HOLY PLACES IN THE WORLD

Multimedia Programme Design

There are five great religions in the contemporary world. They are Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism; all of them have common origins. Each of these religions means enormous crowds of believers and a lot of worship places. However, each of the five great religions has its s i n g u l a r

Holy Places,

which are unique and more importantly they are unquestionable centres
of these cults. These places, architectural buildings connected with them
and old traditions are undoubtedly very important for their believers.
Each of these places has very interesting history and an even more
interesting legend.

JUDAISM

Jerusalem Temple is a special place for Judaism. It is traditionally called
Salomon Temple.

Its history is unusual and violent although the Temple itself does not exist any more. It was the centre of the first monotheistic religion. The Temple was built and pulled down several times. Yet, it still remains 'the centre of the world' connected with monotheistic religions.

The building will be re-created together with Jerusalem, the town where
it existed. We hope that Judaism believers will not be the only ones to be
interested in the history of the Temple. After all its idea is also very
important for Christians, in particular for Protestants.

The history of the Temple in Jerusalem
is obviously worth telling and...showing.

The Temple in Jerusalem is the first topic to be prepared to show possibilities of creating virtual and multimedia worlds.

We have reconstructed this magnificent building in 3D computer animation
technology to look like in the times of Herod the Great, at the beginning of
our era.

	A 3-minute film trailer has been made as well as possibilities
of interactive visit of the Temple have been shown.

CHRISTIANITY

St. Peter`s Basilica in Rome.

Not many people know its unusual history and development.

First, it was a small chapel, then a bigger church built by Emperor Constantine in the 4th century AD.

After many enlargements and the reconstruction St. Peter`s Basilica has become one of the greatest wonders of architecture; it is very important in the religious world. 'St. Peter`s Capital' is an obvious spiritual centre of Christian religion and Catholic Church life.

It is impossible to overrate its importance. It is a real heart of the Catholic Church, full of spiritual life.

ISLAM

Mecca and Holy Black Stone.

Muslims worship the Holy Black Stone in Mecca, placed in the sanctuary built by Abraham and his son Ismael as tradition says.

The history of Mecca and its sanctuary Al. Kaaba is unusual, and an annual pilgrimage to this holy place of Islam called Hadj is celebrated in a very interesting way; more importantly it is rather not within non-Muslim reach.

Mecca is an unquestionable cradle of Islam.

BUDDHISM

Lhasa and Potal`s Palace.

Buddhism is an extremely various religion. It creates and maintains
a lot of concepts, ideas and rites.

It divides into many groups, schools and traditions. At the same time it shows large tolerance for many internal contradictions, reflecting different

waysand traces of searching the methods of freeing oneself from suffering. In this situation it is difficult to find a place deserving the name of a spiritual centre. However, such a place exists.

It is Potal`s Palace, built on so called the Red Mountain in the
Tibetan town of Lhasa in the 17th century.

The Palace is a traditional Dalai Lama`s residence. Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Buddhism and Buddha`s temporal incarnation. The first traces of religious significance of the Red Mountain go back to older times, the 7th century.

The Palace takes its name from a Sanskrit word -Awalokiteswara- which means
personification of spiritual enlightenment.

The town of Lhasa is situated at the height of 3600 meters above
sea level; it is a destination of pilgrimages for thousands of
Buddhism believers. The town is full of wonderful monuments,
the most important of which are the tombs of Dalai Lamas.
The importance of Potal`s Palace in Lhasa for Far East and West
cultures is really considerable; beauty, history and legends connected
with it allow to hope for a very interesting programme.

HINDUISM

The town of Waranasi and the Holy River of Ganges.

Hinduism is the last religion being of our interest.

In this case it is the whole town of Waranasi on the Holy River of Ganges.

This mysterious ancient town is full of monuments and places of worship. The basic route of a Hindu pilgrimage coming to Waranasi comprises 108 temples and usually takes about 5 days. Waranasi is the heart of HINDUISM and there the sense and substance should be sought.

AUTHOR`S AND PRODUCER`S EXPLICATIONS

We think that 'the holy places in the world',
their history and legends are really worth showing. We
hope our programme to be cognitive and ecumenical at the
same time, the more so as it is connected with live faith
of millions of people. We also hope to arouse interest in
the result of our work among many people. The development
of multimedia technology including 3D computer animation
over the last years, allows to realise extremely
interesting designs, which may reach many people`s hearts
as so called 'multimedia' are directed to people of all
ages thanks to their various forms and nature. The
created elements are frequently used, which lowers the
relative cost of all the work and gives considerable
chance of achieving artistic and financial success.
Moreover, the opening of modern and commonly accessible
internet distribution canals (considerable increase of
importance of e-marketing and internet sales), sometimes
allows the producers of 'multimedia' to become
independent of traditional distribution net, which is
really attractive and is used in this design. The idea to
show 'the most sacred places in the world' in a modern,
multimedia way is based on our concept. Our design is
ambitious and varied. We want to recreate, show and
relate the history of the five places and buildings of
worship in the following way:

AXIS OF ACTIVITY AND ELEMENTS OF UNDERTAKING

Making a full computer reconstruction of the building in
all the important historical periods is the axis of all
activities connected with the design. The building should
be recreated together with architectural context (the
place where it is situated) and figures of worship.

The reconstruction is made in order to:

- use animation materials for pictures in documentary films
- make a popularised scientific interactive multimedia
guide allowing to visit freely the building in several
selected periods
- make a fiction adventure attractive computer game,
edutainment type for young people
- use photo-realistic frames from animation and
documentary film materials in the book
'Holy Places In The World'
- make an internet interactive version of the programme

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROGRAMME`S ELEMENTS

1. A 50-minute documentary film (a series of five films in total)
on the history of the
building; the film will contain a lot of 3D computer
animation. It should be a popularised scientific film.
Apart from giving real knowledge consistent with the
newest research we will not avoid courageous hypothesis,
the explanations of mysteries and religious elements,
making the film for an ordinary receiver,
2. A multimedia guide issued on a CD or
DVD record allowing a virtual visit of the selected place
not only in contemporary time, but allowing also to go
back to remote times. The user of such a programme will
be able to install it in his PC or Mac computer, choose
one of historical periods being of his interest, visit
the building and learn not only architecture and objects
but also habits and social context in that period. This
product will be meant for adults and students of Theology
or Archaeology.
3. A fiction-adventure game based on the
combination of history knowledge and legends concerning
that place. The game will be meant for young people,
however, older people will play it with pleasure too. The
plot will be of adventure, full of puzzles, mysteries and
various incidents, but at the same time full of
historical realities, thanks to which its educational
value will be very important.
4. The issue series 'Holy Places In The World' in several language versions should
be published together with the computer game distribution
and should contain supplement for a film version. The
publication should be well illustrated both with
materials from animation reconstruction and from the
film.
5 . 'The Holy Places' in the internet - taking advantage of illustration and substantial
materials, it is worth making a web site containing most
of the above mentioned materials and an interactive
on-line version of an adventure game with a possibility
of many users playing on the internet in the mode of real
time.