Shifting Sands: the formation of the Sigatoka Sand Dunes
A 3D-animated DVD created by the University of the South Pacific Media Centre test contact: contact@grographics.com

DVD Launch

Friday, 1 April 2005, 3 pm

Room M10, Media Centre, Communications Building, The University of the South Pacific Laucala Bay Campus

Come see the premier of the 3D-animated DVD Shifting Sands: the formation of the Sigatoka Sand Dunes, including a special "making of" section that shows how actual video of the dunes was combined with 3d-modeling to recreate the history of the Dunes.

Working primarily with Roselyn Kumar, who provided the historical basis for the work, I created 3d-models of the Dunes area 3,000 years ago, showing how the dunes came to be formed. Sangeeta Singh of the Media Centre Video Unit filmed the Dunes today, and this footage, combined with 3d-animations, paintings of ancient Lapita people, and a re-creation of Lapita-pottery decorating with good old-fashioned clay, formed the material for a DVD on the sigatoka Sand Dunes.

The video will also be used in an interactive CD-rom Timeline of the First Fijian Peoples. It will be used in history and geography classes at USP, as well as at the Visitor's Centre at the Sigatoka Sand Dunes.

A 3d model of the dunes region 3,000 years ago

Video footage of the dunes today

Re-creation of Lapita-pottery decorating process

Credits

Produced by the University of the South Pacific Media Centre in collaboration with the Institute of Applied Sciences and the Geography Department

Music composed, arranged and performed by Calvin Rore (USP Oceania Centre)
Narration: Vilisi Nadaku
Sound effects: Vishal Kumar
Audio recording/editing: Maraia Lesuma and Vishal Kumar
Script: Roselyn Kumar, Patrick Nunn, William Aalbersberg, Christopher Robbins
3D modeling and animation: Christopher Robbins
Camera: Sangeeta Singh
Camera assistant/camera: Kelepi Koroi
Interview camera: James Raman
Video editor/post-production: Sangeeta Singh
Production supervisor: Melanie Guiney

Special thanks to Sepeti Matararaba of the Fiji Museum, Aropiame Cavalevu (Junior) of the Sigatoka Sand Dunes National Park, Dr. Antoine de Biran, and Dr. David Burley

Paintings from "Discovering our Ancestors" (c) 2004 Crow and Judith Kunzle reproduced by permission of Learning Media limited, po box 3293, Wellington, NZ

All other material (c) 2005 the University of the South Pacific