The emergence of ‘destination cinema’ and the proliferation of large-format screens in public spaces present a challenge – and opportunity – to filmmakers and artists working in more traditional screen formats.

Image credit: Second City (2008): Matthew Mascheri, Colin Willsher, Dome3D, LL

At the very least a new cinematic language is required, one taking account of the audience’s very different experience of stories presented on ‘frameless’ screens.

ANAT Program Manager, Vicki Sowry, notes “fulldome and other ‘frameless’ screens provide what filmmakers dream about – an audience so immersed they become part of the story, an experience so seamless that the story transcends its mode of delivery.”

Dome Lab 2010 brings the world’s leading fulldome experts together with their local counterparts in order to build upon Western Australia’s existing creative and research capabilities and to ensure that Australian artists are at the forefront of developments in fulldome content production, further securing our reputation as thought-leaders and innovators in digital media.

The Lab takes advantage of the increasingly widespread slippage between the media, design and arts industries, which has seen creative artists being able to draw from an ever-expanding range of tools, techniques and collaborative partners to realise their ideas and projects.

As with all ANAT Emerging Technology Labs, Dome Lab will foreground a trial-and-error approach that prioritises risk-taking and experimentation over and above ‘finished product’. Based on past experience – and because the artistic and entertainment potential of fulldome is in its infancy – the Lab also offers an ideal opportunity for ‘early adopters’ of fulldome to be recognized for their leadership, artistic excellence and innovation on the international stage.

Dome Lab 2010 builds upon ANAT’s expertise and track record in program delivery to deliver a strategically-focused residential workshop in WA.

The Lab participants will benefit from their introduction to the international fulldome network, from being strides ahead of the pack in fulldome arts and entertainment content production, and from gaining supported access to the requisite technologies for creating immersive, interdisciplinary works.

The tutors selected for Dome Lab 2010 are a mixture of Australian and international researchers and artists who, in addition to their role transferring skills and expertise to Australian artists, will also maximise the research capabilities of the Australian creative industries.