The Monodome

Posted by on Mar 13, 2013 in Fulldome, Sketchbook | No Comments

I’m sitting at my computer working on some fulldome cameras for an animation. The feedback process can be painfully slow. It’s hard to get into flow when you have to wait a day before seeing the results in the dome. I say to Jenny “I need a monodome”… a dome for one, setup above a workstation. Working with cameras directly in the dome has been a dream since the I first started working with fulldome 5 years ago. So why not make one?

I’ve been in the dome a few times to check the previous versions and returned to the drawing board slightly unsure of what to do next. The issue isn’t ideas, it’s the time it takes to get into the dome to test them. The process involves making several camera versions for testing, rendering the required videos, waiting for the dome to be free (usually 5 o’clock each evening), loading the videos onto the system and watching them… If they don’t work then it’s back to the drawing board. Reaching a state of flow usually requires some time, testing creative ideas requires immediate feedback and response. Following the review, usually after work, I have to walk back home, make dinner and start again… After all that I’ve lost touch with the feeling that was clear just an hour earlier. Flow is never reached. So yeah… I’ll make my own dome, or at least give it a go. Perhaps then I can start pushing the creative process and treading new ground.

sketchbook-monodome

So here’s a sketch I made several years ago of my idea for a monodome. It obviously wouldn’t work but it’s still a relevant idea. I’m thinking something bigger and adopting spherical mirrors in there somewhere. A little research is needed before I get started.

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