Virtual reconstruction of Vitoria-Gasteiz
between the 9th and 12th centuries
.
The origins of Vitoria-Gasteiz
A project of virtual reconstruction of heritage combined with video post-production for the documentary "The origins of Vitoria-Gasteiz" showing its origins in medieval times, between the ninth and twelfth centuries.
The origins of a city
¿Por qué es importante este proyecto para nosotros?
Archaeological studies
We could reach a very high level of realism due to 20 years of archaeological research by the UPV-EHU through its research group GPAC.
These excavations, whose epicenter is under the Cathedral of Santa Maria de Vitoria, had provided very precise information about the origins of Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Dissemination drive
The Santa María Cathedral Foundation of Vitoria-Gasteiz promoted this project, seeking to broaden the dissemination of archaeological and historical research.
Process optimization
This project was ideal for our team because we are specialized in the optimization of resources in the virtual reconstruction of medieval urban centers. We have been analyzing and researching for several years on how to achieve the best possible results with the minimum investment of resources.
Multidisciplinary team
For a project of this size, specialists in several areas were required: 3D modeling and texturing, environments, particles, lighting, post-production and compositing, so our experience in the Audiovisual Communication Area at the University of Burgos was essential to achieve the expected results.
Optimized 3D modeling
This project covered several centuries of the origins of Vitoria-Gasteiz, with different urban layouts and types of buildings. For this, a very detailed storyboard was defined in order to calculate the level of detail required for each model. Several models of different structures were made trying to optimize modeling times, performing a structural process, reusing all possible models between the different phases.
Texture hunters
We traveled hundreds of kilometers through the provinces of Alava and Burgos looking for usable textures for the Vitoria-Gasteiz of the High Middle Ages. We found dozens of examples of popular constructions of rammed earth, adobe, plant lattice and stone with which we made a database of more than 1300 textures edited and adapted to the models we were going to use.
Posproducción
En la siguiente fase se realizaron grabaciones de actores y actrices que fueron incrustadas en los renders. Para estas grabaciones se diseñaron y fabricaron varios trajes que fueron combinados para intentar tener la mayor heterogeneidad posible, favoreciendo el realismo de los planos.
Teamwork
This project was financed by the Provincial Council of Alava and coordinated by the Santa María Cathedral Foundation. The historical and archaeological contents were coordinated by José Luis Solaun and Ismael García from the GPAC research group of the UPV-EHU. This was the team in charge of the virtual reconstruction and editing process:
Mario Alaguero Rodríguez
Profesor del Área de Comunicación Audiovisual y Publicidad de la Universidad de Burgos.
Samuel Arias Tejedor
Técnico especialista en enviroment, renderizado y programación. Universidad de Burgos.
David Serrano Fernández
Artista generalista 3D, VFX y motion graphics. Universidad de Burgos.
