ICCI360 Rotunda

In collaboration with the International Panorama Council and the Stiftung Panorama Altötting, ICCI were invited to the 23rd International Panorama Conference in Altötting near Munich in southern Germany in September.

The conference attracted delegates from academic institutions and cultural and heritage organisations worldwide, including China, Australia, Brazil, Europe and America and received excellent media coverage from regional radio and TV broadcasts and newspaper articles, all featuring the Rotunda and Plymouth University’s 360 research activities.

Academic papers with the conference’s theme of ‘The Panoramic Experience: Real – Virtual – Spiritual’ were presented by Dave Hotchkiss, Udo Hudelmaier and Dr  David Hilton. The ICCI360 Rotunda was also transported to Germany for its first overseas event and constructed within the Kultur and Kongress Forum conference venue, hosting the opening ceremony of the conference for delegates, official representatives and dignitaries and screening 360 degree productions throughout the conference.

Dr. David Hilton showcased his latest 360 production: ‘Sound View’, which focuses on views from Plymouth landmarks and explores how film can articulate meaning and engagement in the 360 context and also presented a paper to the conference relating to one of his earlier 360 degree productions, Ingenium Quis Habitat.

Dave Hotchkiss’s paper considered the ICCI360 Rotunda as ‘A Touring Panorama for the 21st Century’ and how, new technological developments and a rise in awareness of the panoramic format through computer gaming and camera development has rekindled the 360 format and encouraged a new generation of panoramic artists.

Udo Hudelmaier’s paper focused on ‘the 360˚ Panorama format as a platform for animations as an art form’ and linked the potential of the format to early abstract animation techniques. Special thanks go to Sarah Hemingway (ICCI Administrator) for her amazing support in getting us all there and making everything run so smoothly!

Working with the IPC Executive Board, the ICCI team were able to source high quality images of 24 painted panoramas from around the world and convert them into a 360 degree film entitled ‘Wonders of Panorama’. The production was a great success with delegates and the public and gave a unique opportunity to view multiple historic panoramas in their original rotunda format.

Following the conference, the ICCI 360 Rotunda presented a selection of 360 degree film productions from ICCI’s extensive catalogue of work, as part of European Heritage Day and attracted over 300 visitors with overwhelmingly positive responses to their experience.

Dave Hotchkiss has said

‘Installing the ICCI360 Rotunda in Altötting as part of the IPC Conference was an amazing opportunity for us and allowed us to establish new, and extend our existing links around the world. It also provided a great opportunity for us to showcase the potential of the 360 format as a creative medium for artists and designers, as an educational, audience engagement and interpretation format for museums or other public facing organisations and for commercial/corporate communication. We look forward to working with the IPC colleagues again in the future’

Newly appointed IPC President Sara Velas said:

‘Your (ICCIs) significant presence at the conference was a great addition and we were impressed both with how much you’ve done on the project so far and for the far-reaching potential for the medium’s future. It was wonderful that the conference participants could experience the ICCI rotunda format first hand. Your project helped spark many discussions about the panorama’s past, present and future.’

Further collaborations include the development and dissemination of a conference publication and the potential of future 360 installations and projects are already evolving from our discussions with delegates and contacts.

We are still missing a few conference presentations and request that delegates forward their presentations and any supporting information to us as soon as possible so we can include it in our dissemination planning.

Many thanks

ICCI Team