one step at a time for show conversion

As we learn more about the full dome environment in general and how Blender applies to it in particular, we are finding new ways to convert old slide based shows to full dome productions. And it got me thinking about concerns other planetarians have had about making the leap to full dome, specifically "how hard is it to convert shows?"

The answer to that is probably lame but it is true, "how hard do you want it to be? I guess the real measure of how hard show conversion is, is how you look at the overall project. If you see it as a complete 30 or 40 minute show with hundreds of special effects and dissolves then you will probably see it as climbing Everest with no gear....impossible.

BUT... if you look at converting shows ONE ELEMENT AT A TIME....then the job becomes much more manageable.

For example, we are working on converting an old show from the Hansen Planetarium in Salt Lake City (yes we talked with the producers and they said go ahead) and we are approaching it not as a whole show, but as a series of models. Right now that is all we are working on...building the models of the objects (and characters which is tougher) that apppear in the show. THEN we will begin building SCENES. Each short bit will be a short annimation which will LATER be composited into the final product.

Obviously the ultimate TIME it takes to do this is staff dependent. In our case we have anywhere from 2 to 4 part time staff members (high school and college students) who work on things after school. Now at that rate we won't have the show up and running in 8 weeks or anything, but it does serve 2 purposes. 1) It does get the show converted for future use. And 2) (most important in my opinion) is the students get to learn new skills that they would not get in any high school class and not many college classes. They learn problem solving, thinking in 3 dimensions, planning and organization.

So the next time a show project looks like Everest (or worse Olympus Mons) just remember that a little water carved the Grand Canyon, it just took a little while.