Introduction:

Over the past several years, the use of computers has increased dramatically at Bock Laboratories. The personal computer's capacity as an image data analysis and manipulation tool has made huge contributions to research. The Molecular Biology computing group has been active in bringing emerging computer graphics and video technologies into the labs. As computer consultants, we assist researchers in choosing hardware and software that will best fill their needs, we maintain systems, instruct users on the use of hardware and software, and promote an integrated and compatible environment so that data can easily be exchanged. These services fall under the normal duties of computer support, but we also provide additional multimedia services, and it is these services that this page describes.

Short History of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology multimedia services

Description of Our Services:

The multimedia services we provide are not precisely defined; they are limited by software and hardware resources, time constraints, and personnel capabilities. What we recommend, is to discuss with us what you would like done and, together, we can determine the best means of implementing the idea. The largest constraint on work we have done in the past is time. The more time we have to work on a project, the better the results will be. I recommend coming in to see us as soon as you begin thinking about a project. We are very willing to help you with any animation and/or video work you have, but video projects are very time consuming and we have many things to do besides video work. We need to be able to work your project into our schedule.

Here is a list of the general types of projects we have done in the past:

3D Modeling and Rendering

• 3D models of various biological systems can be created and animated to demonstrate processes. (See the Anaphase animation in the 3D Modeling and Rendering page.)
• Titles screens, transitions and various effects can be created to supplement videos.

• Development can be simulated by obtaining still images at successive stages and morphing from one to the next. (See the Embryogenesis project in the morph page.)
• Movement can also be simulated in exactly the same way as Development.
• Many interesting effects can be created. (See the worm morph in the morph page.)

• Various biological systems can be created and animated to demonstrate processes.
• Titles and effects.

• Titles screens which can include still images or animations. They can be 3D or 2D, they can incorporate scanned images or photo's, or we can draw them for you.
• Transitions between video segments including fades, wipes, or animations. 3D graphics and animations, morphs and 2D animations can be incorporated.

• Still frames, animations, title screens, and audio tracks can all be printed to video.

About these Pages:

These pages are meant to be a resource, specifically for in-house video work, but also for anyone who happens upon this page and can benefit from its information. It is also meant as a showcase for our services, so that those in the building can get a feel for what services we can provide for them, and those out of the building can see what we are about, what we have done, and hopefully benefit from our experience. I plan to describe in detail what we have done and provide examples so that it can be repeated.

In order to fully appreciate these pages, you will need to be able to view quicktime movies.