A team of Monash Faculty of IT 3D animation graduates coordinated by Tom Chandler has recently completed a series of animations for the National Geographic website to coincide with the magazine’s July story on Angkor. Continuing a long running collaboration with the University of Sydney's Greater Angkor Project, these animations attempt to visualise, and animate, the landscapes and daily life in 13th Angkor, Cambodia. The scenes draw upon a wide range of archaeological and historical data, including bas reliefs (pictorial sculptures), Chinese eye witness accounts, and extensive mapping undertaken by the Greater Angkor Project and the EFEO. In line with the renewed archaeological emphasis on Angkor as medieval metropolis, these animations aim to depict the city beyond the famous temples that have today become a major tourist destination.
The article is located on the National Geographic website at
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/07/angkor/angkor-animation
The animations published on the National Geographic website constitute the visual output of an extensive computer model of Angkor of almost four years in the making, the creation of which would have been impossible without the dedication of a team of Monash IT graduates and digital specialists:
Brent McKee (animation, colouring, lighting, post production), Michael Lim (landscape and architectural modelling, rendering), Chandara Ung (character modelling, texturing, rigging), Janet Saw (vegetation modelling, texturing), Daniel Simmonds (architectural modelling, landscape rendering, testing), Nils Gleissenberger (architectural modelling, texturing), Carol Merlo (architectural modelling, texturing) and Ben Alexander (supporting texturing and modelling).
