USC Images Help Build Nova Documentary
Courtesy of Institute for Creative Technologies
The footage was created by a team led by Paul Debevec, an internationally recognized computer scientist and inventor at USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies.
The photorealistic imagery was built from digital photography, lighting measurements and three-dimensional laser scans captured in Athens, London, Paris and Basel to accurately record the structure and appearance of the Parthenon and its sculptures.
The final imagery – realistically depicting the structure as it stands today and its appearance during the golden age of ancient Greece – relied on numerous technological innovations in high dynamic range imaging, realistic lighting simulation and surface reflectance measurement.
Produced by Providence Pictures, the PBS series Nova depicts the first official restoration of one of the world’s best-known buildings. “Secrets of the Parthenon” tells the story of restoration efforts of the temple originally constructed for Athena, the goddess of wisdom, by the ancient Greeks.
The partnership with Providence Pictures demonstrates USC’s position as a leading university in digital entertainment technologies and highlights the role that major research universities can play in helping society achieve maximum impact with new ideas.
“Secrets of the Parthenon” will air Tuesday, Jan. 29 at 8 p.m. on KCET.
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USC in the News
for 2/8/2012 »-
The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned USC’s $6 billion fundraising campaign. The story noted that USC had already raised $1 billion in a “quiet phase,” including the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College.
The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted two major gifts to USC in a list of the 10 biggest philanthropic benefactors in America. The list included the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
The New York Times featured the USC U.S.-China Institute documentary “Assignment: China — The Week that Changed the World.” The documentary, part of a series, examines media coverage of the 1972 Nixon trip that reshaped U.S.-China relations after a quarter century of isolation and hostility. “People look back now and take it for granted that the outcome was preordained,” said the institute’s Mike Chinoy, who produced the documentary. Voice of America also featured the story.
Los Angeles Times featured the Oscar Senti-meter, a tool developed by the USC Annenberg School, Los Angeles Times and IBM that analyzes thousands of tweets about the Academy Awards nominees. The story noted that Mexican actor Demian Bechir received an enormous boost on Twitter the day of the nominations, with a total of 6,893 tweets mentioning him, a 47-fold increase from the day before. The story noted the tool uses language-recognition technology developed in collaboration with USC Viterbi School’s Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab.
The Times of India (India) featured a three-day medical emergency training workshop organized in association with USC. At the workshop, held at GCS Medical College in India, 50 doctors and more than 100 paramedics learned how to improve emergency support systems. William Mallon of the Keck School of USC said that discussion topics included the use of portable ultrasonic devices to scan patients. “The ultrasound applications help physicians make accurate and timely decisions,” he noted. Daily News & Analysis (India) also featured the workshop.
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