Please note change of date: this talk will now be held a week earlier on 29th May!
Dr Nick Lodge is a former head of R&D for the UK’s commercial TV sector, has a PhD in digital HDTV, an MBA in the exploitation of technology and is a Fellow of the Institution
of Engineering & Technology and of the Royal Television Society.
At the cinema we may sometimes suspend reality for a while and feel that we are part of the on-screen action, experiencing sweating and a fast heartbeat just as though we really were being chased by dinosaurs or about to fall off a tall building. What is happening? And how can we trick the senses even more in order to harness this ‘immersive’ effect for entertainment purposes? These questions have been explored for over a century and have given rise to a strange and exciting collection of immersive media of which today’s stereoscopic 3D movies are just one. They also represent part of a serious and growing branch of psychology known as ‘presence’ which is creating alarmingly immersive experiences for such applications as teaching, museums, gaming and visual communications.
In his entertaining presentation Dr Nick Lodge will look at the history of immersive media since 1903, describing the eccentric cinema paraphernalia of the 1950s (Cinerama, stereoscopy, Smell-o-Vision, Aromarama, Percepto, Sensurround and others). He will then come right up to-date with a look at the latest in ultra high definition and holographic TV systems currently under development. During the Olympics three UK city centres will see live events in (Japanese) ultra high definition television for the first time in Britain – with twice the resolution of I-MAX it is remarkable. Without leaving the comfort of your armchair you may soon feel like you have a front row seat at Wimbledon or watching your favourite rock band performing live!
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