Data POV   Data POV   Data POV  
                       
                       
    Data POV (Point of View) is an experiment exploring the virtual camera as a medium for information visualization. This project started because of the frustration caused by the traditional use of cinematography in 3d environments. In Data POV the camera is able to move and change its angle and viewing frustum in response to the data from the "We Stand for Peace & Justice" (WSPJ) database.

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Virtual Camera   Virtual Camera Tool   A simple virtual camera application has been designed to better experiment with the camera properties. It provides a subjective camera to play with basic cinematographic methods such as camera angle, subject size, camera height, pan and tracking. It enables the creating and recording of simple cinematographic compositions.

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    Advancement of production techniques in cinema and 3d animation has allowed a reconfigured sense in digital moving images. But the qualities of camera usage in virtual environments are considered as they are in the real world cameras, where their techniques and discourse are well understood through cinematography. The camera in virtual 3d space has a potential to rework with new conditions and parameters redefining its motion and vision. The camera in a virtual environment, has the potential to transform the way information is perceived.

Inspired by Anthony Caro's way of viewing a sculpture from multiple angles, why not explore the camera as something that can have a behavior while it explores abstract sculptures and spaces? It is an approach that focuses as much on the object as the camera itself, which constructs dynamic abstract visuals. This project defines the concept of information visualization with computed camera as a unique category of expression for its discussion and evaluation.

While the camera is moving on geometric paths, its angle (fov) and speed are changing according to the cultural data provided from the "We Stand for Peace & Justice" project (WSPJ). The statement on the WSPJ website http://www.zmag.org/wspj is translated into various languages, and people sign the statement adding their names and countries. The number of signatures from each country and the data about internet usage of these countries provide the raw material for the visualization in this project. The mapping between the data and the camera properties is done as this:
	Fov of the camera = Signatures for each country in the WSPJ database
	Speed of the camera = Internet users / Population
The application switches to a different country at every 10 seconds, changing the camera properties according to the formulation above. The resulting system evokes a qualitative sense from quantitative information.
 
                       
                       
                       
Related

Bill Tomlinson's "camera creature" is a character that has a behavior like the other characters in a movie. Tomlinson, W. "Interactivity and Emotion through Cinematography." Master's Thesis. MIT Media Arts and Sciences. 1999.

John Cage's film 'One11' and the musical piece '103' (1992) run in parallel composed of 17 parts and 1300 random operations devised by a computer. Motion, angle, and ligthning are controlled by a computer in an empty television studio.

Dziga Vertov. Man with a Movie Camera. 1929.

Sergei Eisenstein. Battleship Potemkin. 1925.