Interview with Michael Nguyen: Creator of the Iceland Virtual Art Gallery
Last year, my videographer friend Michael reached out to me to see if I was interested in collaborating with him on a project that he's been working on for the majority of the year. He came up with the idea of creating a virtual art gallery in Iceland. Michael was inspired by our trip to Iceland in 2018, where we spent ten days exploring the land of fire and ice. Since we couldn't host art galleries in person, this virtual art gallery was a way where anyone can experience the art gallery from the comfort of their home. It would also give us the photographers an opportunity to showcase our work during the pandemic. I was on board one hundred percent after hearing his idea.
The virtual art gallery is in a simulation format where players can explore inside the art gallery. The art gallery features landscape photography of Iceland from the works of Simon Migaj, Felipe Alves, and myself. You can also hike through the moss lava field, the crater, the church, and the iconic black sand beach nearby. As you traverse through different landscape terrains, experience the beautiful soundtrack and the ambient sounds of nature.
You can play the simulation HERE.
Hi Michael, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Hello! I'm a filmmaker from Toronto and I have been shooting for over five years now. In addition to being a Filmmaker, Iβm passionate about photography and traveling. Because I spend most of my time working in an office, I try to devote some of my spare time to go on outdoor adventures and work on personal and creative projects. One of my all-time favorite personal projects is the Toronto Timelapse video. It's a culmination of two years of work that captures everything from iconic places and landmarks, to the new additions that are constantly being added to the city. The video has been viewed more than 20,000 times online, and my Rogers Dome closing time-lapse was featured on BlogTo and has been seen 5 million times on Tik Tok.
How did creating a simulation come about?
I was inspired by the work of some 3D artists. It wasn't until Covid happened back in March of 2020 when I thought I could spend that extra time to create a 3D project from home. I wanted to combine my passion for photography and adventure to create a virtual photography gallery that people can experience from home.
Can you tell us a bit about the process of creating a virtual simulation like this?
Before I started this project, I took some of the free fundamental courses on Unreal Engine Learning and Youtube, as well as the Unreal Engine Essential Training on Linkedin. It felt overwhelming to use Unreal Engine at the beginning, but I learned the most by doing and putting in hours using this game engine. For the interactive experience, I had to work with visual scripting to add music, menu UI, and character movement. Overall, I wanted to keep things simple for this first 3D interactive project.
What were some obstacles and challenges you had to face when creating this simulation?
For me, the programming part of the process was challenging. I had no background in programming and coding, so I relied a lot on following tutorials on youtube and searching through forums. There were times I would spend a whole day and even a week trying to figure out one thing. The option to code with Blueprint Visual Scripting in Unreal Engine made the process a little bit more simple than traditional coding.
Were there any challenges creating the mobile version of the simulation compared to the desktop version?
I never thought about a mobile or mac version until after I finished the project. I knew a few friends who wanted to check out my work but didn't have a Windows PC with gaming specs. That's when I started to look into using Unity Engine since it's optimized for mobile, Mac, and PC. The challenge for me was learning to use a different game engine, and fixing some bugs. Every game engine has its bugs. I found that it was easier to fix different bug issues in Unity since there is a wealth of archival information on the internet. With Unreal Engine, it was a bit harder as it would take me a whole day or week to find answers and figure out on my own.
What's next for you when it comes to 3D projects?
I hope to work on a virtual showroom or store in the near future. I thought it would be cool to experience a virtual store and interact with different products from the comfort of your own home. I hope to collaborate with a 3D artist and business owners on this project.
Michael also created a new virtual art gallery based on my landscape, portrait, and travel photography work. You can play the simulation at the following links:
You can check out more of Michael's work on his website.
Check out my other behind the scenes blog posts below:
