Inspired by the difficulties in visiting churches and other historic sites during the pandemic, The British Archaeological Association is looking at ways of promoting the use of digital technology to allow them to be seen even during a lockdown, or for those far distant. The Association is therefore holding a competition to produce a short video/photographic presentation of a Roman or medieval site (a building, ruin, even a town) using remote mapping and imaging systems such as Google Earth, or Google Earth Studio. The prize is £300.
An advantage of the new technologies is the capacity to show a building in the context of its surroundings so the tour might also feature topographical context, if appropriate. This might include both extant and lost Roman or medieval buildings and features, though a comprehensive treatment of a single site is also welcome.
The submission should be the virtual equivalent of a 15-minute tour of a site or building. Ideally the tour would take the viewer to all (interesting) parts of a building, and provide information about the views shown, suitable for a (reasonably) scholarly viewer, including some further reading.
Among the criteria for judging will be the quality of information given, which should reflect reliable and up-to-date thinking, the quality of the visuals, and the use of supplementary images – antiquarian views or maps, other photographs, etc. Ease of use is also important, and it should provide users with the opportunity to explore on their own.
HOW TO SUBMIT: please send a link to your project to: web@thebaa.org (i.e. if you have produced a video, please upload to YouTube and send a link)
Samples of the sort of thing we are looking for can be found on the Association’s website: Digital Resources | British Archaeological Association (thebaa.org), and a tutorial videos, exploring the potential of Google Earth and Google Earth Studio can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XcLcF-huCo&feature=emb_logo (a very simple version 3-minute tutorial from Google) and https://youtu.be/cZ91_arsbdI (a more sophisticated tutorial from James Cameron)
The tour should cover sites within the Association’s areas of interest, which are defined as the study of material culture from the Roman period until the nineteenth century, principally within Europe and the Mediterranean basin, and within that, the core interests of the BAA are Roman to 16th century.
The closing date for competition entries is 1 February 2021 and the result will be announced on 15 February 2021.
Medieval Art Research 