In 2002 I collaborated with Ben Dean to produce a 5 1/2 minute digital video as one of three multimedia installations in Transgenic Light, an exhibition at Stanford University's Cantor Arts Center that focused on the use of green fluorescent protein (GFP) in biomedical imaging. The video was constructed by importing thousands of 2D confocal microspopy cross-sections of fruit fly imaginal disk cells (which are responsible for sexual expression) and automatically reassembling them into 3D 'landscapes' in the 3D animation application Maya. Once in Maya, we manipulated the 3D model's material, lighting, and surface properties to resemble urban and natural landscapes and created camera paths that reference common visual tropes from landscape and nature cinematography. In addition to creating a Maya Embedded Language (MEL) tool to convert the 2D image stack data into 3D particle models in Maya and an interface for quickly experimenting with various materials effects, I created the white, "underwater" segment of the piece.

©2007 Casey Alt