MOKA Virtual Reality Tour
Society for Bevel Intentions launched MINISTRY OF MOTION to support the evolution of Bevelvision into an Internet TV show that’s a mix of “Mad Max and Mr. Rogers.” The show will share the Surrealistic Pop Science Theater’s world of Beveldom with inspiring characters, moving sculptures, guest artists and scientists, educational workshops, walking tours and a virtual reality tour.
Get inside Beveldom with the virtual tour
One of our first steps towards making the virtual component of Beveldom a reality is to develop a Museum Of Kinetic Art (MOKA) Virtual Reality Tour. Using the popular virtual reality technology, our tour will give people a perspective they couldn’t otherwise experience, not even in person. Viewers will be able to immerse themselves inside the museum sculptures and have the ability to look around in any direction. Close-up shots will bring people inside the kinetic sculptures, introducing them to many of the mechanized characters and uncovering much of the humor that’s built into the sculptures.
Society for Bevel Intentions founder and president Ned Schaper says, “The tight configuration of the museum actually lends itself to virtual reality technology and content. The cameras will get into tight spaces, opening up a whole new experience for viewers where they can experience the movements, colors and sounds of the museum’s sculptures in 3D.”
We’ll develop a small cart with motorized wheels that our camera person can sit in and drive through the museum path to shoot the video. It’s similar to how the Google car captures its content, only our content will be video instead of still images. Viewers will be able to start and stop the tour and look around.
Schaper continues, “I’d like to devise a way to place the camera rig onto the sculptures so that people can move around as if they are part of the sculpture or ride along with a character that’s moving. This works really well for the museum because it allows me to create a moving viewpoint inside Beveldom with a world of moving sculptures. Viewers can choose which direction they see inside that moving viewpoint. It could get very interactive and carnival like in the future.”
“What I see with Ned Schaper’s work—the museum, theater and Internet TV—is that it lends itself well to exploit virtual reality technology for digital storytelling and new platforms for digital learning.”
-Luis Carrión, award-winning videographer and producer, and Video Producer for University of Arizona’s Office of Digital Learning
Greenscreen compositing also opens a window to an expanded Beveldom
One of the techniques the Society will utilize to further develop the look and feel of Beveldom for Bevelvision TV is greenscreen compositing. Beveldom’s characters will be videotaped in our Tucson studio, The Bevelarium, with a green screen behind them. This allows us to isolate the characters and add video or still image backgrounds so they appear to be in other places. Greenscreen compositing gives us studio control during recording.
We’ll be shooting in two locations–inside the museum as part of the virtual tour and in our second location in Patagonia , AZ, called New Beveldom. Using greenscreen compositing we’ll further enrich the environments where Beveldom’s characters appear, both inside the museum’s animated sculptures and in the beautiful scenic landscapes in southern Arizona.
Greenscreen also gives us the ability to add multiple characters to a scene. It’s all very exciting and we hope you’ll support us in this development phase. All gifts, large or small, are greatly appreciated.