The Parthenon
SIGGRAPH 2004 Electronic Theater
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Abstract:
In this paper we overview the technology and production processes used to create "The Parthenon", a short computer animation that visually reunites the Parthenon and its sculptural decorations, separated since the beginning of the 19th century. The film used combinations of time-of-flight laser scanning, structured light scanning, photometric stereo, inverse global illumination, photogrammetric modeling, imagebased rendering, BRDF measurement, and monte-carlo global illumination in order to create the twenty-some shots used in the film.
Related Publications:
- Chris Tchou. Image-Based Models: Geometry and Reflectance Acquisition Systems. UC Berkeley Master's Thesis. December 2002.
- Jessi Stumpfel, Christopher Tchou, Nathan Yun, Philippe Martinez, Timothy Hawkins, Andrew Jones, Brian Emerson, Paul Debevec. Digital Reunification of the Parthenon and its Sculptures, 4th International Symposium on Virtual Reality, Archaeology and Intelligent Cultural Heritage, Brighton, UK, 2003.
- Per Einarsson, Tim Hawkins, Paul Debevec. Photometric Stereo for Archeological Inscriptions. SIGGRAPH 2004 Sketch, Los Angeles, July 2004.
- Tim Hawkins. Modelling from Multiple Photographs Using Points and Silhouettes. SIGGRAPH 2004 Poster, Los Angeles, July 2004.
- Jessi Stumpfel, Andrew Jones, Andreas Wenger, and Paul Debevec. Direct HDR Capture of the Sun and Sky, 3rd International Conference on Virtual Reality, Computer Graphics, Visualization and Interaction in Africa, Stellenbosch (Cape Town), South Africa, November 2004.
- Paul Debevec, Chris Tchou, Andrew Gardner, Tim Hawkins, Charis Poullis, Jessi Stumpfel, Andrew Jones, Nathaniel Yun, Per Einarsson, Therese Lundgren, Marcos Fajardo, and Philippe Martinez. Estimating Surface Reflectance Properties of a Complex Scene under Captured Natural Illumination, USC ICT Technical Report ICT-TR-06.2004, December 2004.
- Paul Debevec. Making "The Parthenon"., 6th International Symposium on Virtual Reality, Archaeology, and Cultural Heritage, Pisa, Italy, December 2005.
Projects Featuring USC ICT's Parthenon Models and Renderings:
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Costa-Gavras film "All Around is Light" for the Cultural Olympiad preceeding the 2004 Olympics in Athens |  |
NHK's "The Parthenon: Treasure of Wisdom and Beauty", Japan (2004) |
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MacGillivray Freeman's IMAX movie Greece: Secrets of the Past (2006) In collaboration with Matte World Digital |
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The Louvre Museum's new Parthenon room (2007) |
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NOVA's Secrets of the Parthenon (2008) |
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National Geographic's Treasure Wars (2008) |
For commercial licensing opportunities, please contact the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation.