Anglia Ruskin University digital heritage expert wins award for innovative film

Dr Fabrizio Galeazzi collecting 3D data for the film
Dr Fabrizio Galeazzi collecting 3D data for the film Credit: Anglia Ruskin University

A digital heritage expert at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) has won a prestigious innovation award for a documentary created with 3D technology.

Dr Fabrizio Galeazzi, of ARU’s StoryLab research institute, and his colleague Dr Paola Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco, of the University of Essex, tell the story of the Italian town Senerchia that was left devastated by an earthquake.

Their film, Italia Terremotata, won the 2021 Practice Research Innovation Award, presented by the British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies (BAFTSS) for using laser scans to create a digital replica of the old town.

It was released on 23 November 2020 - exactly 40 years after the 6.9 magnitude earthquake.

Digital replica of the town from the 3D laser scanner Credit: Anglia Ruskin University

Using a 3D laser scanner and 360-degree panoramas, the researchers could create accurate interpretations of the surfaces and colours.

In the documentary, they combined this footage with interviews with those affected, songs, poems, and archive material, including photos and newspaper reports.

The town is in the process of creating a 'Museum of Resilience' which hopes to promote collaboration with other communities impacted by earthquakes.

The film is planned to become an integral part of the museum.