Day 2: Coming Together

Day Two, 5 January 2016.

Heritage Group at Fulldome.Pro

After a hearty breakfast, we went to a house where a company called Fulldome was going to host us. This was a company which specialised in playing of videos within a dome structure.

The bus ride there was about 20 minutes and I could sort of sense the apprehension from my team members because of what happened yesterday. There was no doubt that we learnt a lot but because of that, we had to change our research question due to wrong assumptions.

When we arrived at the scene, we went to watch a few videos in the dome and I felt that it was a really spectacular technology. The idea behind it was plain and simple. Watching things in a dome would make you feel more immersed because the pictures are all around you. You actually feel that the video is more three dimensional.

I feel that we could really tap into this type of technology in order to showcase cultural heritage in the form of an immersive experience. Yesterday, we were talking about a good definition for the broad term of heritage and we managed to come down to a consensus. Heritage is “the treasure of human experiences passed down through time.” This intangible experiences cannot be left out from heritage. Whatever heritage that was passed down from the older generation to the younger generation always consisted of a human element. A heritage site like a temple without the human experiences that used to exist within it would just be an empty shell, a plain structure. You need the stories of religion and what used to happen inside the temple to make it a heritage site.

Therefore, I feel like this dome technology could be quite a breakthrough in terms of letting the audience become more immersed in the film. If a short film about Chiang Mai’s heritage could be made using this technology, I have no doubt that it can be used as a method of heritage preservation, to show anyone who watches this video be it a tourist or local, how people in Chiang Mai used to live and they will be able to see how the cultural practices and norms were passed down over the years and feel like they’re actually experiencing it, enhancing the human element of heritage. However, will virtual reality technology which is also rapidly developing be an even better form of immersion compared to dome technology?

After Fulldome, we went to several heritage sites such as temples and museums and we interviewed people there with our new research question in mind. I was extremely apprehensive because of what happened yesterday and the thought that history would repeat itself was extremely depressing. Thankfully, my worries were unfounded. The answers that we got from the people there seemed to complement our questions perfectly! There was no doubt that we were getting answers which were extremely useful to our research for both subgroups.

At that instant onwards, interview after interview, the faces of my groupmates seemed to light up, brighter and brighter for every interview we complete. Morale was at an all-time high as I did not even feel the least bit of fatigue after running around with a camera and doing 4-5 interviews at a temple. This feeling where all your planning and discussions are finally bearing fruit to quality results was something that felt exceptionally satisfying. What made it even sweeter was that it was directly after all of us were demoralized and bummed out from realising our mistakes yesterday. We recovered from the setback and adjusted to the situation brilliantly.

I do not have the capability to accurately pen down how this felt, but I will just say this. It was an event capable of embodying the USP mission statement. Where all of us were challenged in an intellectually stimulating environment, to pool together our unique individual talents and through a multidisciplinary approach, arrive at a solution. This resulted in the most participative, indulging and satisfying learning experience I have ever had in my 21 years.

Nearing the end of the day, we interviewed Mr. Som Vang Rittidaja who runs a very unique museum at the back of a temple. He is 71 years old and taking care of the compound alone. It comprises of many different antiques which are donated by locals. However, despite his efforts in maintaining the items and displaying them for people to appreciate, it seems to be more of an antique shop than a museum. There were hardly any stories to go along with the items and you just see many items being displayed in old display counters. The condition of the building was also not very good. There were just displays and more displays of antiques. I was asking myself “How is this different from an antique shop or store room?”

It was an extremely painful thought process for me. During our interview with him, I even contemplated asking him “How is your museum different from an antique shop?” However, I immediately dismissed the thought because it would just be plain insensitive, rude and utterly disrespectful to ask that to a man who spent 20 years of his life in order to painstakingly take care of such a place. Wistfully, it just felt lacking. The items are indeed being preserved but I feel that the heritage of it, the true meaning of the items which mainly come from human experience has been entirely lost. I felt quite depressed for a short while after that interview actually because I thought that Mr Som was wasting his efforts, especially since he had no additional funding from the government. What if he passes away? What then will happen to this place? I hope he finds a predecessor soon and hopefully they’ll be able to utilise whatever information they have on all the items and turn it into something more like a museum where not just the items but the stories are all preserved as well.

That night, after dinner, everyone was on cloud nine due to the successful interviews we did. We talked a lot more about ourselves tonight instead of work, establishing closer bonds on a very personal level. I would also say this was the day where everyone stopped being colleagues but really became friends.