Short film brings the Finnish Pavilion to life at the 1900 Paris World Fair

07.02.2012

Researchers and students from the Department of Media of the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture have created a short film called Le Pavilion de la Finlande à l’exposition universelle de 1900 à Paris.

The eight-and-a-half-minute film will be shown at a large exhibition presenting the works of Akseli Gallen-Kallela opening on February 7 at the Musée d’Orsay, Paris.

The film takes its viewers on a journey in time to see the Finnish Pavilion at the Paris World Fair in 1900. The makers of the film have used 3D modelling and animation and connected archival materials with computer generated imagery in order to render a simulation of the Finnish Pavilion and the 1900 World Exposition in Paris. The digital reconstruction is based entirely on written, non-experiential material. In order to be able to create the reconstruction, the team built an interactive scale model. When viewers watch the film wearing 3D glasses, they feel as if they were inside the original pavilion.

3D technology provides new opportunities for vivifying museum experiences.

- 3D technology makes history accessible to people and enables experiential museum visits. Using 3D technology in museums is still rare in Finland, but elsewhere in the world it is gradually becoming more common, says Professor Lily Díaz who is responsible for the project at the Media Lab Helsinki of the School of Arts, Design and Architecture.

Among the key contributors to this production are Lily Díaz, producer and researcher; Toni Enström, 3D modelling; Derek Fewster, content advisor; Mikko Hovi, 3D modelling, photography and rendering; Cvijeta Miljak, editing and graphic design; and Markku Reunanen, 3D modelling, photography and research.

The production is part of the Finnish Pavilion at the 1900 Paris World Fair research project conducted by the Systems of Representation research group of the Media Lab. The project has received Tekes funding as part of the MASI modelling and simulation programme. 

Further information:

Professor Lily Díaz, tel. +358 40 725 6925, lily.diaz [at] aalto [dot] fi
Coordinator Markku Reunanen, tel. +358 50 539 3321, markku.reunanen [at] aalto [dot] fi

Systems of Representation: http://paviljonki.mlog.taik.fi/ and http://sysrep.uiah.fi/

Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865–1931). Une passion finlandaise exhibition at the Musée d’Orsay from February 7 to May 6, 2012. http://www.musee-orsay.fr

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