01.12.12
3D is here to Stay
[Cartoon]
Social change can be rapid or it can be slow. For 3D movies, it has been slow. The earliest movies were made in the 50’s and didn’t set any trend. Now, due to the fantastic advances in graphical rendering and projection, 3D has finally found an artistic expression.
In the early movies, the directors were not sure how to use the technology. Often the audience would see something thrown or fall towards them. This could be quite a shock for the audience. Suddenly they would find that they were part of the action as a flaming arrow came flying at their head.
The intent of most storytellers is to take their audience somewhere they have never been before. In the movies, this can be done by going to exotic locations and using music to set the mood. Having 3D available gives the storyteller another way to enhance the experience for the audience.
There is much less of the flaming arrow type of action and more use of 3D to tell the story. When playing a computer game, the story is actually written by the audience. The game provides the scenery for the exotic location and the actors. For games, 3D has become a requirement to provide the scenes and the animation of the actors.
In business, 3D has found a home in architecture and engineering. Structures can more easily be modeled and shared than ever before. Even though physical models are still constructed for very large and expensive projects, the models are first produced using computer-aided tools.
As an Enterprise Architect, I see the social acceptance of the 3D as an opportunity to better tell the story of information technology. This is because information technology can be visualized in 3D. Even something as boring as an accounting or payroll operation can be experienced at an exciting and exotic location.
Not only could someone enter into the world of information technology like a gamer, they could participate. They could see how things work by taking any visual perspective. They could see the components that make up a system and examine them as solid, three-dimensional objects. They could make changes and see the outcomes.
The social acceptance of 3D is at the point where Enterprise Architects must recognize that they are falling behind. Diagrams in 2D are still beneficial, but the story they tell is motionless and removed. The story can be better told in 3D with the power of motion, depth, and participation.
Enterprise Architects are well-aware of the continuing evolution of technology. They creatively look for technology convergence that can provide breakthroughs in thinking. We are at one of those convergent junctions today. What is about to happen will give non-professional information technologists control of their use of automation in their business. No longer will they simply peer through windows and see only what applications let them see. They will be able to go inside, see how things work, and control their automation. – Enterprise Architects Masters of the Unseen City
Closing the Business / IT gap.
