Jason E. Steed and Professor Linda Sullivan, Visual Arts

On receiving my ORCA Scholarship funding, I began development for an interactive multimedia CD ROM project for the BYU Museum of Art. I presented my research and proposal to David Hawkinson, photographer for the museum, and he offered me insight as to where the emphasis of this project should be placed. I directed my scope to one exhibit, 150 Years of American Painting from 1794-1944. This is the only permanent collection at the museum, and all property and copyrights are owned by the MOA.

In February I met with the museum board of directors to present my research and the structure of the project. We discussed elements that I could adapt in order to create a project that could possibly be distributed by the museum as a promotional or educational supplement to the exhibit. We discussed that this project could range anywhere from a $1,000 to a $500,000 budget. I had to keep in mind that my emphasis was to present a working product which adapted good design and organization. At the same time, all my documentation had to be thorough and accurate, as this project may be sold as a viable product.

I spent a great deal of my time learning the multimedia authoring software, Mtropolis, which was my main tool in developing and presenting this project. The ORCA scholarship funded this software as well as other necessary accessories such as photographing the rooms and paintings of the gallery. As this project was extremely time consuming with regards to mechanics (programming, photographing, image digitizing), I had to budget time for attention to good visual layout. After all, aesthetic design was the basis for my senior project.

The CD ROM is structured as an appendage to the American Paintings exhibit. It is a digital version of the 150 page catalog sold in the museum gift shop. It offers further features, however, such as audio and full-motion graphics. A main feature of the CD ROM is the Virtual Gallery. This is a 3D rendering of all 7 of the gallery rooms that make up the exhibit. This feature was programmed with a Panoramic VR applet to allow the user to use mouse navigation to view 360 degrees of each room. Background music, the whispering of voices and shuffling feet added to the effect of the actual gallery experience. The project included audio narrative biographies of some of the painters, a timeline, and a slide show of all of the paintings in full screen resolution.

I faced several unexpected challenges with this project. I learned that working with people was very unpredictable yet very essential. As this project had the potential of being sold to museum patrons. The board of directors had specific needs. And, in keeping this project to a reasonable budget and timescale, I knew that not everyone else would be 100% pleased with the outcome. This project taught me to prioritize based on the needs of people involved and the overall purpose of my senior project.

Figure A: Main navigation screen. Search the 5 main sections featured in this project.
Figure B: Alphabetical artist search, View all artists and paintings alphabetically or by era.
Figure C: Virtual gallery introduction screen. Navigate through all 7 gallery rooms with
Panorama VR.
Figure D: Slide Show introduction screen. Click through all of the paintings in
chronological order.
Figure E: Timeline main screen. View all artists and paintings pertaining to a specific style
or era.
Figure F: Artist screen and biography. Learn specifics about each artist and painting