Abstract
This chapter offers a basic introduction to the principles behind three dimensional (3D) imaging, modeling and representation of spaces and objects, and how these can be used in research, and teaching and learning. The guide is based on a local heritage community-based research project involving a team of researchers from Media Arts and Information Science at Indiana University. The team used 3D modeling to create a virtual representation of the oldest black church in the city of Indianapolis, Bethel AME Church. The project establishes a virtual representation of the church’s sanctuary, which has been repurposed as part of a hotel. The aim is to create a virtual learning space that engages students in learning about the history of church, local African American history, and how to use archives.
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Notes
- 1.
Nick McGill, “Indy’s Oldest Black Church Get ‘Digital Restoration’,” last modified February 23, 2017, http://fox59.com/2017/02/23/indys-oldest-black-church-gets-digital-restoration/.
- 2.
James J. Sosnoski, Patricia Harkin, and Bryan Carter, Configuring History: Teaching the Harlem Renaissance Through Virtual Reality Cityscapes (New York: Peter Lang, 2006).
- 3.
Alison Landsberg, “Digital Translations of the Past: Virtual History Exhibits,” in Engaging the Past: Mass Culture and the Production of Historical Memory (New York: Columbia University Press, 2015): 147–176.
- 4.
Rachel Davidson and Tyler Jackson, “Project Progress Video,” last modified February 2017, https://vimeo.com/209509528.
- 5.
Zebulun Wood, “New Frontiers Proposal Video,” last modified October 2016, https://vimeo.com/187085145.
- 6.
Fien Danniau, “Public History in a Digital Context: Back to the Future or Back to Basics?” BMGN: Low Countries Historical Review 128, no. 4 (2013).
- 7.
Kyriacos Themistocleous, “Model Reconstruction for 3D Vizualization of Cultural Heritage Sites Using Open Data from Social Media: The Case Study of Soli, Cyprus,” Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 14 (2017); Belen Jiménez Fernández-Palacios, Daniele Morabito, and Fabio Remondino, “Access to Complex Reality-Based 3D Models Using Virtual Reality Solutions,” Journal of Cultural Heritage 23 (2017).
References
Danniau, F. “Public History in a Digital Context: Back to the Future or Back to Basics?” BMGN: Low Countries Historical Review 128, no. 4 (2013): 118–144.
Davidson, R., and Tyler Jackson. “Project Progress Video.” Last modified February 2017. https://vimeo.com/209509528.
Jiménez Fernández-Palacios, B., Daniele Morabito, and Fabio Remondino. “Access to Complex Reality-Based 3D Models Using Virtual Reality Solutions.” Journal of Cultural Heritage 23 (2017): 40–48.
Landsberg, A. “Digital Translations of the Past: Virtual History Exhibits.” In Engaging the Past: Mass Culture and the Production of Historical Memory. New York: Columbia University Press, 2015.
McGill, N. “Indy’s Oldest Black Church Get “Digital Restoration.” Last modified February 23, 2017. http://fox59.com/2017/02/23/indys-oldest-black-church-gets-digital-restoration/.
Sosnoski, J., Harkin, Patricia, and Carter, Bryan. Configuring History: Teaching the Harlem Renaissance Through Virtual Reality Cityscapes. New York: Peter Lang, 2006.
Themistocleous, Kyriacos. “Model Reconstruction for 3D Vizualization of Cultural Heritage Sites Using Open Data from Social Media: The Case Study of Soli, Cyprus.” Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 14 (2017): 774–778.
Wood, Z. “New Frontiers Proposal Video.” Last modified October, 2016. https://vimeo.com/187085145.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Online Resources, Inc. for 3D scan of Bethel’s sanctuary: Without the Scan of Bethel Sanctuary we would not have had an ideal reference of the space to rebuild for VR. JD Schaumburg of Online resources recalls the amount the day of scanning: “5 hours of scanning and it took about 3 hours of computer crunching time to merge the High Res files to the low res files. Yes we can upload the High Res scans to the IU box. They are about 1 GB to 1.5 GB for each scan, and we have 8 total scans.” Online Resources can be found at http://www.onlineresourcesinc.com/. We’d also like to thank Advanced Visualization Lab (AVL), UITS, IUPUI. Without the AVL team we could not have compared Unreal and Unity Game engines. In the end, both engines are entirely capable of Digital Preservation of spaces for Virtual Reality. Thanks for your wisdom and advice Mike, Jeff, Chauncey. Tyler you are at the heart of this project’s success. Advanced Visualization Lab can be found at https://rt.uits.iu.edu/visualization/avl/.
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Appendix: Hardware and Software
Appendix: Hardware and Software
Hardware:
HTC Vive Virtual Reality Kit
Compatible PCs
Surphaser—3D Scanner (property of Online Resources, Inc.)
Software:
Retopologizing of the Scan
Pixologic Zbrush
3D Modeling Software Used
Autodesk Maya
3D Unwrapping Software Used
Autodesk Maya & Headus UV Layout Pro
3D Texturing Software Used
Adobe Photoshop
Physically Based Rendering Texturing Software Used
Allegorithmic Substance Painter & Designer
Game Engines Used
Epic Unreal Engine
Unity Game Engine for comparison
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Wood, Z.M., William, A., Yoon, A., Copeland, A. (2018). Virtual Bethel: Preservation of Indianapolis’s Oldest Black Church. In: levenberg, l., Neilson, T., Rheams, D. (eds) Research Methods for the Digital Humanities. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96713-4_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96713-4_11
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