(Samuel Hieronymus Grimm , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
BACKGROUND
In December 2023 Don Manson, the creator of an amazing animated video showing the development of the Church over centuries, kindly led a Group Open Meeting describing this development with the aid of his video. He then went on to explain how the video was created. In this webpage we summarise, with grateful thanks, both parts of his talk and give a means to view the version that he showed that evening.
THE VIDEO
The video needs little introduction.
It starts in the 13th Century with a much more simple structure, as shown in the clickable image given later and takes us through many, many iterations. We are also treated to internal images, as below and cut away views. Features which came and went, as shown above by Grimm in 1872, do indeed come and go.
Cut away shots are massively impressive, such as this, the last.
And thus we end up with a Church looking like that that we know.
To use the awful modern expression – “Enjoy”. Click on the image below, but then do return to find out “How”.
If our video will not run on your hardware, please view the original version on YouTube. It differs only a little from the version Don spoke to at our meeting.
HOW
The animation of Westbourne Church St John the Baptist began as a lockdown project in 2020. Previously the Emsworth Sailing Club clubhouse had been modelled for their for their centenary. Research was conducted using the written histories from Sperling, Mee and Flemming to understand the changes which have taken place to Westbourne church since records began in the 13th century. The photographs, paintings and drawings on Westbourne Local History Group’s web site were extremely useful.
Traces of the church’s history can still be seen in the building itself such as remains of a lancet window in the south side of the chancel and the raised height of the north wall of the nave. However there are still many uncertainties including the appearance of the interior in the middle ages and existence of a tower in the 14th century.
The model was constructed using the “Blender” 3D computer graphics software which is free and open-source. It can be downloaded from their web site here. It is well supported with regular updates and bug fixes. While it initially appears daunting, it is very capable.
Objects were created within the software, beginning from simple shapes such as cubes or cylinders, which are extended and modified to become features of the church such as a wall or tower.
Windows and doors were added and the overall layout adjusted to match the floor plan and Google Earth images.
Representative textures from photographs, were added to objects such as the flint walls and roof tiles.
The different phases of the church were animated to appear at appropriate times and the camera viewpoint was positioned. And then many, many steps and many, many hours later, a sequence of images were rendered to give final video. There are over 1000 objects in the animation.
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