Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1992 - 36

QUICK

VIRT

\Cd k T h,

,,~h

.. EF . . . . ENCIE:

":!

w_a.--._..., __

-

---__._-_

-..
--'-"'--'
..... _._.

---_ .. __.. - .
--.

__

_..... _,--

c.-. _ _

~.

~

.. _

...

I~~~~~~~

ill
~

a

I. To release a more advanced (also
higher-priced) version of WalkThrough called Virtus Vision that adds
powerful features to the basic
program, and
2. To write versions of Walk Through
that run on other computers.

~~-----

-

~:-=-::

'".::.:-=--::. .:
-::~-

"._

:---==.. . .1:::-::"_'
:~~~::

_ _...... _.__4.

...
. --_. -- . -- - --

~

T

:
:'

- -

... :::~.

u

~~:~.~.: .~, -..
':"'.:::.. ::..-:

-.

9 .....~ ..
:J

~_

.'_

-:::=. -_-:_ .*.,_.

\TJRTUS
W ALh.rrrHRO

GH

~.:ULOVVS

DESIG ffiRSTO
IN'l~RACT

DIREarLY WITH
REPRESE~~ l-TIO~S

01 TI-IREE-

DillE... TSIO~ AL
OBJECTS.

34

1992 SUMMER

TD&T

growing number of small companies
ourside the California marrix, resides in
that fertile area of research and
development named the Research
Triangle Park, the rough boundary of
which is determined by three small cities
in orth Carolina: Chapel Hill, Raleigh,
and Durham. (Chapel Hill is the home
of the University of North Carolina,
which suPPOrtS one of this country's
most advanced centers for virtual realit\'
C's approach
technology. Although
to virtual reality is based on expensive
hardware, Virtu's program is oftware
based.)
Ar the present time, Virtus's entire
public offering consists of one product:
Virtus Walk Through, a program written
for Macintosh computers. In the spring
of 1992, however, Virtus plans twO
Important events:

Virrus will continue development of
WalkThrough as an independent
program geared to the needs of those
who do not require the advanced
features of Virtus Vision. The smaller
version, quite probably, will remain the
program most scenographic designers
need to work ou t basic concepts and
designs.
Walk Through allows designers to
interact directly with representations of
three-dimensional objects in the same
manner as they would in the real world
in real time. By guiding the program's
observer-the cursor of the input device
used-designers can take the eye to any
conceivable van rage point; view points
are virtually unlimited. Almost
instantaneously the designer can obtain
an accurate perspective rendering of a
setting from any point of view.
For instance, changing the viewpoint
from the center of the auditorium
(Figure 1) to an overhead view that
shows the floor plan in perspective
(Figure 2-headers of arches tcmporarily
removed) is accomplished in the time it
takes ro move the cursor. Even this
forcshortened view proves helpful to
many directors who have difficulty
visualizing plans as they exist in threedimensional spacc. Other vantage
points-such as those shown in Figurcs
3 and 4-arc as casily obtainablc.
It is even possiblc to look on to the

stage from the wings as shown in Figure
5. (A useful option of this program is the
ability to temporarily render portions of
the model rransparent-such as the stage
right side of the proscenium arch shown
in Figure 3-in order ro see objects
hidden from view. This option is
accomplished
by selecring the
proscenium side and double-clicking on
the rransparent icon in the Walk View
window tool paller.)
i\lost remarkable of all, what the
screen shows is identical to rhe view seen
were the viewer standing on the actual
stage. Complete three-dimensional
designs are possible in minutes and
hours, not days or weeks. Technical
problems-such as sighrlines and
platform level heights-can be tested in
the ti me it takes to move the screen's
cursor to a new position. Since
Walk Through computer-graphic models
are comparable in every way to
tradi tionally consrructed ones, real-world
model makers can quickly test alternative
forms and spacial relationships before
consrrucring their physical counterparts.
Three-dimensional applications are
nororiously confusing to many users,
even to those experienced in other
computer-graphic applications; some few
programs-very few-are relatively
accessible. Of these, \'(la/k T1J1'ough ranks
high. The prImary reason for
\'(/alk Through's accessibility is because the
program's format generally obeys a
primary precept for Macintosh
applications; i.e., the interface of the
program is easy to understand and the
methods of work it requires mirror realworld practices. For computer artists, an
interface is well-designed to the extent it
mimics the drawing practices used in
real-world studios.
\'(Ialk Through-to use a com mon
computer term-is user-friend~y. Its
interface is geared to the way many
manual-graphics designers think; that is,
in terms of plans and elevations (front,
back, side, rear). In \'(/alk Through, these
views are directly accessible through the
use of keyboard shorr cuts (Command-T equals plan view, Command-F
equals front elcvation view, Command-R equals right elevarion vicw,
etc.).
Figure 6 shows \'(la/k Through's basic
screen, which consists of three independent windows. These are:

1.

The Tool Palette: (tools and
modifiers), which includes a Color
Selector, the La)'ers List, and
JlldimtiollS (which show the coordinatc posirions of the cursor).
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 1992
