www.panoramas.hu
K. Guthry interviews Francois Panchard
by Karen Guthry
 Why a website about Hungary?
 The first idea was to make panoramic pictures of Hungary because I wanted to improve my technique in the creation of panoramic pictures. Also, this would allow me to know the whole country besides Budapest and the Hills of the North.
Tell us about the making of www.panoramas.hu
Very soon, I had this huge quantity of QuickTime VRs – about 140 — showing the diversity of Hungary. The next step was: what to do with these clichés? I wanted them to be as useful as possible and to be seen by a maximum number of people. Thus the website www.panoramas.hu was born…
What is your background?
I studied international relations in Geneva and planned to work for the Red Cross. Because of my lack of experience in the field, they postponed my appointment but the Swiss government sent me to Hungary for nine months. There, I started to use computers more and more and when I went back to Switzerland, I thanked the Red Cross and produced a CD-ROM called Bike-Explorer Valais. This 12-month project shows the best mountain-bike trails in the Valais. Taking pictures to illustrate the CD was one of the tasks I enjoyed the most.
What inspired you to pursue QTVR technology?
Bike-Explorer Valais was almost ready when I received some QTVRs of the area from the promoters of tourism in Valais. It was the first time I saw this new format. They were taken from a helicopter and I was amazed by the possibilities of the QuickTime plug in: the idea is very simple but the effect is great.
What do you like most about QTVR technology and why?
What I like the most is the simplicity of the idea: a 360 degree picture is simply deformed to match the rules of perspective. This effect gives you the feeling of being at the center of a cylinder or even better, at the center of a sphere.
How does your interest in QTVR relate to your work?
I’d like to work for the promotion of a tourist destination like the Valais or a country not so well known like Hungary. And so far, showing beautiful QTVRs is one of the best things you can do.
Do you also work with strictly photographic subjects?
I’m still working on pictures of bikers in a nice landscape or skiers in the middle of a steep slope. My goal is to mix these subjects with 360 degree pictures and thus, to add some action into the QTVR.
What sort of technology and equipment do you use as part of your work?
I started over a year ago, with an analogical camera and a cheap tripod. It took me more than one day to achieve the first QTVR! Now, with a Nikon 990 camera and a fancy Manfrotto tripod, I can work ten times faster and the result is even better. On the other hand, I still work with Panavue Image Assembler — probably the best stitching software for PC. I use Authoring studio only to save the 360 degree image in a .mov format.
In your opinion, which subjects are best suited to this medium and why?
What I like most is the mix between close objects in a beautiful landscape, a nice view from a mountain for example, with a bunch of skiers imprinting curves on a powdery field.
What sort of feedback have you been receiving from other VR photographers?
I haven’t received much feedback so far because I don’t have much contact with this community. What I do know is that I found a good compromise between the quality and the weight of the files.
Where do you see QTVR technology in three or five years time?
The next step ought to be the generalization of cubic QuickTime. The technique remains like a mystery so far, but it shouldn’t be a problem to do this soon. The other improvement should be the introduction of animation into the QTVR – a mix between movies and QTVR.
If you could ask for additional features to QuickTime, which ones would you like to see implemented?
The ability of moving an object in a cubic QTVR would be just fine.
What challenges you in your work?
To work fast in tough conditions like being able to paste pictures of a moving crowd. Or combining in a natural way, two different lights such as a nice sunset and a very dark ground.
What is your most memorable experience associated with QTVR photography?
The most memorable experience was probably the first time I used QTVR. It was in Budapest, on this hill called La Citadella. I had to wait one day for the pictures to be ready and spent hours pasting the pictures together. But when the picture was finally spinning on my computer screen, whoa! I felt very proud and happy.
Which QTVR would you be most likely to record next, given the opportunity?
To be sent to Egypt to take panoramic pictures from the top of the pyramids and experimenting with panoramas underwater, in the middle of a bunch of silvery fish in the Red Sea.
info@panoramas.hu
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