Almost done!

 

The tempo of work is accelerating as we close in on the completion of the system.  The 4 projectors are being enclosed in a custom metal enclosure.
The extremely thick metal lined with foam is designed to prevent the fan noise from reaching the audience. An additional requirement is that the panels be removable for technical access.  Final alignment will be done in the next few days.

I recorded local actor ( and Fleet floor manager) Steve Warner reading the narration for the Worlds of the Solar System show that will accompany Black Holes: The Other Side of Infinity, the other Fulldome show we are opening with.  I finished composing the music and made several preliminary mixes for listening in the theater. It’s a pleasant challenge recording music and narration in 5.1 surround sound, though my studio is optimized for just that purpose.
Both shows will play together,and they open on February 4th, but the first PUBLIC showing is on February 1st, at the regular  Sky Tonight presentation.  Fleet astronomer Grant Miller and I have been burning up the midnight oil also,  getting ready for the premiere of the system. It’s operation is far different from the previous Digistar, or the Zeis star projector he uses for astronomy instruction.

Tonight I learned the basic of Adobe’s After Effects program. This non-linear editing system allows advanced editing operations at up to 4K resolution. I can composite, or layer items such as text, images, and even other movies on top of the frames already created by Uniview. I can also add transitions such as fades, wipes, dissolves, and all the video editing tricks.