Despite all the different ways that multimedia can be employed to show a given object the most predominant form of representation is still an image or set of images.

The image to the left is small both in display size and data size (around 25 Kilobytes) this has the advantage that it will load very quickly even on relatively slow connections. It has the disadvantage that there is not enough information in the file to show more detail, zooming in will only produce a blurred image, any viewer wanting a closer look will be frustrated.

One way way of dealing with this is to use larger files and embeded bits of webpage programming (javascript), that allow users to magnify the image - a technique commonly found on sites like ebay where buyers need to inspect items in more detail - but what if you can't use javascript (you can't within MyPortfolio) and you want to give your audience a way of inspecting object images in much more detail without needing files so large they make your site slow or unresponsive.

A way of dealing with this might be to use a service like Gigapan demonstrated below.

The series of pictures displayed to the left in the MyPortfolio image gallery have been uploaded to a folder in the content area of myportfolio account and then displayed using an 'image gallery' block.

Taking plenty of images all around the object was partly in preparation for the construction of a 3D model but also produced a good selection of stills for the gallery display.

Some tips and things to think about :

• Always work on copies of your original images!
• Take higher resolution pictures, you may have to compress them to make them 'web-friendly' but it gives more options later  e.g if you need close-ups of particular areas of an object you can zoom and crop without the image looking too blurred or pixelated.
• Making the same changes to any more than 3 or 4 images individually can become very time consuming, if you don't already have software to make 'batch' changes, a good free tool is Irfanview (for PC). Another tool is Google's Picasa software, this is freely available for both PC and Mac has less options than Irvanview but easier to learn.
• The format for all the photos used in this demo is jpg.

There are both advantages and some disadvantages to using the YouTube video service.

Pros:

• Easy upload and conversion of most common video file types - hides complexity from the user
• Online enhancement tools e.g you can remove camera shake
• Online tools to create in-video annotations, closed captions etc 
• The ability to deliver high quality video without exceeding any file space limitations that may exist with your host (currently UCL has a limit of 500MB on a given MyPortfolio account)

Cons

• It's not possible to add different voiceover tracks after video upload so if it is required, any voiceover has to be recorded while shooting the video (this can be hard to do) or added using locally available video editing tools before uploading to YouTube.
• YouTube (Google) claim a licence to use materials uploaded in the pursuit of their business - in the context of your project this may not  cause any issues (it's up to you to check) but you should be aware of the kinds of things you agree to when you click the 'Terms and Conditions' box for any service. There's quite a clear, non-legal jargon video on  the licence YouTube claim at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jURtTZ8qqTc   3mins and 20seconds in.

You can find support pages for the YouTube service at: https://support.google.com/youtube/?hl=en#topic=4355266

The video shown left, is a copy of the example hosted on YouTube but rather than using an external video host, this example is hosted within MyPortfolio i.e the video file sits alongside other files and folders in the content area of my personal MyPortfolio account and is brought into this page using an 'embed media' content block.

Playing the video you'll see that at one point a window appears on the boy's face, the rotation is paused, and other areas of the video are darkened to force focus on the mouth area.
If you can imagine the missing sound track, at this point the voice-over might be describing some detail that the designer (or comissioner) of the media thought particulary interesting or important. Note also that the video zooms in and out - this was not done during shooting but is a post-production effect enabled by software in this case, Camtasia from Techsmith (not free software).

Some things to consider regarding local hosting of object media

Pros

• You don't have to make your content publicly accessible in order to embed it in your website
• The way in which you manipulate and display your media is not limited by the tools offered by the hosting service
• You don't have to enter into 'in perpetuity' content license agreements required by some service providers
• Free services may do maintenance on their systems without giving notice - depending on the in-house and external hosting facilities, your content might be more reliably available when hosted locally

Cons

• More time consuming
• More technical knowledge required
• Your local technology infrastructure may not offer/support the tools that facilitate your vision of how an object should be presented using electronic media.

The model shown (a maquette or design model for a larger piece) was originally produced in the 1950's by a student at the Slade school of art.
Its 3D representation was created by uploading a series of photographs to a cloud-based 3D model creation service this service  did not allow annotation of the model, in order to have this functionality the 3D file created (the .obj file) was downloaded and re-uploaded to sketchfab.com where annotations were added - the embed code provided by Sketchfab was then used to embed the object in  MyPortfolio.

 A 3D model is not appropriate for all object types, obvious ones to exclude are pictures, maps or documents that are essentially 2D in form. There are some technical limitations - techniques used for the creation of this model will not handle well photos of highly reflective or transparent objects - in order to model this kind of object a much more complex workflow would be required - outside the scope of this module

The model is not perfect but it's interesting that a few years ago this kind of model creation would be very expensive and strictly in the domain of 3D modelling experts. The field has advanced rapidly to the point now that non-experts who want to create, display and perhaps even print the models they construct can do so with only a small investment of time - the tools and services used to create and display the model are currently free.

Some tips if your thinking about creating 3D models for your virtual exhibition.

• You will need a set of between 20 and 40 photos each under 5Mb for model creation.
• Does a 3D representation that you could use already exist?
• Do you have the access to your object you'll require in order to take the photographs needed for model creation (360 degree)?
• Can you change the lighting of the object in question or can the object be safely moved into natural light.
• To learn about using the 123catch 3D model creation application click here