For which research questions would 3D modeling and simulation be an appropriate methodology?
How things were built
How places and objects were actually used.
What it felt like to interact at that point in time.
When would manual modeling make the most sense? Procedural modeling? Scanning? Photogrammetry? A combination of the above?
Manual modeling is probably most sensical when time and budget are not part of the equation. For the most part manual modeling is the most timely, but often leads to the most realistic results.
Procedural modeling is probably most useful with projects with lots of components, where particular detail is inessential. Also, possibly in the case where there is little detail about the object or place itself.
Scanning usually requires a large budget and is hard to deploy to non existent, extremely intricate, or very large places and objects. Old artifacts are great subjects to being scanned.
Photogrammetry works well with a smaller budget than scanning and besides prices has similar constraints. Photogrammetry would be ideal for large sets containing places or objects standing today.
A Combination of tech is the most common technique used. Most modelers combine the technologies in order to maximize available data and resources.
Consider the projects mentioned in the readings for this week and choose one DH project to discuss critically as an example of what can be achieved and what still needs improvement in this area.
The Urban Simulation Team at UCLA works to recreate buildings and scenes all over Los Angeles. Being an LA native this project really stood out. The team incorporates a lot of technologies in order to create the marvelous models. They accomplish in creating great and accurate models, but some problems spawn in the relevancy of there old models. Creating models of a moving new city is difficult because they so rapidly become outdated and require so much maintenance.
