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The University of New Mexico

NEWS RELEASE



Media Contact: Sari Krosinsky, 277-1593
michal@unm.edu

June 21, 2007

UNM ARTS Lab, LodeStar Present Fourth International DomeFest

The sky is no longer the limit. DomeFest, the international festival for immersive digital dome (fulldome) films, returns July 20-23. Produced by the University of New Mexico ARTS Lab, DomeFest is the preeminent program for fulldome production and experimentation, a rapidly growing global medium in which UNM has been a leader since 2000.

The 2007 program incorporates major technological and artistic innovations, including several global and hemispheric premieres, on the 5,000 square-foot immersive digital dome screen at the LodeStar Astronomy Center, New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science.

The festival centerpiece brings together the world’s best and most innovative fulldome productions in the juried show premiere and Domie Award presentation on Saturday, July 21. Every year DomeFest draws higher and higher quality work, said Ed Angel, ARTS Lab director and DomeFest juror.

Among the finalists are animated scenes from Gerald McDermott’s classic children’s book, “Arrow to Sun,” directed by ARTS Lab’s Hue Walker, a fractal animation by UNM alumnus Johnathan Wolfe, a 3-D animated journey into caves, timelapse photography based pieces, a sci-fi alien adventure scene, and several experimental art and visual music pieces.

The juried show is flanked by major new innovations, including a 3-D stereo demonstration show (the first full-scale demo in the western hemisphere) and the world premiere of an immersive art performance using interactive computer graphics. There will also be a series of talks, demos, screenings and discussions for fulldome creators.

DomeFest is made possible through the major support of presenting sponsors Sky-Skan, Inc. and Sony Corp., who together will bring $1.5 million in technology for the festival. Other sponsors include Infitec GmbH, Zeiss, Selier Instruments, Harmony Channel and the City of Albuquerque Film Office.

About 150 people from around the world will converge on New Mexico for the festival, according to DomeFest founder and executive producer David Beining. After the premieres here, the juried show will travel around the world. Past festivals have played around the U.S. as well as Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany and elsewhere, Beining said.

For more information, visit http://www.domefest.com. Register at https://www.acteva.com/go/domefest.

The UNM ARTS Lab (Art, Research, Technology & Science Laboratory) is an innovative interdisciplinary center for developing creative relationships connecting art, science, business and technology in New Mexico’s unique environment.

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