Exploring the Naumachia of Parc Monceau with Minsar : Part 1
Context
This is the first part of a four-part article presenting the technical and conceptual work-through of the experience:
- Part 1 — Context
The building itself, why I chose it for my experimentation and what were the goals of the experience. - Part 2 — How I found and chose the assets
The search for the assets, and why I chose them - Part 3 — How to optimize 3D models for real time applications
Basic concepts to use when you know very little about 3D modeling for real time applications - Part 4 — How I prepared the scene in Blender before importing it in Minsar for the final result
Temporary workaround in Blender, and experience crafting in Minsar!
What is this “Naumachia” place?
An enchanting view of a pond encircled by nature, and dominated by the remnants of some long lost civilization. It seems to be coming straight from the interpretation of a 19th century romantic painter. Actually, this place is standing in one of the most visited cities in the world: Paris. Called “Naumachia”, it is located near the entrance of Parc Monceau. In Ancient Rome, a Naumachia was a large pool where naval battles shows were displayed. Due to the complexity of organizing such an event, with enough room for the show itself but also for the spectators, it was an exceptional moment, privilege only to the emperors. The word “Naumachia” refers both to the show and to the building itself.
The Naumachia of Parc Monceau does not date back to roman antiquity, though. It is really a reconstruction ordered by Philippe Egalité in the 18th century. As a matter of fact, it was built with the remains of the Rotonde des Valois (which was supposed to hold Catherine de Medici and Henri the 2nd’s tomb), which was unfinished and dismantled in 1719. The Naumachia of Parc Monceau itself was never finished.
First goal: give some context to the monument
I wanted to propose a schematic restitution of an antique Naumachia, in order to give some context to that monument and give an idea of the spirit of that kind of event. Indeed, the Naumachia of Parc Monceau is an imitation of antique Naumachias, it is not an authentic roman Naumachia. As a result, I wanted to imitate that spirit, and think my experience as a reconstruction of a reconstruction. In this perspective, I wanted to deal with a question which is essential in my PhD research: the relationship between artistic reinterpretation and historical facts. As a matter of fact while preparing and building the experience, I found that I was constantly wondering how much degree of historic exactitude I wanted compared with my artistic choices, and how I could avoid making the public believe in false information.
Second goal: put Minsar to the test
Minsar, by Opuscope, is a platform for creating and distributing 3D experiences in Mixed or Virtual Reality, without any technical expertise. It allows users to be fully immersed in a creation environment, whether purely virtual or anchored to the real world. Designed to be highly cross-platform, Minsar aims at democratizing the creation in Mixed and Virtual Reality, which remains a highly technical and complex task. It is not, however, a 3D-modeling tool: you have to create or download your own models on the internet before importing them in Minsar.
I have been working for Minsar for about two years now, and as cultural and artistic project researcher, one of my missions is to imagine and research possibilities and experimentations in Culture and Art fields particularly. As a result, the second goal of this Naumachia experience was to put Minsar to the test in the idea of making a 3D experience quickly and publish it. This led to thinking about what degree of “perfection” I wanted, or personal polish. Also, it stressed out the fact that Minsar still lacks some important functionalities such as accepting any type of format, or a parenting system. These functionalities, by the way, will be developed very soon.
A place between cultural heritage and Minsar’s history
Cultural Heritage has always been a strong preoccupation for Minsar. But why this place, precisely? Well it has a strong symbolic value: it is the place we chose for our very first promotional video, exactly three years ago, when Opuscope was created. At the time of course, Minsar was still mostly a dream in our heads, and we were at the start of its development. So as I was searching for a place in Paris where I could play with Minsar for my research, this one seemed obvious to me. First I was looking for a relatively calm, unknown place in Paris. Second, I wanted that place to hold some history, some interesting fact worth telling and that would justify the use of 3D elements. Thirdly, I thought it would be particularly interesting to recreate that experience showed in our very first video, but this time with Minsar, to fully grasp how far we had come in the development of our software.
In this first part, we have seen how and why I chose the Naumachia of Parc Monceau in order to create an experience with Minsar, and what exactly is that place. In the second part, I’ll tell you about how I found and chose the assets.
