By Piong Tsuey-yin
Photographs by Hou Ming-yen and Piong Tsuey-yin
As the 2019 Taipei International Book Exhibition kicked off on 12 February, Chen Chien-jen, Vice President of Taiwan, and Cheng Li-chun, Minister of Culture, toured Roaming in Fantasy: CCC Exhibit in company with James C. Liao, President of Academia Sinica as well as Hsi-yuan Chen and Chen Shu-jiun, Deputy Director and Executive Secretary of ASCDC. The guests were warmly greeted by Minghu, 3D avatar of one of the characters in Scrolls of a Northern City.
Populating the physical site of an exhibit with 3D projections is made possible by the deployment of motion capture and the recognition of sounds and faces. This kind of animation charges what interaction means with a new sense and, having made a successful debut at the opening of Taiwan Comic Base, the production has entered the reportage of PTS News Network, which dedicated a special coverage to the work of ASCDC. Amazed and pleased by a chat with Minghu, Vice President Chen expressed his approbation for the experience.
Also lauded by the illustrious guests was Recreating Old Taipei, which presented major historic buildings of Taipei through AR technology, including Kikumoto department store, Higashi Hongan Temple, and the third-generation Taipei Train Station. Their spectacular reappearance incited guesswork and astonishment, and it was pointed out by the Minister of Culture that the Ministry's Taiwan Digital Asset Library had provided part of the sources for the modelling of these buildings that are now gone. The Library now offers models for non-commercial purposes only and is currently developing a license program to expand ways of using its collections.
Towards the middle of the book exhibition, sections such as Recreating Old Taipei and Love at the Scooter Cascade still proved to be a massive draw for avid visitors. "Even if Recreating Old Taipei is all about buildings," said Ms Lo Yun-lun, staff member of National Museum of Taiwan Literature, "the exhibit prompts people to reinterpret the cityscape with maps from across centuries."
To have a full taste of the exhibit, one cannot miss The Summer Temple Fair, where you could live the experience of being part of the Taiwanese religious festival. With mandatory ceremonial props, the dance platform gave directions of actions for you to follow the devotional dance typical of the temple fair. The music was adaptations of the Beiguan folk music performed by Shengxiang Band, and the gameplay was powered by motion capturing devices.
To conclude, this was just a warm-up stretch for the Creative Comic Collection, which will take part in the NICONICO Convention in Japan in April.
Vice President Chen having a chat with Minghu (p.c. Lo Can-ming).Vice President Chen giving the thumbs up to the exhibit.President Liao viewing historic buildings with an AR device in the section of Recreating Old Taipei.3D model on display: Formosa Railway Hotel.Chen Hsi-yuan, Deputy Director of ASCDC, and Chen Shu-jiun, Executive Secretary of ASCDC, explicate the ideas behind the curation of Roaming in Fantasy to James C. Liao, President of the Academia Sinica.The Deputy Director and Executive Secretary of ASCDC having a ride at Love at the Scooter Cascade.Love at the Scooter Cascade thrusts you in the middle of peak hours traffic.The Summer Temple Fair gives you a taste of Taiwanese religious festival.Apple ARKit 2 brings you to the quotidian scene of a period teahouse of the Japanese rule. Manga characters will be there to greet you.Highlight footage and behind-the-scene video of the filming of Scrolls of a Northern City.Comic corner: there are CCC publications, 2018 review of Taiwan manga, and an electronic bookshelf to display the results of the Ministry of Culture’s grant for comic art.People leafing through CCC magazines.Roaming in Fantasy Pavilion.
Extensive coverage of this exhibit at the Taipei International Book Exhibition can be found in PTS News Network (video and article), Central News Agency (video and article), Chinese Television System (video and article), National Education Radio, Youth Daily News, United Daily News, The Merit Times, Commercial Times, Beauties of Life, ETtoday, New Talk, PeoPo Citizen Journalism, CWNTP, and a local major animation-comic-games news network.
Roaming in Fantasy Pavilion Synopsis
Scrolls of a Northern City
AR theater & period teahouse animated by Vtuber KON
Summer Temple Fair
Folk religion festival turned into a musical remix of sights and sounds
Love at the Scooter Cascade
VR recreation of rush hours with throngs of scooters
Recreating Old Taipei
Showcase of major historic buildings of Taipei
CCC 10th Anniversary
Interactive bookshelf to display 10 years of manga publication and 2018 manga review
