In the past year, so much of our entertainment has been stripped away from us due to the ongoing pandemic; live theatre, gallery shows, cinema, and sports. And while a significant part of our community has been restricted due to social distancing, Paradise Valley Community College continues to discover innovative and creative ways to keep our students’ learning moving forward, while also engaging community members virtually to celebrate their work.
Ryan Wentzel Technical director for PVCC’s Center for Performing Arts (CPA) in collaboration with PVCC Professor David Bradley are currently testing photogrammetry and 3D scanning to bring student’s artwork to life in a 3D environment where people can view art pieces entirely as if it was right in front of you. The Chinese Art Gallery is the first collection the two have tackled with promising results.
“This project is still in the beginning stages of development, however, the test scans and photo shoots thus far have yielded success,” said Wentzel. “We are very excited to be bringing this feature to students and viewers, and as we move forward with this project and more students return to campus, we will start to add some of their work as well.”
Photogrammetry uses photography to survey and map the artwork, measuring the distances between objects. Using multiple cameras and an old Xbox One Kinect, the team is able to use scan mapping and hundreds of high resolution 2D photos of an object to assemble a mesh and re-create photo-realistic 3D models.
Besides creating the ability to share art in the virtual space, the 3D gallery also helps professors and students easily view and manipulate the 3D scanned models of the artwork, which aids in-class lectures that are held virtually as well.
PVCC’s Theatre Department has found similar creative ways to keep students performing and audiences captivated. Last semester, PVCC thespians recorded a collection of ghost story monologues, which were successfully streamed at a later date. Students also adapted and modernized radio scripts for theatre streamed live, which can be viewed here.
Follow PVCC’s instagram @PVCC_official for future performances, shows, and events.