Visual Media within exhibitions

Further research into the topic of moving picture in the context of exhibitions

The idea to integrate the moving image into our daily environment is not new: Especially since the invention of the moving image. Nowadays you will find moving images in public transport, in museums or in our hands – in other words: everywhere. Also its technology is developing rapidly, so that it feels like something which was new yesterday can be already old today. These swift innovation cycles have an enormous impact on the designing process in every field. In this blog entry I will have a closer look on the moving image and its usage within the field of exhibitions. But beforehand I will discuss shortly some useful parameters which are very much relevant while working with digital visual media and spacial environments.

Some specific parameters shortly explained

Resolution

Every digital image is constructed out of different pixel, which vary in brightness and colour. In order for the human eye to register the 2D-grid arrangement as an image, it has to have a certain density of pixels (The more pixels, better the resolution). Another variable for the resolution is the distance between the viewer and the monitor. When the viewer is too near to monitor, they only will see dancing light points. But, probably the most important variable for the resolution is the capability of the human eye, which of course differs between human to human.

Circle of Confusion

A useful term used in photography and optics to mention is the circle of confusion (CoC). The term describes the area on the camera sensor or film where a point of light is recorded as a blur instead of a point. In other words, it is the smallest circle that a point can be imaged as, which still appears acceptably sharp to the human eye. This circle of confusion is influenced by various factors, including the lens aperture, focal length, subject distance, and the size of the camera’s sensor or film. Generally, a smaller circle of confusion is considered better as it produces sharper images with more detail. The concept of the circle of confusion is particularly important when considering the depth of field in photography and film. It helps determine the acceptable range of distance in an image that appears sharp, both in front of and behind the focused point. By controlling the size of the circle of confusion, photographers and filmmakers can manipulate the depth of field and achieve desired effects in their still/ moving images. Within viewing experiences in spacial settings, it always depends on the viewer’s distance to the display. In order to get good results for many different occasions, there is a useful rule of thumb: < 1 mm of pixel size per 1 meter viewing distance.

Contrast and colour

Another important factor for the perception of image based media is contrast and colour. Especially for this case, there are 3 criteria which are crucial while working with images in spacial environments. They are the following:

• Contrast range: Humans have already a presumption from reality which range of contrast something has to have to feel real. Contrast is the difference between the brightest and darkest pixel among digital visual media. In general, the more contrast exists, the more custom quality an image has. Alone to graphics this rule does not directly apply. Usually graphics have an advantage next to images when there is not a great contrast range.
• Colour gamut: The colour gamut describes how widespread and nuanced the colour display of digital media is.
• Surrounding-media-contrast: The perceived contrast range is dependent on the brightness or darkness of its surroundings. If it is too bright or too white the observer will register the displayed image as glaring. If the image is too dark for the environment, there will not be white displayed and therefore the range of contrast will be registered as too shallow.

Frequency

Film is the sequencing of still images. In order for people to see movement in an image sequence, it needs to reach certain frequency. Frequency is either measured by Hertz (Hz) or Frames per Second (fps). Also frequency heavily relies on the type of displayed movement and the quality.

Already with 12 to 15 fps, small images or small movements will be seen as fluent motion. Traditional film cameras record either in 24 fps, 25 fps or 30 fps. If in need for a more smooth display of motion 50 fps or 60 fps are the standard. For even bigger image areas with faster motion and strong contrasts there will be more fps needed in order to display a fluent viewing experience. If the object is too fast there will be motion blur, which enhances the softness of the motion.

Visual media in the context of spacial environments

The german word „Mediatektur“ is a compound word of Architektur (architecture) and Medien (media). In the field of Mediatektur the space is orchestrated with the help of digital media/ images. So the real space will be expanded with virtual space in many different ways.

The cooperation between digital media and space and form takes primarily place within two sections: the virtualisation of meaning and the virtualisation of the spacial geometry.

• Virtualisation of meaning: The virtualisation of meaning is an existing space/ form which meaning is extended by digital media. Examples for this phenomenon are a wall which is transformed to a digital canvas or a chimney to thermometer. In conclusion a corpus gets a virtual identity and adopts the functions of that identity.
• Virtualisation of the spacial geometry: The term virtualisation of spatial geometry means that the geometry of an object is altered with the help of digital media in such a way as to create an optical illusion. This can range from small changes to the complete dissolution of the physically existing geometry.

In both cases there are 3 different ways/ directions, which can be useful when it comes to designing media for spacial environments.

1. Expansion: The virtual world extends the real world without replacing the existing real form with a virtual one. Space and form will be charged solely with meaning.
2. Expansion and partial dissolution: It means that a designed cooperation between real and digital elements receive a meaning and hence take up a key role in the experience. Also, the virtual dissolves partial the real space/ form. An example for such a case is project mapping, which is guided by the already existing physical attributes and which from time to time dissolves it.
3. Complete dissolution: Complete dissolution is the abandonment of any real form within a immersive experience. The reality dissolves itself to make space for the virtual world like VR glasses. Meaning in this case is not bound to the physical space.

To conclude my blog entry I will end with a quote by Andrea Rostásy and Tobias Sievers. This quote sums up the previous discussed aspects and also showcases that at the end the only thing that counts is the perfect designed cooperation between the different components to create a cohesive experience.

„Während Mediatektur im funktionalen Gestaltungsaspekt durch eine assoziative Formaussage ihre Intention einlöst, leben die weiteren beschriebenen Gestaltungsaspekte – Material und Oberfläche, Raum sowie Form und Objekt – davon, dem Zuschauer Virtuelles als Teil seiner realen Erfahrung zu vermitteln. Dabei ist das Ausmaß der virtuellen Illusion nicht entscheidend für das Erlebnis – im Gegenteil ergeben sich die interessanten und eleganten Lösungen dort, wo sich das Erlebnis vom Realem und Virtuellem ergänzt, wo Form und Medium ein magischen Zusammenspiel finden“.

„While Mediatektur fulfills its intention in the functional aspect of design by means of an associative statement of form, the other design aspects described – material and surface, space as well as form and object –live on conveying the virtual to the viewer as part of their real experience. The extent of the virtual illusion is not decisive for the experience – on the contrary, the interesting and elegant solutions arise where the experience of the real and the virtual complement each other, where form and medium find a magical interplay“.

Rostásy, Sievers 2018, S.175

Used literature:

Rostásy, Andrea; Tobias Sievers (2018): „Handbuch Mediatektur – Medien, Raum und Interaktion als Einheit gestalten, Methoden und Instrumente“. Bielefeld: transcript Verlag.