The iDesign platform: immersive intelligent aesthetics for scenographic modelling

ABSTRACT This article introduces iDesign, a novel full-body immersive 3D digital set modelling system currently in joint development by the Sydney Theatre Company, the University of New South Wales’ iCinema Centre, the University of Technology Sydney, and the National Institute for Dramatic Art (Australia; 2018–21). Deploying a visualisation pipeline that utilises a 3D digital environment that remotely located creatives can share, iDesign enables collaborative ideation, testing and iteration of production design concepts in real time, to be supported by an artificially intelligent (AI) system. The article contextualises iDesign’s underpinning aesthetic rationale by reviewing the functionalities and ontological differences of physical and virtual models as epistemological conduits and representative objects. It outlines the system’s key features and capabilities and discusses them in relation to other visualisation approaches currently trialled across the entertainment industry, such as Virtual Reality (VR), 3D modelling suites and pre-visualisation software. Considering the system’s archival capabilities, the text further sketches iDesign’s value as an educational platform and closes with a reflection on the impacts of digital technologies on scenographic practice.