Panoramic Navigator. A Vision Machine for Expanded Spaces of Representation. Volker Kuchelmeister* UNSW University of New South Wales Sydney, College of Fine Arts ABSTRACT In this video I present a novel interactive cinema platform, the Panoramic Navigator, for the expression of stereoscopic 3D panoramic and multi-viewpoint spaces of representation, in which participants embark on an embodied journey of discovery. Keywords: Interactive Cinema, Expanded Cinema, Panorama, Immersion, Narrative Space. 1 INTRODUCTION In traditional film or television, with its constraints to standardised spatial formats, the viewer is always looking through the eye of the camera into the narrative world that unfolds within the frame. Even as the image in the window is moving, it is clear that the director and cinematographer control the movement on screen, while the audience is restricted to a passive role. Friedberg [1] described “... the paradox of the mobility of the image versus the immobility of the spectator”. With this vision machine, the Panoramic Navigator, I present a model of spatial correspondence between the virtual and the representational space, which breaks with the paradigm in conventional film and television by: substituting the frame for a virtual window, by overcoming the immobility of the spectator, and by challenging the traditional notion of linear narrative. 2 PLATFORM HARWARE The Panoramic Navigator is a custom built 360 degree revolving projection platform, where the observer controls the aperture within a panoramic or multi-viewpoint representation by manual turning the platform (Fig. 1). The panoramic nature of the content and the 360 degree representation complement each other. The platform is comprised of a 2m diameter cylindrical rear projection screen suspended from the ceiling with the rotary projection platform at its centre. The device utilises electrical slip- rings for continuous power supply, a high resolution rotary sensor for angular data and a computer interface for communication with the image generator. A 3D stereoscopic high-definition projector with a wide-angle lens and a Mac Mini is fitted on the platform. The projection is presented as a 3D image, and the viewer is required to wear active shutter glasses. 3 INTERACTIVITY The operator manually rotates the platform, and therefore the projected image, following its circular path. This rotation of the virtual viewing window around the panoramic screen continuously reveals new and discrete sections of the image [2]. The spatial correspondence between imagery and the representational space (the angular position of the window) is fixed; the image appears to be stationary on the projection surface. With this tactile and intuitive user interface, a viewer’s proprioceptive actions in the real space have direct concurrency with their movements in the virtual space. Figure 1: Panoramic Navigator platform. 4 CONCLUSION Observations and a survey of people interacting with this platform and its imagery, indicate that utilising stereoscopic 3D imaging in this context challenges a viewer's perception. The virtual window into the 3D world ‘behind’ the screen surface, or "the membrane of where surface meets depth", is no longer a fixed entity but a dynamic frame, in which uncanny interactions occur between the space depicted and the reality of the installation space. This effect can activate a viewer's sense of balance by gently throwing it off, but at the same time, opening up another layer of interaction and resulting in an impactful embodied experience. REFERENCES [1] Anne Friedberg, The Virtual Window: From Alberti to Microsoft. MIT Press, 2006. [2] Volker Kuchelmeister. Alberti’s Window v2.0. A Vision Machine for Expanded Spaces of Representation. Proceedings ISEA 2013, Published by ISEA, ANAT and the University of Sydney. 2013. * kuchel@unsw.edu.au 151 IEEE Virtual Reality 2014 29 March - 2 April, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA 978-1-4799-2871-2/14/$31.00 ©2014 IEEE