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The making of the visual tour for the grandpalais.fr Web site
Highlight of its new Web site, the 3D virtual tour of the Grand Palais was conceived by the new managing body, EPGPCE, as a way to let the widest possible audience in on some of the building's best-kept secrets. The opportunity to walk round the Grand Palais from one's own home, admire it in full detail, and preview the upcoming developments is the contemporary way to get to know this magical building. As the brand new Web site goes on line, Quadriges offers an exclusive glimpse of the making of the virtual tour.
While the company Eclydre took care of the overall design of the Web site, Kungfuyoga was selected to design the virtual tour of the Grand Palais. The first stage was to photograph the building from just about every angle. This was done by the company Livingstone, which produced all the 3D imagery for Kungfuyoga. Nearly 5,000 shots were used to build up a database which, added to the original architects' drawings from the Grand Palais archives, provided a basis for reconstructing the building in 3D. The next stage was to produce a fine-grained, ultra-realistic textured rendering, fully conveying the visual impact of the sumptuous architecture. At the same time, the desire to give a theatrical quality to the presentation of the Grand Palais, evoking its bustling, wide-ranging events programme, led to the idea of using camera motion just as in the shooting of a film for the cinema. After some fine-tuning and the addition of light and shadow came the final touch: the music. Written specially by François-Eudes Chanfrault, it created a suggestive atmosphere, making use of sound effects evocative of the life of the Grand Palais over the years: the sound of hooves at the horse shows, the shock of boxing gloves at Marcel Cerdan's European welterweight bout…
While the company Eclydre took care of the overall design of the Web site, Kungfuyoga was selected to design the virtual tour of the Grand Palais. The first stage was to photograph the building from just about every angle. This was done by the company Livingstone, which produced all the 3D imagery for Kungfuyoga. Nearly 5,000 shots were used to build up a database which, added to the original architects' drawings from the Grand Palais archives, provided a basis for reconstructing the building in 3D. The next stage was to produce a fine-grained, ultra-realistic textured rendering, fully conveying the visual impact of the sumptuous architecture. At the same time, the desire to give a theatrical quality to the presentation of the Grand Palais, evoking its bustling, wide-ranging events programme, led to the idea of using camera motion just as in the shooting of a film for the cinema. After some fine-tuning and the addition of light and shadow came the final touch: the music. Written specially by François-Eudes Chanfrault, it created a suggestive atmosphere, making use of sound effects evocative of the life of the Grand Palais over the years: the sound of hooves at the horse shows, the shock of boxing gloves at Marcel Cerdan's European welterweight bout…
In all, the work, which lasted six months, involved 20 highly skilled professionals (computer graphics artists and lighters, developers, musicians, actors, photographers), thousands of calculations and photos, and some unexpected problems had to be solved. One of these was the modelling of the quadrigas: "this was the toughest job, much more complex than we at first imagined", explains photographer Jean Silvant. "Seen from below, the quadrigas look easy to reproduce, but look at them more closely and you will see lots of hidden details. Unlike the more porous stone statues, the bronze horses have a smooth finish, so it was hard to find snap points. Consequently, we had to manually position 2,000 points and use 12 photos per quadriga, whereas a more conventional sculpture generally requires just 5 or 6."
However, the project continued to generate as much enthusiasm and excitement. "The Grand Palais effect" was bigger than all the obstacles. The teams involved in the project all agree that the architectural specifics of the building and its outstanding light were a powerful source of motivation: "To work for the Grand Palais is a real privilege. The artistic and technical challenge drove us the extra mile. The end result is that we are at the leading edge in terms of what can be done with the technology on the Web today, combining Flash, video and 3D."
The achievement is on a par with that of the architects who designed the Grand Palais over a hundred years ago. Since then the world has changed, the age of stone has given way to the age of virtual technology. Yet the need to surpass oneself will still be there when the next challenge comes along.
However, the project continued to generate as much enthusiasm and excitement. "The Grand Palais effect" was bigger than all the obstacles. The teams involved in the project all agree that the architectural specifics of the building and its outstanding light were a powerful source of motivation: "To work for the Grand Palais is a real privilege. The artistic and technical challenge drove us the extra mile. The end result is that we are at the leading edge in terms of what can be done with the technology on the Web today, combining Flash, video and 3D."
The achievement is on a par with that of the architects who designed the Grand Palais over a hundred years ago. Since then the world has changed, the age of stone has given way to the age of virtual technology. Yet the need to surpass oneself will still be there when the next challenge comes along.
