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Science exhibitions will feature 3D cultural film

The 2006 Science Season, featuring exhibitions on the nation's diversity in culture and technology, will be officially launched next month, the National Science Council said yesterday.

The exhibitions will take place at the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall over the next two months. Event organizers hope to draw the attention of school-age children and teenagers, who will then be on summer vacation.

At the press conference yesterday, organizers showed off a three-dimensional animation that they said represents the diversity of Taiwanese culture.

Titled Diamond Taiwan: A Land of Beauty and Diversity, the animation consists of snapshots of various aspects of life, including religious rituals, Aboriginal culture and scenes from night markets.

The filming process was rather challenging, according to producer Yoyo Wang (王郁慧). To shoot a Paiwan wedding ceremony, for example, film crews had to travel to a village in the mountains of Pingtung County. During the shoot, crews had to overcome not only days of torrential rain and treacherous roads, but also the smell from the corpses buried underneath the houses.

Members of the Paiwan believe that burying the deceased beneath their houses helps to protect them from harm.

Lin Shu-min (林書民), executive director of the Unison Art Association and the driving force behind the animation, said film crews tied three high-resolution digital cameras together to obtain panoramic pictures.

The animation will be displayed during the course of the exhibitions at a mini theater that has been erected inside the CKS Memorial Hall. Nine parallel projectors will be used to patch the high-resolution images seamlessly together and provide a panoramic viewing experience.

Lin said the animation was also interactive.

During the segment on Taiwan's butterflies, for example, a viewer walking toward the screen will prompt a horde of butterflies to emerge from the bushes.

Tchen Yu-chiou (陳郁秀), secretary-general of the government-funded National Cultural Association, explained why the film was called Diamond Taiwan.

Just as natural elements were crystallized into a diamond after being under pressure for a long time, so elements of daily life and geological conditions had contributed to the creation of Taiwanese culture, she said.

Tchen added that the interactivity of the film helped to give it an edge over those seen in other countries.

"We can add aromas such as brewing tea or stinky tofu to the animation if we want to," she said.

The film was produced over the course of a year with a budget of NT$18 million (US$562,500) and was funded by the National Science Council.
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