2013 Fulldome Festival Diary: "Earthquake", making of

Morrison Planetarium's Director Ryan Wyatt reviewed the storytelling and visualization challenges encountered during the production of Academy's third fulldome production: Earthquake: Evidence of a Restless Planet This 22-minute program introduces audiences to a perspective on Earth as a geologically-active world in which humanity must make choices to ensure its prosperity. Earthquakes are a sort of natural subject for San Francisco, the region where the California Academy of Sciences is based. The city experienced a major earthquake that struck the city as well as the coast of Northern California on April 18, 1906. As a result of the quake and fires, about 3,000 people died and over 80% of San Francisco was destroyed. Ryan Wyatt at the 7th Fulldome Festival To create the film, Academy's Visualization Studio recreated a variety of tools, ranging from a historically-accurate representation of 1906 San Francisco to state-of-the art simulation of ruptures along the San Andreas and Hayward Faults. Seamlessly merging together different technologies – CG, supercomputing simulations, aerial photography, fisheye photography, both historical and high-def video footages, orthographic images, historic insurance maps, etc. – the team produced a highly sophisticated and scientifically accurate fulldome show that teaches audiences about the earthquake. Preview the show from here: Earthquake: Evidence of a Restless Planet, by California Academy of Sciences.

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