Karol Kwiatek
I am an research assistant in the Department of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Laser Scanning @ Wsie. I am interested in the visualization and analysis of space with panoramic images and spherical video. I participated in Socrates / Erasmus exchange programme in Dresden (Germany) and completed my doctoral studies at Plymouth University (United Kingdom). I take part in Google StreetView and Google Business Photo projects. I am the author or co-author of many papers linking interdisciplinary fields such as film, photogrammetry, land surveying, cultural heritage and new media. I published several multimedia publications on CD and DVD (eg 'Gothic Wooden Churches of Podhale').
Teaching: Photogrammetry, Digital image processing, Internet cartography, 3D modelling
I was awarded MSc in Surveying and Cartography, specialization in Geo-computer science, Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing from AGH University of Science and Technology, Krakow, Poland (2000-2005). I was also a Socrates/Erasmus exchange programme student at Dresden University of Technology (2004-2005). I am a panorama photographer and create multimedia presentations. I won a number of business awards at the University of Plymouth (2007-2012). My sole-trader was awarded the Microentrepreneur of Year 2006 in Poland.
My paper presented on the Virtual Systems and MultiMedia conference (VSMM2009) was awarded the Best Student Paper Award.
I was also a shortlisted finalist – Postgraduate Research Student of the Year 2010.
Teaching: Photogrammetry, Digital image processing, Internet cartography, 3D modelling
I was awarded MSc in Surveying and Cartography, specialization in Geo-computer science, Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing from AGH University of Science and Technology, Krakow, Poland (2000-2005). I was also a Socrates/Erasmus exchange programme student at Dresden University of Technology (2004-2005). I am a panorama photographer and create multimedia presentations. I won a number of business awards at the University of Plymouth (2007-2012). My sole-trader was awarded the Microentrepreneur of Year 2006 in Poland.
My paper presented on the Virtual Systems and MultiMedia conference (VSMM2009) was awarded the Best Student Paper Award.
I was also a shortlisted finalist – Postgraduate Research Student of the Year 2010.
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Papers by Karol Kwiatek
While there is a wealth of research on the preservation of public memory and cultural heritage sites using digital media, more can be explored on how these media can contribute to the cultivation of cultural memory. One of the most interesting phenomena related to this issue is how panoramas, which are immersive and have a well-established tradition in preserving memories, can be enhanced by recent digital technologies and image spaces.
The emergence of digital panoramic video cameras and panoramic environments has opened up new opportunities for exploring the role of interactive panoramas not only as a documentary tool for visiting sites but mainly as a more complex technique for telling non-linear interactive narratives through the application of panoramic photography and panoramic videography which, when presented in a wrap-around environment, could enhance recalling.
This thesis attempts to explore a way of preserving inspirational environments and memory sites in a way that combines panoramic interactive film and traversing the panoramic environment with viewing the photo-realistic panoramic content rather than computer-generated environment.
This research is based on two case studies. The case study of Charles Church in Plymouth represents the topical approach to narrative and focuses on the preservation of the memory of the Blitz in Plymouth and the ruin of Charles Church which stands as a silent reminder of this event. The case study of Charles Causley reflects topographical approach where, through traversing the town of Launceston, viewers learn about Causley’s life and places that provided inspirations for his poems.
The thesis explores through practice what can be done and reflects on positive and less positive aspects of preserving cultural memory in these case studies in a critical way. Therefore, the results and recommendations from this thesis can be seen as valuable contribution to the study of intermedia and cultural memory in general.
This narrative was recorded using a 360-degree video camera, because such footage enables the illusion of ‘being there’ when projected on a 360-degree immersive screen. Based on a non-linear approach to narratives, the audience gathered inside the immersive environment has a power to change the story about the wedding in this church and they could feel as though they were truly there. .
360-degree environments have their roots in Robert Barker’s invention of panorama painting in 1787. Barker introduced a method of immersing the spectators into a new world. Circular paintings were the first trials of presenting remote locations. They also educated the audience by presenting military or biblical stories. More descriptive methods of presenting narratives were introduced with the invention of photography (1830s), cinema (1890s) and television (1920s). 360-degree panoramic environments proposed in this paper are the next step in the maximization of realism relating to narratives.
This paper takes 360-degree screens into consideration and compares this digital medium with an older mass medium such as a panorama painting in a rotunda. It is discernible that this new form of art provides new perspectives for evoking these heritage sites which are in ruin. Panoramic spaces with 360° screens no longer address an individual, but the large audience and this helps them to understand the current conditions of the site. Additionally, a point of view is different and not fixed. In contrast to television, theatre or even a photograph, the audience is no longer observing a fragment of their field of view. In the case of immersive environments, they are inside the image space; it is no longer possible to examine everything that happens around the spectators, who have the chance to change their location while watching immersive narratives. 360-degree interactive narratives based on heritage sites may become not only a scientific and technological innovation but also a new art form presented in ‘digital rotundas’.
on still and video panoramas. This non-linear approach aims to give a young audience a new
understanding of poetry, by exploring the poet Charles Causley’s house and the town of
Launceston in England where he spent most of his life. His poetry mentions a number of locations
from this town and artefacts located in his house. The user of the interactive application based on
Adobe Flash plug-in and Lucid Viewer (panoramic viewer), take a number of narrative journeys in
order to search for hidden poems, voice marks or trails signs that have references to the town. Still
panoramas localised at decision-making points were linked by using video panoramas (360-degree
video), which were recorded with a spherical video camera – Ladybug2 mounted on a motorised
wheelchair. Still and video panoramas are elements that create a branching narrative. The aim of
this application is to develop the interest not only in the Causley’s biography but also in literary
output of the poet.
Internet: www.kwiatek.krakow.pl/panotour. In order to view all interactive panoramas one will need to install proper plug-ins that are mentioned on the webpage.
While there is a wealth of research on the preservation of public memory and cultural heritage sites using digital media, more can be explored on how these media can contribute to the cultivation of cultural memory. One of the most interesting phenomena related to this issue is how panoramas, which are immersive and have a well-established tradition in preserving memories, can be enhanced by recent digital technologies and image spaces.
The emergence of digital panoramic video cameras and panoramic environments has opened up new opportunities for exploring the role of interactive panoramas not only as a documentary tool for visiting sites but mainly as a more complex technique for telling non-linear interactive narratives through the application of panoramic photography and panoramic videography which, when presented in a wrap-around environment, could enhance recalling.
This thesis attempts to explore a way of preserving inspirational environments and memory sites in a way that combines panoramic interactive film and traversing the panoramic environment with viewing the photo-realistic panoramic content rather than computer-generated environment.
This research is based on two case studies. The case study of Charles Church in Plymouth represents the topical approach to narrative and focuses on the preservation of the memory of the Blitz in Plymouth and the ruin of Charles Church which stands as a silent reminder of this event. The case study of Charles Causley reflects topographical approach where, through traversing the town of Launceston, viewers learn about Causley’s life and places that provided inspirations for his poems.
The thesis explores through practice what can be done and reflects on positive and less positive aspects of preserving cultural memory in these case studies in a critical way. Therefore, the results and recommendations from this thesis can be seen as valuable contribution to the study of intermedia and cultural memory in general.
This narrative was recorded using a 360-degree video camera, because such footage enables the illusion of ‘being there’ when projected on a 360-degree immersive screen. Based on a non-linear approach to narratives, the audience gathered inside the immersive environment has a power to change the story about the wedding in this church and they could feel as though they were truly there. .
360-degree environments have their roots in Robert Barker’s invention of panorama painting in 1787. Barker introduced a method of immersing the spectators into a new world. Circular paintings were the first trials of presenting remote locations. They also educated the audience by presenting military or biblical stories. More descriptive methods of presenting narratives were introduced with the invention of photography (1830s), cinema (1890s) and television (1920s). 360-degree panoramic environments proposed in this paper are the next step in the maximization of realism relating to narratives.
This paper takes 360-degree screens into consideration and compares this digital medium with an older mass medium such as a panorama painting in a rotunda. It is discernible that this new form of art provides new perspectives for evoking these heritage sites which are in ruin. Panoramic spaces with 360° screens no longer address an individual, but the large audience and this helps them to understand the current conditions of the site. Additionally, a point of view is different and not fixed. In contrast to television, theatre or even a photograph, the audience is no longer observing a fragment of their field of view. In the case of immersive environments, they are inside the image space; it is no longer possible to examine everything that happens around the spectators, who have the chance to change their location while watching immersive narratives. 360-degree interactive narratives based on heritage sites may become not only a scientific and technological innovation but also a new art form presented in ‘digital rotundas’.
on still and video panoramas. This non-linear approach aims to give a young audience a new
understanding of poetry, by exploring the poet Charles Causley’s house and the town of
Launceston in England where he spent most of his life. His poetry mentions a number of locations
from this town and artefacts located in his house. The user of the interactive application based on
Adobe Flash plug-in and Lucid Viewer (panoramic viewer), take a number of narrative journeys in
order to search for hidden poems, voice marks or trails signs that have references to the town. Still
panoramas localised at decision-making points were linked by using video panoramas (360-degree
video), which were recorded with a spherical video camera – Ladybug2 mounted on a motorised
wheelchair. Still and video panoramas are elements that create a branching narrative. The aim of
this application is to develop the interest not only in the Causley’s biography but also in literary
output of the poet.
Internet: www.kwiatek.krakow.pl/panotour. In order to view all interactive panoramas one will need to install proper plug-ins that are mentioned on the webpage.
Year. Places of Milosz is an intermedia art project merging literature, visual arts, music and new media. Installation transports the visitor to the places described by the writer, places where he lived, places very significant for him. Installation gives the very unique opportunity to contemplate the space in almost real dimension, by visiting places and going through the moments very special and important for the writer. Visitors choose places and visit them through panoramic audiovisual projection. Installation is arranged in outdoor space inside a DomaZing object with immersive media system, including internal circle 360 screen, set of beamers and surround audio system. Immersive media is a new audiovisual technology, a very important part of modern media development. It breaks the limits of traditional omnidirectional perception of the picture and movie, extending them toward holistic, panoramic, audiovisual form of video and audio surround. Immersive video (immanent part of immersive media) is a panoramic 360° video. Picture/video keeps the form of a narrow band, ready to be projected inside an installation in a surrounded, closed ring. The left edge of the picture should be merged with the right edge to get the complete, full surround image. For the competition “Place of Milosz” the realistic, field-recorded footages, but also fully
abstract, as well as different forms of narration can be used. They can be achieved with traditional video techniques, with the use of video 360° devices, generated in 2D/3D media forms and all other visual analog and digital techniques (animation, filming, editing, compositing etc.).
from:
http://www.muzykacentrum.krakow.pl/Competition.pdf
This narrative was recorded using a 360-degree video camera, because such footage enables the illusion of ‘being there’ when projected on a 360-degree immersive screen. Based on a non-linear approach to narratives, the audience gathered inside the immersive environment has a power to change the story about the wedding in this church and they could feel as though they were truly there. .
360-degree environments have their roots in Robert Barker’s invention of panorama painting in 1787. Barker introduced a method of immersing the spectators into a new world. Circular paintings were the first trials of presenting remote locations. They also educated the audience by presenting military or biblical stories. More descriptive methods of presenting narratives were introduced with the invention of photography (1830s), cinema (1890s) and television (1920s). 360-degree panoramic environments proposed in this paper are the next step in the maximization of realism relating to narratives.
This paper takes 360-degree screens into consideration and compares this digital medium with an older mass medium such as a panorama painting in a rotunda. It is discernible that this new form of art provides new perspectives for evoking these heritage sites which are in ruin. Panoramic spaces with 360° screens no longer address an individual, but the large audience and this helps them to understand the current conditions of the site. Additionally, a point of view is different and not fixed. In contrast to television, theatre or even a photograph, the audience is no longer observing a fragment of their field of view. In the case of immersive environments, they are inside the image space; it is no longer possible to examine everything that happens around the spectators, who have the chance to change their location while watching immersive narratives. 360-degree interactive narratives based on heritage sites may become not only a scientific and technological innovation but also a new art form presented in ‘digital rotundas’.
storytelling to a panoramic projection system. The story of a
wedding that occurred in 1941 in Charles Church (Plymouth,
UK) is presented on a wrap-around screen where the viewers are
asked to make decisions about further developments of the
narrative. The church was bombed in 1941 and was not rebuilt
after the war. A virtual 3D reconstruction of this heritage site
was undertaken and on the basis of this computer 3D model, a
number of still and video panoramas were rendered inside the
church. Video panoramas created using a spherical video camera were applied to the generation of the panoramic interactive narrative, the aim of which is to transport the viewers not only to the historic site, but enable them to interact with this heritage story. A 360° screen combined with an interactive device is a good solution for presenting non-linear panoramic narratives.
opportunities for individual users to take virtual journeys
through a wide range of environments. The opportunity they
provide for the basis of interactive storytelling has not been
substantially investigated. A combination of computer graphics
and 3D modelling enriches the educational aspects of narratives
created using a spherical video camera by illustrating objects
that are hidden, not only physically but also due to the passage of time. Video panoramas created using a spherical video camera and within 3D modelling software are discussed in this paper employing the example of two heritage sites: Charles Church in Plymouth, UK and the town of Launceston, UK. Objects and artefacts created through the process of laser scanning and QTVR object movies can be placed within panoramic environments using XML and Flash based panoramic viewers enriching the experience of the audience by merging educational components with entertainment.
Still and video panoramas provide exciting opportunities for individual users to take virtual journeys through a wide range of environments. The opportunity they provide for interactive storytelling has not been substantially investigated. A combination of computer graphics and 3D modelling enriches the educational aspects of narratives created using a spherical video camera by illustrating objects that are hidden, not only physically but also due to the passage of time. Video panoramas created using a spherical video camera and within 3D modelling software are discussed in this paper employing the example of two heritage sites: Charles Church in Plymouth and the town of Launceston in Cornwall. The project about Charles Causley’s town (Launceston) and his poems presents a method for combining poetry with an interactive narrative based on still and video panoramas. Poems were applied to this new kind of narrative to enable each individual to find their own journey through the interactive storytelling and by providing the sense of a story unfolding. Still and video panoramas presented in a 360° immersive space enrich the experience of the audience by merging educational components with entertainment.
This Summer School was aimed at promotion the discussion between participants from different disciplines related to archaeology and cultural heritage. This could result in joint projects in the future. It also shows how 3D modelling could help create digital documentation for Cultural Heritage.
The Summer School in Ascona took 6 days. It consisted of 21 lectures, 12 presentations given by PhD students, 7 presentations of companies and 1 excursion. The subjects discussed at the Summer School may be divided into the following thematic categories:
- Archaeology in general
- Cultural Heritage
- Basics of photogrammetry
- Visualisations of Cultural Heritage
- Applications of remote sensing in archaeology
- Participants’ presentations