(Partly) OT : NASA video projection onto 6-foot sphere

Might be of interest to some :

This landed in my mail from the NASA mailing list.

I'm sure somebody will chip in to say it's already been done, but I
thought it was a nice idea and the movie is available to the public
internationally (that is, as long as you're in either the USA or
Strasbourg, France !)

Cheers - Neil


>RELEASE: 09-063
>
>NASA DEBUTS UNIQUE MOVIE ON A SPHERE ABOUT FROZEN EARTH

>
>WASHINGTON -- NASA has created a unique "spherical" movie about
>Earth's changing ice and snow cover as captured by NASA spacecraft.
>"Frozen," a 12-minute, narrated film, premieres at science centers
>and museums March 27.
>
>For more information about "Frozen," including a list of locations
>showing the film, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/frozen
>
>For information about the first NASA Science on a Sphere movie,
>"Footprints," visit:
>http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/visitor/exhibits/footprints.html
>
>
>NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., produced the
>film for the "Science on a Sphere" projection system, a fully
>spherical video technology developed by the National Oceanic and
>Atmospheric Administration. The six-foot spheres are installed in
>more than 30 locations around the world.
>
>Ice covers about 20 percent of the Earth's surface and plays a major
>role in the world's climate. NASA operates a sophisticated fleet of
>spacecraft that make global measurements of ice and snow in remote
>and treacherous locations not easily accessible to scientists on the
>ground. Data from these NASA satellites play a critical role in
>climate change research.
>
>"Frozen" probes all parts of Earth where water exists in solid form as
>snow or ice, known as the cryosphere. The movie takes viewers from
>the everyday experience of sensing heat and cold to a discussion of
>how satellites "see" heat and cold with advanced sensors. It then
>projects dramatic displays of satellite data of Earth, including
>changing Arctic sea ice and global snow cover, onto the sphere.
>Images generated by NASA's Aqua satellite and the Landsat series are
>featured in "Frozen."
>
>"With 'Frozen,' we're not only breaking new ground in terms of
>spherical filmmaking but also transforming an otherwise technical
>subject into a powerful and poetic drama about the state of Earth,"
>said Goddard's Michael Starobin, one of the film's producers.
>
>Science on a Sphere uses a six-foot diameter carbon fiber sphere that
>hangs in a dark theater surrounded by four projectors. A computer
>system drives video content for the projectors to create a seamless
>image around the sphere.
>
>"Science on a Sphere is a powerful and exciting new medium for telling
>all sorts of stories," said Starobin, who also produced and directed
>"Footprints," NASA's first movie for the system in 2006.
"Footprints"
>explored the origin of hurricanes, the origin of gamma ray bursts and
>the human imperative to ask hard questions. NASA installed its first
>sphere at Goddard in 2006.
>
>NOAA originally conceived Science on a Sphere to help illustrate Earth
>science principles by showing planet-wide data. Museums and
>universities have created hundreds of data visualizations for the
>platform since it first debuted in NOAA facilities, providing
>educational opportunities for millions of visitors. However, very few
>fully produced, narrated movies have been developed for the system.
>
>"Frozen" marks the next step in the evolution of spherical
>filmmaking," Starobin said. "It moves the technology of the craft to
>new levels and, more importantly, tackles a single subject and uses
>the unique shape of the screen to discuss that subject in new ways.
>For example, where a flat screen only provides a sense of the remote,
>obscure scale of polar regions, a spherical presentation shows just
>how vast these places are. It highlights global processes in an
>orientation that matches reality."

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