Volker Kuchelmeister


Mr Volker Kuchelmeister is currently working as the Head of the Media Laboratory at the iCinema Centre for Interactive Cinema Research at UNSW in an academic position. His research focus is in Interface Design, Human-Computer-Interaction, immersive Visualization technology, global capture and imaging systems and new media in the performing arts.
His expertise is incorporated in numerous interactive visualisation and immersive mixed media projects for galleries and museums around the world.
Mr Kuchelmeister co-designed and co-developed, the Spherecam system, a ultra high definition digital motion camera for spherical and panoramic capture. In 2007 he was commissioned to use the Spherecam for a project with the New York based performance company, the Wooster Group. The project had its premiere at the ZKM (Centre for Art and Media) Karlsruhe, Germany in the beginning of 2008.
Mr Kuchelmeister has been awarded two large ARC and UNSW Infrastructure grants (totaling more the $320,000) and is actively involved in commercializing iCinema’s research output (NSW Coal Services, VR Mine Safety training, 2007, $5,000,000 and BackOBourke Exhibition Centre iDome installation, 2008, $130,000).
From 1996 to 2002, Mr Kuchelmeister was head of the Multimedia Studio at the ZKM Institute for Visual Media. The Multimedia Studio was established by Jeffrey Shaw and Volker Kuchelmeister in 1994. Numerous new media projects and publications, which have been produced over the years, have earned the ZKM Multimedia Studio an outstanding international reputation. One example is the award winning "Mansaku & Mansai, That's Kyogen" DVD series. Commissioned by Waseda University, Tokyo - it makes the theory and acting techniques of this 400 year old traditional Japanese theater accessible to contemporary audiences worldwide.
The focus of Mr Kuchelmeister work at the ZKM was the complete spectrum of complex new media productions, ranging from the conceptual planning to the completed interactive publication or installation. Mr. Kuchelmeister was also responsible for the technical infra-structure in the studio, research, and implementation of emerging technologies and communication with cooperating partners, clients and artists-in-residence.
Another important aspect of Volker Kuchelmeister's work is the research in the area of Human-Computer-Interaction/Interface-Design and the development of new audio-visual technologies. A good example for this work is his participation in an international research project of the European Community called eSCAPE. The eSCAPE project investigates the exploration and development of the concept of an electronic landscape as a virtual environment that provides interconnections to other environments.
Mr. Kuchelmeister has held numerous workshops, papers and lectures at various international Universities and other organizations. A two-week workshop he held at the Chulalongkorn University Bangkok, Faculty of Science,in the context “Exploring state-of-the-art Visualizing techniques”, resulted in the “Virtual Chulalongkorn Campus” project and was published on the University's website.

Grants:

AUC (Australian University Consortium) Seeding Grant 2008
Immersive Interactive Projection Environments using Quartz Composer and OpenGL
2008
Total: $2,500

Participant
FARO LS420 High Precision Measurement Scanner and Software.
Pagnucco, M., Kuchelmeister V.,Stodhardt, P., Rizos, C., Sammut, C., Blair, A., Ryan, M., Shaw, J., Del Favero, D., Hardjono, A.,
UNSW Major Research Equipment and Infrastructure Scheme
2008,
Total: $82,500.

Chief Investigator
Jeffrey Shaw, Dennis Del Favero, Neil Brown, Paul Compton, Maurice Pagnucco, Andre van Schaik, Craig Jin, Hock Soon Seah, Peter Weibel, Sarah Kenderdine, Tim Hart, John Fritz
Reformulating narrative in virtual heritage using a co-evolutionary model of immersive interactivity
2006
ARC Linkage
Total: $519,000

Chief Investigator
Jeffrey Shaw, Dennis Del Favero, Neil Brown, Volker Kuchelmeister, Nikos Papastergiadis, Scott McQuire, Andy Arthurs
Reformulating museological narrative using three models of cinematic interactivity.
2003
ARC Linkage Project
Total : $128,205

Chief Investigator
An investigation of interactive strategies used within multi-sensorenabled mixed media installation to develop a metaphor based model of participatory interaction.
Miller B., Kuchelmeister V.,
UNSW/CoFA Faculty Research Grant, 2004.
$8,000



Appointments

Visiting Research Fellow at the ZKM Centre for Art and Media Karlsruhe, Germany. Institute for Visual Media. May 1st - August 31st 2009


Exhibitions

Double District, Saburo Teshigawara, developed with Volker Kuchelmeister
Premiere at Shanghai eArts Festival 2008, Urbanized Landscape. Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. Curator Richard Castelli (epidemic, France). 18 Oct - 10 Nov 2008
Volcan Scène nationale du Havre / Le Havre, France. 16-27, Jun 2009. Curator Richard Castelli (epidemic, France)

William Forsythe Improvisation Technologies, Volker Kuchelmeister, Nik Haffner, Chris Ziegler is on show at Imagining Media @ ZKM, ZKM Centre for Art and Media Karlsruhe, Germany, curated by Peter Weibel and Bernhard Serhexe. From 10/10/2009.

Masaku & Mansai. That's Kyogen, Nomura Mansai, Masaku Mansai, Volker Kuchelmeister, Andreas Kratky, Chris Ziegler is on show at Imagining Media @ ZKM, ZKM Centre for Art and Media Karlsruhe, Germany, curated by Peter Weibel and Bernhard Serhexe. From 10/10/2009.



Interactive Cinema projects and Infrastructure:

Universal capture through stereographic multi-perspective recording and scene reconstruction.
Research project, interactive installation concept, 2009
Work in progress, based in Saburo Teshigawara Double District
Volker Kuchelmeister

Double District
Stereographic, multi-channel dance video installation, 2008.
Saburo Teshigawara, developed with Volker Kuchelmeister.
Developed for Jeffrey Shaw and Sarah Kenderdine Re_Actor environment.
Exhibitions: Premiere at eArts festival Shanghai, October 08. 2008, Le Volcan Numerique Le Havre France, June 2009

Concept and technical realisation, BackOBourke Exhibition Centre iDome installation. Bourke/Sydney, 2008

Book chapters, publications, papers:

Volker Kuchelmeister, Jeffrey Shaw, Dennis Del Favero, Matthew McGinity, Ardrian Harjano.
Immersive Mixed Media Augmented Reality Applications and Technology, 2009.
2009 IEEE Pacific-Rim Conference on Multimedia, Bangkok Thailand.

Volker Kuchelmeister
Universal capture through stereographic multi-perspective recording and scene reconstruction, 2009.
2009 IEEE Pacific-Rim Conference on Multimedia, Bangkok Thailand.

Matthew McGinity, Jeffrey Shaw, Volker Kuchelmeister, Ardrian Hardjono, Dennis Del Favero, 2007.
AVIE: A Versatile Multi-User Stereo 360 degree Interactive VR Theatre. Siggraph 2007.

Volker Kuchelmeister
Book Chapter. Vom Tafelbild zum globalen Datenraum, Edition ZKM, Hatje Cantz, 2001. Herausgeber Peter Weibel
Computer based Knowledge transfer - Praxisbeispiele computergestützter Wissensvermittlung, p 171-179.

Commissions/Commercial Projects and Sales:

Project director
BackOBourke Exhibition Centre. An innovative mixed-reality interactive cinema display for their permanent exhibition.
UNSW iCinema Centre. Commission by Bourke Shire Council and Spinifex Interactive
2008
$140,000

Mines Rescue Pty Ltd Commission. Virtual Reality Mine Safety Training utilizing iCinema AVIE-SC and Interaction Consoles
Shaw, McGinhity, Del Favero, Hardjano, Kuchelmeister.
2008
$930,000

Mines Rescue Pty Ltd Commission. Virtual Reality Mine Safety Training utilizing iCinema AVIE and iDOME.
Shaw, McGinhity, Del Favero, Hardjano, Kuchelmeister.
2007
$4,200,000

Scitech/Questacon iDome sale
2007
$18,000

University of Woolongong, iDome sale
2007
$19,500

University of Western Australia, iDome sale
2006
$11,000

Books, CD-ROM's, DVD-ROM's, DVD-Video's:
Design and production, digital Arts Esition, DVD and Book, ZKM, iCinema, 2008
Design and production, T_Visionarium : A User Guide, Interactive Cinema Edition, Jill Bennet, DVD and Book, ZKM, UNSW Press, 2007
Multimedia authoring Dennis Del Favero DeepSleep DVD-ROM, UNSW iCinema Research Centre. 2004
Noach, documentary, Film/DVD project, Theater Bremen, Germany, 2002.
Design and production, New Screen Media DVD-ROM/Book, ZKM Karlsruhe Germany/British Film Institute London. 2001
Design and production (dis)LOCATIONS DVD-ROM/Book, ZKM Karlsruhe Germany/UNSW iCinema Research Centre. 2001
Design and Production, Noach, documentary Film/DVD, Theater Bremen, Germany. 2001
Design and production, Complete artintact DVD-ROM (1994-99), ZKM Karlsruhe Germany. 2001
Design and production. Mansaku & Mansai, That's Kyogen. DVD series. Waseda University, Tokyo. Tokyo; Karlsruhe: TMC/Tokyo Media Connections; ZKM, 2000.
Design and production William Forsythe: Improvisation Technologies. A tool for the Analytical Dance Eye. ZKM-Digital Arts Edition CD-ROM, ZKM Karlsruhe Germany. 1999
Antoni Muntadas. Media Architecture Installations. CD-ROM. Centre Pompidou, Paris. 1999
Multimedia authoring Dennis Del Favero Cross Currents CD-ROM, ZKM Karlsruhe Germany. 1999
artintact CD-ROM/book series, ZKM Karlsruhe Germany. 1994-99

Lectures/Symposiums/Workshops:
Ultra High resolution panoramic video: System design and post processing, VSMM 07, Brisbane, 2007
DVD Art projects, Documentary Film Festival Kassel, Germany, 2001
DVD Art projects, European Media Art Festival Osnabrueck, Germany, 2001
Kyogen DVD Project, fmx Conference Stuttgart, Germany, 2001
Screen based interface design. Challenges and solutions, Writing Interactive Fiction Workshop ZKM, Karlruhe, 2001
Computer based Knowledge transfer, Vom Tafelbild zum globalen Datenraum, Neue Möglichkeiten der Bildproduktion und Bildgebender Verfahren, ZKM, 2000.
Juror at the Multimedia Transfer Award 2000, University of Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, 2000
Workshop (Exploring state of the art Visualizing techniques, Virtual Chulalongkorn Campus) at the Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 1998
Panoramic Navigator, Information terminals in public space, Multimedia Market, Stuttgart 1998
Art on CD-ROM, Transmediale, Berlin, 1998
Workshop Multimedia and Art at the Merz Academy Stuttgart Germany, 1997
Modern Ballet and New Media, Torino Danza Festival, Teatro Regio Torino, 1996
Multimedia and Art, Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts Strassbourg 1996

Select Awards, Exhibitions:

Mansaku & Mansai. That’s Kyogen:
Silver Medal at Interactive Media Design Review 2001, I.D. Magazine, New York
Nominee, Prix Möbius Award 2001, Munich
Nominee, Europrix 2001, Europe

Improvisation Technologies:
Winner Interactive Media Design Review 2000, I.D. Magazine, New York
Exhibition Stuttgarter Filmwinter 2000, Stuttgart
Nominee, EuroPrix MultiMediaArt '99, category "Knowledge and Discovery", European Commission and Austrian Ministry for Economic Affairs
Honorary Mention (Special Prize), Prix Moebius Germany 1999, category "Art and Culture", Marstall Muenchen, Munich
The Installation is part of the permanent collection of the German Dance Archive, Cologne, Mediapark, Cologne, 1998
Award winner at the "New Voices, New Visions 1996", New York. Wired, Interval Research & Voyager
Exhibition "Revue Virtuel" at the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
Honorary Mention, Artec 1995, Nagoya

artintact CD-ROMs:
arts_edge, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, 1998. The Sub-Division... by Perry artintact 3 receives a first prize of the arts'_edge Prize, 1998 for interactive multimedia works.
Honorary Mention, distinction "Interactive Media 1997", ID. Magazine, New York