Frozen Scenography: Extending Somatic Movement Practice Through 3D Scanning

This chapter delves into the application of 3D scanning (or photogrammetry) as a visual method to document and mediate the sensorial experience within environmental somatic movement research. We question how somatic dance practice may be transmitted through the creation of 3D models and how these might be explored as standalone digital artworks within larger immersive virtual environments. How might navigable 3D documentation mediate the somatic experience that traditional still image photography may not? We introduce 3D scanning as an emergent visual medium in contexts including (but not exclusive to) engineering, environmental and built heritage, fine arts and the performing arts. Branching from these contexts, we consider the particular technological and aesthetic affordances 3D scanning might present for the viewer’s active engagement with somatic movement research. We examine existing visual arts practices to document somatic practice and how resultant visual languages aim to transmit sensorial engagement with the environment. Ultimately, we turn to 3D scanning as an emergent form of still image capture that combines elements of still image photography with 3D modelling and can be experienced by the viewer in navigable immersive virtual environments. Rather than simply suggesting 3D scanning as a complementary tool for documentation and sharing, we are interested in developing a shared methodology where both dancer and documentarian engage with the somatic investigation of body, object and environment in the three-dimensional capture of a moment in time—a frozen scenography.