, and responds to proximity and/or touch depending on it’s adjustable sensitivity.

In spite of using a common automation basis, electronics and mechanics are adapted to the specific characteristics of each object and it’s response in relation with the visitor, amongst other essential criteria.

These features are meant to ensure the long life of the

objects as well as to optimize the observation, enjoyment and comprehension of their inherent scientific principles.

Taking into account the nature of the institution, and it’s specific characteristics and needs, the accessibility factor is one of upmost importance, as well as all the safety precautions, regarding their frequent handling, and possible maintenance.

As they are created for the public, they must be

looked at and thought of from various different perspectives, the institution’s and the visitors’.

This way, the museum of moving Image, may

continue giving the visitors the possibility of seeing with their own eyes, what many only saw in books and descriptions, learning and enjoying through unique experiences and moments.

We present here a few examples of the modules in development in this project:

1. Simple and double Faraday Wheels

Apparatus invented by the English Physicist Michael Faraday, allows the observation of the stroboscopic visual effect.

Fig.1- Faraday’s simple and double wheels. ©IPL. Telma Ferreira, Marcelo Frazão

Fig.2- Faraday’s double wheel. ©IPL. Telma Ferreira, Marcelo Frazão

2. Vertical zoetrope

Based on the principles of Chronophotography , this “toy” uses an image stripe with successive movement animation frames to be observed through the holes cut in the circular structure.

Fig.3- Toy [Zoetrope]. ©Patent nº. 64,117, United States Patent Office (1867).

Fig.4- Vertical Zoetrope. ©IPL. Telma Ferreira, Marcelo Frazão

3. Praxinoscope

Based on the original Émile Reynaud’s instrument, invented in 1877. The functional principal is the same as the zoetrope, with differential positioning of central mirrors serving as the mediator to observe continuous movement.

Fig.5- Praxinoscope. ©Brevet d’invention N° 120.484 (1877). Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle, Paris.

Fig.6- Praxinoscope. ©IPL. Telma Ferreira, Marcelo Frazão

4. Phenaquistiscope

This “toy” was invented in 1833 by Joseph Plateau. It consists of two discs one with an image sequence and the other in front, as an obturator. To watch the movement we must observe through the holes of the first disc while both rotate.

Fig.7- Phenaquistiscope. ©Foster (1915)

Fig.8- Quadruple phenaquistiscope. ©IPL.Telma Ferreira, Marcelo Frazão

5. Phenaquistiscopic peepshow

Fig.9- Phenaquistiscopic peepshow. ©IPL. Telma Ferreira, Marcelo Frazão

A “hibrid” that joins together the principle of the peepshow and the Phenaquisiscope. Instead of looking at the animation directly, the viewer observes the reflection of the animated figures through their reflection on a mirror, inside the box. 6. Anamorphosis

Fig.10- Anamorphic image. ©m|i|mo Fig.11- Module anamorphosis.

©IPL. Telma Ferreira, Marcelo Frazão

This module has two distinct applications, one of them designed to navigate through a series of anamorphic images on a screen. The visitor can also observe his/her own anamorphic image by selecting a computer application that captures and distorts his/her picture. These images are to be seen with a cylindrical mirror that corrects the image.

8. Optical Theatre 9. Magic Discs 10. Leiria’s peepshow

IV. NEW MODULES FOR THE INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP AND PERMANENT EXHIBITION

Along with the modules described before, and given

the broad theme approach for the space of the interactive workshop, there were still some areas to cover. To see the exhibit narrative as near as possible to complete, some objects were created new. Divided into several thematic areas that are transversal to the hole museum philosophy and content:

D. New Objects and approaches for the Workshop of the Eye

The first, and one of the most complex modules sets

the introduction to the essential nature of everything this museum represents, Light.

Here, Light is introduced in the form of the Electromagnetic Spectrum that contemplates:

A graphic representation of the electromagnetic Sspectrum, with the identification of the wavelengths and associated real objects from everyday life, such as a radio or a microwave oven, each with different ways and levels of interaction with the visitor.

The information may be explored more deeply in three monitors that respond to the selection of the field one wishes to obtain more information.

Fig.14- Electromagnetic Spectrum module, structural 3D rendering

© IPL. Marcelo Frazão, Manuel Netto; Nicolaas Leach

Through a series of objects created specifically to inhabit this space, visitors may explore diversified and interesting themes that revolve essentially around light, colour and optical perception.

The pre-cinema era would not, of course, be complete without reference to an instrument that has played one of the major roles in the history of making movies: The Kinetoscope. A schematic model of this apparatus that is one of Thomas Edison’s many registered patents. Edison, along with his assistant, William Kennedy Laurie Dickson, developed a series of investigations that culminated in the invention of this 35mm “endless” film strip viewer.

Fig.15- Kinetoscope. © http://www.victorian-cinema.net

Fig.16- Kinetoscope – preliminary 3D model mechanism. ©IPL. Marcelo Frazão

E. Complementary modules for the Permanent Exhibition

7. Kinora

A sort of mechanic Flip Book, was invented by the Lumière brothers in 1897. A series of photographs are disposed in cylinder. The movement is set by rotating a handle that triggers the wheel.

Fig.12- Kinora. ©Picture Exhibitor. Patent: 591.858. United States Patent Office (1897).

Fig.13- Kinora. ©m|i|mo

The permanent exhibition will accommodate a varied

set of modules, with different levels of interaction and content. New Technology development for exhibition integration, in this particular case, aims to complete some areas yet thematically sub-explored and others that have not been part of the museums approach. In this renovating stage, m|i|mo wishes to expand not only it’s vision on a subject so vast as is the essence of Images, exploring the diversity inherent their nature as to the way images may be presented and perceptionated. This set of modules is composed by:

• Marey’s seagull movement One of the may objects created from Étiènne-Jules Marey’s investigation regarding the continuous movement, in this particular case, of aerial flight. Reconstruction of a Seagull’s flight stages, through the use of 3D graphic modelling and rapid prototyping technology. To be aliened on a horizontal axis.

• LED wall

So to explore the contrast of light and shadow;

• 3D rendered film on the mechanism of human vision. Aims to explore and explain how our vision actually works.

• Lenses and Mirrors in Nature and Everyday

life A photographic mural.

• Diferencial light mirror

An originally designed two sided mirror that, according to luminance adjustments, changes from reflection to transparency and allows the symbiotic union of both sides.

• Real Time Panorama

Based on the immersive concept of the nineteenth century Panorama. A real time grand scale projected panorama of live captured video.

• Elements of Cinema Projection

This group incorporates complementary technologic presentation and content navigation elements with museologic historic objects of m|i|mo’s collection.

Intends to explore and recognize de complexity of the process and mechanism of a film projection. Deconstructing a movie projector and it’s elements, and getting to know some of it’s “secrets”.

• Holography

A 3D rendered film, well known scene in Portugal’s History, the “Rose miracle sets the scenery for a holographic recreation, as to explore the search for a third dimension.

Fig.17- King D. Dinis and Queen D. Isabel, 3D modeling. ©IPL. Anabela Marto

• Stereoscopy -3D film

A 3D guided tour through the Castle of Leiria is the subject chosen to explore not only one of the most significant examples of military and civilian Portuguese architecture, but the technology used to present it. 3D modeling and presentation, continuing for the search of that 3rd

dimension in our minds.

• Vídeo installations

As time goes on, minds and resources evolve; we find different mediums to deliver our messages. New ways of communicating, self-expressing and reaching others.

• Virtual book: Leira’s images through

photography.

• Audio-video guides A digital, portable orienting resource is being developed to facilitate the exploration of exhibit spaces and contents, at one’s own rhythm and path of interest.

V. NEW TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FOR M|I|MO

Field Area Name Institution*

Coordenation Carlos Neves ESTG

Computer Engineering

Alexandrino Gonçalves ESTG

Anabela Marto ESTG Joel Ferreira ESTG Sérgio Santos ESTG

Electronics Engineering

António Pires ESTG Frederico Sobreira ESTG Paulo Ventura ESTG

Mechanical Engineering

Carlos Costa e Sousa ESTG Marcelo Frazão ESTG

Museology Sandra Santos ESTG Ana David m|i|mo

Industrial Design

Fernando Brízio ESAD Manuel Netto _____ Nicholaas Leach _____ Telma Ferreira _____

Graphic Design Paulo Ramalho ESAD

Image and Sound Fernando Galrito ESAD Luís Aguiar ESAD Sérgio Taborda ESAD

*ESTG (Superior School of Technology and Management); ESAD (Superior School of Art and Design); m|i|mo Museum of moving image)

VI. CONCLUSIONS It is an immensely rewarding experience to witness

the rise of something, that, with smaller or larger “bricks”, you helped build.

In this experience I see that we have been equally been building ourselves. I find this in the learning we have gathered each in a different area of knowledge, the great compensation of applying it and also the wisdom to do better next time. Evolving, cultivating and multiplying personally and professionally our unique way to move in this world, creating around us an open space for complementarity witch I believe our team has found in this project.

To live is so very distinct from to hear about living...

this way we cement our experience and grow a solid know how.

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