| |
| 5th DomeFest: Finalists and Prizewinners from Germany |
| |
| Domefest and FullDome-Festival |
| |
The fulldome medium is still very young. With planetariums nearly being the only theaters for fulldome shows, it is natural that most productions for 360° dome projection are centered on astronomical topics. But the new medium is unique also for the artistic examination of nature, the environment, culture, and history. Two festivals are devoted to promoting the fulldome medium: the DomeFest in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, and the FullDome Festival in Jena, Germany. Both present short pieces produced by students as well as by professional authors and have the best productions singled out by a jury. Among insiders, the Albuquerque's "Domie" ranks as the "Oscar of Fulldomers", and the Jena Festival Award conveys a reputation for outstanding achievements. While having much in common, the two festivals have their special traits: In Jena, the main emphasis from the beginning has been on student pieces, whereas the DomeFest includes discussions on fulldome technologies and developments, presentations of new shows, and in-depth debates on the means and methods used in the making of particular productions.
From 2010, the Jena FullDome Festival will also include full-length pieces. This will be done in collaboration with the Planetarium of Espinho (Portugal), which initiated the "Immersive Film Festival". Unlike films shown in movie theaters, such shows will last between 30 and 45 minutes. Submissions can earn an Audience Award and a Jury Award. Carl Zeiss will again offer three prizes for the best student pieces.
| "Domies" for German DomeFest submissions |
| |
If there was something like a country-by-country comparison, Germany would have won the Gold Medal at the 5th DomeFest. The festival, which ran from September 25th to 27th, presented 14 productions selected by a US-American jury of experts. The six finalists from Germany selected by the jury comprised both student and professional productions. US, Australian and UK productions also made it to the final list. That Germans did exceedingly well surprised even the experts.
Two of the coveted "Domies" were won by students. The film "Rising" received the "Best Students Piece" award. For the five-minute piece, the student group of the Bauhaus University of Weimar (Germany) under the direction of Heino Weissflog had spent several months at the computer to create a complete virtual 3D world. Only the actors were real – they were filmed in a "Blue Box" at the TV studio of the University's Media Faculty and then mounted into the piece.
The other "Domie" won by a student was for the "Best Experimental" and went to the movie collage "Chaos, Cosmos, Mu!" by Matthias Winckelmann of the HFG Offenbach (Academy of Art and Design). The film reflects on the relations of chaos and order in the world, presenting scenes of our seemingly chaotic but still well-structured environment.
"LUCCA" is the title of a black-and-white Kandinsky-style collage presented by Michaela Honauer, also of the Bauhaus University, and produced on the occasion of the Bauhaus' 90th Anniversary in 2009. The show resurrects, in a modern way, Kandinsky's legendary matchstick men inspired by the ballet dancer Palucca. Like "Rising" and "Chaos, Cosmos, Mu!", LUCCA is a contribution of the last Jena FullDome Festival to the DomeFest – which makes up a total of three shows first presented at Jena that made it to the final stage at the DomeFest 2009!
Other German finalists were "Tarota", an excerpt from the most sophisticated and professional animated musical cartoon "Voices in the Dark" by Dramatico/Mindgames (winner of the "Best of Show" Domie), and excerpts of the captivating new show "Darwin and His Fabulous Orchids" by Ralph Heinsohn, which was produced with sponsoring from the Volkswagen Stiftung at the Kiel University of Applied Sciences (Mediendom).
| First Bachelor title for fulldome productions |
| |
At the Bauhaus University in Weimar (Germany) in October, the fulldome technology was, for the first time worldwide, the subject of Bachelor examinations. Andre Wünscher and Nadja Prahl of the University's "Media Design" study course successfully presented and defended their final examination works at Jena's Zeiss Planetarium. Well done!
Back to top | |
|