Initially I was annoyed with the text overlay, as I was more interested in the beautiful illustrations than reading the story, but there is a button to switch off the text so that the panos may be viewed alone. The story may be unfamiliar to North American readers as it is from The Violet Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang and part of a popular collection of fairly tales from around the world, mostly traditional folk tales from Eastern European countries such as Serbia and Lithuania.

It’s the first time I’ve seen illustrations employed as VRs, and I’m very impressed with the effect: the panoramic format is surprisingly well suited to this type of story and will appeal to both adults and children. The illustrations are dreamy, vibrant and expressive, with a style reminiscent of Chagall, particularly his Bible series.

“The Goat’s Ears of Emperor Trojan” is a joint undertaking by Srdjan Markovic and his wife, Jelena Obradovic, both of whom are designers deeply involved in all forms of VR panoramas (photorealistic, 3D-modelled, gaming, archaeological research, etc.). This time they decided to explore other possibilities of VR. “People are thinking of panoramas as immersive representations of our real world. But panoramas can put viewers into imaginary worlds too. This is what we like the most”, explains Markovic.

The illustrated VR story is actually an experiment, one the couple started for fun and hope to develop further. They have plans for a collection of illustrated European tales presented in the form of an adventure game. Although each country has its own tales, they contain universal themes and symbols common to all cultures. The couple envision that n interesting blend of tradition and technology would create a new way of reading European culture and mythology on three levels: local, European and global.

“The aim of the project is to link different traditions in an unconventional and entertaining way, and hence show their imminent unity”, Markovic continues. “The final epilogue would be one big tale composed of numerous panoramas as parts of other stories, which were splitting, dividing and mixing together during the reading, or virtual tour”. They see it as a non-commercial project offered freely to anyone who wants to learn about other cultures via an interactive picture book.

“It is big project and we are at the very beginning. Currently we are struggling to find funding for such huge non-commercial project we imagined, but as far as I can see people are interested and chances to see it finished are bright”, he says.

We look forward to seeing much more of their innovative work.

About Multimediaworx:

Jelena Obradovic is the painter, illustrator and printmaker and has several awards for her work. Along with illustrating she also designs, animates and shoots panoramas. Srdjan Markovic is the artistic and creative Director at Multimediaworx, and also a winner of many international awards, well known mostly for animation. He is currently very much into programming and gaming.

After more than ten years experience in making animations for commercials and television, as well as artistic animations for festivals, illustrations, CD presentations and games, the couple formed their own company last year, Multimediaworx. This year they are representing Serbia and Montenegro at the World Summit Award competition with the e-learning project in a form of adventure game made completely with VR panoramas.

The Goat's Ears of the Emperor Trojan

Once upon a time there lived an emperor whose name was Trojan, and he had ears like a goat. Every morning, when he was shaved, he asked if the man saw anything odd about him, and as each fresh barber always replied that the emperor had goat's ears, he was at once ordered to be put to death.

Now after this state of things had lasted a good while, there was hardly a barber left in the town that could shave the emperor, and it came to be the turn of the Master of the Company of Barbers to go up to the palace. But, unluckily, at the very moment that he should have set out, the master fell suddenly ill, and told one of his apprentices that he must go in his stead.

When the youth was taken to the emperor's bedroom, he was asked why he had come and not his master. The young man replied that the master was ill, and there was no one but himself who could be trusted with the honor. The emperor was satisfied with the answer, and sat down, and let a sheet of fine linen be put round him. Directly the young barber began his work, he, like the rest, remarked the goat's ears of the emperor, but when he had finished and the emperor asked his usual question as to whether the youth had noticed anything odd about him, the young man replied calmly, 'No, nothing at all.' This pleased the emperor so much that he gave him twelve ducats, and said, 'Henceforth you shall come every day to shave me.'

So when the apprentice returned home, and the master inquired how he had got on with the emperor, the young man answered, 'Oh, very well, and he says I am to shave him every day, and he has given me these twelve ducats'; but he said nothing about the goat's ears of the emperor.

From this time the apprentice went regularly up to the palace, receiving each morning twelve ducats in payment. But after a while, his secret, which he had carefully kept, burnt within him, and he longed to tell it to somebody. His master saw there was something on his mind, and asked what it was. The youth replied that he had been tormenting himself for some months, and should never feel easy until some one shared his secret.

'Well, trust me,' said the master, 'I will keep it to myself; or, if you do not like to do that, confess it to your pastor, or go into some field outside the town and dig a hole, and, after you have dug it, kneel down and whisper your secret three times into the hole. Then put back the earth and come away.'

The apprentice thought that this seemed the best plan, and that very afternoon went to a meadow outside the town, dug a deep hole, then knelt and whispered to it three times over, 'The Emperor Trojan has goat's ears.' And as he said so a great burden seemed to roll off him, and he shoveled the earth carefully back and ran lightly home.
Weeks passed away, and there sprang up in the hole an elder tree, which had three stems, all as straight as poplars. Some shepherds, tending their flocks near by, noticed the tree growing there, and one of them cut down a stem to make flutes of; but, directly he began to play, the flute would do nothing but sing: 'The Emperor Trojan has goat's ears.' Of course, it was not long before the whole town knew of this wonderful flute and what it said; and, at last, the news reached the emperor in his palace. He instantly sent for the apprentice and said to him: 'What have you been saying about me to all my people?'

The culprit tried to defend himself by saying that he had never told anyone what he had noticed; but the emperor, instead of listening, only drew his sword from its sheath, which so frightened the poor fellow that he confessed exactly what he had done, and how he had whispered the truth three times to the earth, and how in that very place an elder tree had sprung up, and flutes had been cut from it, which would only repeat the words he had said. Then the emperor commanded his coach to be made ready, and he took the youth with him, and they drove to the spot, for he wished to see for himself whether the young man's confession was true; but when they reached the place only one stem was left. So the emperor desired his attendants to cut him a flute from the remaining stem, and, when it was ready, he ordered his chamberlain to play on it. But no tune could the chamberlain play, though he was the best flute player about the court--nothing came but the words, 'The Emperor Trojan has goat's ears.' Then the emperor knew that even the earth gave up its secrets, and he granted the young man his life, but he never allowed him to be his barber any more.
Srdjan[at]multimediaworx[dot]com