This is the course website for Media Production for Immersive Environments, TNM091. This course covers technical conditions, technical challenges and design conditions for media productions that are presented in immersive environments, i e display systems that surround the viewer such as domes, panoramic cinema and Head Mounted Displays.
Course Organization
The course starts off with lectures on the principles and tools necessary for immersive production and laboratory exercises to try out the most important procedures. The lectures are provided in hybrid mode with Zoom room distributed to participants via email. After this, during most of the extent of the course, the students work in groups on a project to produce an immersive media.
The course is given at half speed and both schedule and exercises have been carefully adjusted to allow for an even and appropriate workload.
Teaching
- Lectures — attendance is not checked, however these lectures are strongly recommended since they summarize much that is important to the project, laboratory exercises and reflections. In-person attendance is recommended, however a Zoom room for convenience.
- Laboratory exercises — the laboratory exercises provide practical experience with some important techniques, tools and principles. This is examinated and will provide 1 credit. Special software and hardware are used so in-person attendance is necessary.
- Project — this is expected to be the largest part of the course, a media production project performed in groups of 2–5 students, to give practical experience and the chance to make full use of the tools provided by the course.
Course Structure and Dates
| First lecture | 2023-08-28 |
| Deadline project plan with synopsis | 2022-10-13 (12:00) |
| Deadline lab reflections | 2022-10-30 (12:00) |
| Deadline updated project plan with storyboard | 2022-11-07 (12:00) |
| Grand seminar | 2023-01-12 (13-15) |
| Deadline project report (draft) | 2023-01-10 (12:00) |
| Deadline project report (final) | 2023-01-17 (12:00) |
| Deadline personal analysis | 2023-01-17 (12:00) |
Examination
- LAB1 Laboratory Excercises (1 credit U,G) — laboratory excercises are executed in groups of two, alternatively individually. When fully completed the exercises are presented and discussed with a supervisor, and tested and discussed in the dome. A short reflection document over the exercises is also handed in to pass.
- PRA1 Project (5 credit U,3,4,5) — a project is executed in groups of 3–5. The pass the project it is necessary to implement a media production that fulfills the described requirements, present this at a grand seminar, hand in a project report, and hand in an individual analysis of the work. The final, individual grade will be based on a combination of these.
Grading is done on an individual basis, using primarily the final project reflection document in combination with the project report, however all written and oral performances may also be assessed. The grades are set according to the SOLO taxonomy where multistructural level is required to pass, rational level for grade 4, and extended abstract for grade 5.
Teachers
Karljohan Lundin Palmerius
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![[KJ]](images/KJ_portait_smallsquare.jpg)
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Anna Öst
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![[Anna]](images/anna.png)
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Erik Sundén
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![[Erik]](images/erisu46.jpeg)
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Tobias Pettersson
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![[Tobias]](images/tobpe83-2.jpeg)
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David Beuger
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![[David]](images/davbe93.jpeg)
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Lecture Topics and Material
The lectures are divided into topics and every set of slides will discuss one such topic. Observe that you also find complementary material here, that is not compulsory for the course but provide deeper understanding of the topics.
| 00 | Course Information | PDF MP4 |
| 01 | Immersion, Displays and Perception | PDF MP4 |
| 02 | Photo, Video and Projections | PDF MP4 |
| 360 Panorama With a Single SLR Camera | Youtube | |
| Omni-directional Stereoscopic Fisheye Images for Immersive Hemispherical Dome Environments | Web | |
| DomeXF dome master plugin - demo/tutorial | Youtube | |
| 03 | Immersive Audio | PDF MP4 |
| Home-made bin-aural recording (really good) | Youtube | |
| YouTube 360 VR Ambisonics Teardown! | Web | |
| 04 | Realtime and Offline Rendering | PDF MP4 |
| 05 | Form, Contents and Gestalt | PDF MP4 |
Laboratory Excercises
In this course we laborate on special and sometimes rare hardware and software. The exercises are performed in pairs or individually, and the final results are presented to a supervisor and tested and discussed in the dome. To pass the exercises a brief reflection document is also to be handed in.
List of Exercises
| 1 | Image Capture, Projection and Media Fusion | instructions | |
| 2 | Immersive Audio | instructions | files |
| 3 | Offline rendering | instructions | |
| 4 | Realtime rendering | instructions | files |
Lab Reflection
To pass on the exercises a short text with technical description of the exercises and explanation of the result is to be handed in by each lab group. This document should describe how the group executed the exercises and their results, but more importantly also contain a reflection relating to have done to the underlying theories and to practical media production for immersive environments. About a page of text, plus images, for each exercise should suffice, however use as much space as you feel necessary.
Deadline on this is at the beginning of the second half, however it is strongly recommended that this document is handed in shortly after finalizing the exercises.
Project
During most of the extent of the course, the students work in groups on a project to produce an immersive media. Through the laboratory exercises all students have experienced tools and principles for producing immersive media and now is the time to put this into practice. To pass, the project has to fulfil the specified requirements and be presented on time in a report and orally on the grand seminar.
Required aspects:
- The project must apply gestalt principles based on given technical conditions, and link this to the purpose of the production.
- The project must use computer-generated material in some form in some part of the production.
- The project must use filmed and/or photographed material in some form in some part of the production.
- The project must use positioned and/or immersive sound in some form in some part of the production.
To consider:
- All project must be ready to be presented on the grand
seminar and be conducted with the available hardware, software
and other resources. This means that the scope of the project
must be adapted to the available equipment and time.
- Check render time early and often.
- Control that files do not become too large or too many to move quickly.
- Check early and often that your implementation runs on the target platform.
- It is common that students put large efforts on modelling and animation. This is not the focus of this course and will unfortunately not give extra credits. Use readily available models with pre-defined animations when possible and focus on how to put everything together into an immersive media production.
Progress Checks and Supervision
For those groups that make a media production for the dome, we book the equipment for weekly checks. Those groups that make other types of immersive productions must contact the supervisors for meetings. Not all groups are required to come every week, however each group must talk to a supervisor at regular basis for progress reporting and discussion.
Earlier Year's Projects
Every year details in the project requirements changes ever so slightly. Nevertheless, reports from earlier years can be a great source of inspiration and provide an understanding for the wide possibilities of the topic. All list projects and reports passed examination, however their individual grades are not listed and can be both high and low.
Reports 2015–2022Project Plan
A project plan is to be presented on the given day, to be discussed with supervisors and examiner to ensure that the project can be finished on time with a scope and quality in line with the expectations in this course. It may be brief but should contain at least:
- Conceptual idea and basic synopsis,
- Description of techniques, software and hardware to use for producing both video and audio, how and to what effect, and
- Time plan with mile stones for partial completion, including expected work hours, dates for dome tests and time for rendering,
- updated concept, synopsis, technical descriptions and time plan, and
- a story-board that describes the production with explanations and references to the techniques to use.
Studio level quality of figures and pictures is not expected or even wanted. They may be hand-drawn on computer or paper (and photographed), or a collage of images.
Grand Seminar
On the grand seminar all projects are presented. Each group presents their thoughts behind their production, how they have worked and the final result. It is important that the discussion revolves around both technical solutions and how the group connect this to gestalt and the purpose of the production.
Project Report
After the presentation the group hands in a report over their project. It may be brief but should account for at least:
- The final aim of the production, what the audience was supposed to gain from it,
- the technical solutions used to achieve this,
- principles and techniques for gestalt and how these connect to the technical solutions,
- The final result in the form of images, figures and descriptions of what was shown and how this was received by the audience, and
- conclusions
Personal Analysis
Finally an individual analysis is handed in. This will, together with the project report, be the main basis for grade assessment. It may be brief but may describe for example:
- your own contribution and understanding of the project,
- how and why the technical solutions lead to the desired experience,
- Comparison with alternative solutions for the same effect or experience, and
- what experiences, knowledge and skills you believe that you used in the project and/or acquired through the project
Observe that showing a good understanding of the principles and techniques of immersive media both with respect to technology, software and gestalt, is important for fair grading.
Resources
Linköping University will provide material and equipment that can be used throughout the laboratory exercises and projects. Here are some listed. Ask supervisors, examinator or other personnel for more information.
- Computer labs: K4504/K4507 3D Graphics, ThinLinc Linux
- Adobe software is installed in K4504/K4507
- Unreal Engine is installed in K4504/K4507
- Blender and Maya are installed in K4504/K4507
- HTC Vive in the VR laboratory
- Storyboard template, forward view with peripheral angles
- Storyboard template, dome master with view angles
Agreement for loan of equipment: agreement.
Dome Schedule
- 2023-11-08, 10-12
- 2023-11-16, 13-15
- 2023-11-23, 13-15
- 2023-11-30, 13-15
- 2023-12-07, 13-15
- 2023-12-14, 14-16
- 2023-12-21, 13-15