HERE FOR EVER CAM
A
PROJECT PROPOSAL
By
MICHAEL NAIMARK
michael@naimark.net
Interactive Media
Division
USC School of
Cinematic Arts
July 2007
CONSIDER
the consequences
of planting a live digital camera firmly in the earth and keeping it there
forever.
First, where?
Let's say public land, places of cultural or physical interest. It would need
to be deeply staked in the ground.
Second, it would
need protection. Someone, or a group, or a government, would need to pledge
custodianship, forever. The best example is the agreement required by the
UNESCO World Heritage Centre of a host government when it names a new site.
Third, the camera
itself would require some novel design considerations. It could be panoramic,
possibly stereo-panoramic, but via a panoramic lens or a pan/tilt head, and if
so, who controls it? Though it represents a single spot, at what height? With
variable height? If it's connected to the Internet, how? And at what speed?
(Perhaps it doesn't matter, since it's there forever!)
Finally, what's
the result? It would certainly provide a powerful visual baseline for long-term
environmental changes. It could also provide "gigapixel" images, possibly
accumulated over time. Perhaps most interesting, it could be used to make
unique "hyper-real" images in which more (or less) can happen within the same
frame. Hence, the actual display interface is a rich and challenging research
project.
POTENTIAL PARTNERS
Long Now
Foundation
National
Geographic Society
UNESCO World
Heritage Centre
EXEMPLARS
"Century Cam" idea
by Sam Raimi
"A Short History
of America" by Robert Crumb (left)
MORE
"World Wide Webs
Cams"
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