The Palace of Versailles, glory of the French monarchy and a major world heritage site, is certainly the most popular of France’s historical monuments and attracts nearly 10 million visitors each year. How did it appear? What has been its evolution? Everything is explained in this magnificent 3D animation.
Aloest Production is a French studio that produces immersive and educational films » for the benefit of the heritage through its cultural branch. The contents generally offered are immersive 360° (or 180°) films, computer-generated image reconstructions or archive films. Most often, the clients are museums and exhibitions.
On the occasion of the opening of the Versailles History Gallery June 14, 2012, Aloest Production mobilized more than fifty people to carry out a major project over a full year called Versailles 3D. 3D models were used to break down the history of this construction step by step from the simple hunting lodge of Louis XIII to the largest castle in Europe.
A series of three immersive films were then produced, including the sumptuous » Versailles, from Louis XIII to the Revolution » visible at the end of the article. To create these animations, which last two to three minutes, various devices have been put in place. For the interior of the castle, 3D scans were made laser and this is also the case for the facade and the statues outside. In the groves of the estate, a shooting took place with machinery (crane, dolly, boat).
Thus, the castle and its domain in its entirety, its main apartments, the castles of Trianon, the domain of Marie-Antoinette and the gardens have been entirely modeled and these models have been integrated into Google Earth.
Aloest Production has also produced many other cultural films available HERE.
Here is the film Versailles, from Louis XIII to the Revolution:
Sources: Aloest – PositivR