Chinese artefacts are given the WOW factor

CENTURIES-OLD Chinese artefacts too damaged to put on display can now be seen by the public thanks to the work of a North Staffordshire media firm.

Biddulph-based WOW Digital Media has been working with the Hong Kong government's museums department to produce 3D models of pieces that are either no longer in existence or are too damaged or precious to put on show.

Experts at the department approached WOW's Hong Kong office, which opened earlier this year, and staff handed the project on to the firm's creative team in Staffordshire.

Directors were able to stay in constant contact with both their colleagues in Hong Kong and the client via Skype, which allows people to make video calls over the internet.

WOW managing director Darren Ali, pictured, said: "All the design and interactive development was led in the UK in Staffordshire, while our Computer Generated Image Technical team based in Hong Kong developed the 3D elements of the project."

One item the team was asked to work on was a porcelain model of Buddhist deity Guanyin from the early Qing Dynasty, from about around 1650.

Mr Ali said: "This particular artefact has been reproduced many times as merchandising and is very popular with visitors, but unfortunately the original figure is severely damaged and not on permanent display.

"There is a great amount of detail in the clothing and we worked on the render technique to achieve an exact patina that would have been on the original figure."

As well as a 3D model of the porcelain figure, WOW produced two different versions after being advised by museum experts that a gold figure had existed in the past, while a jade version is still around but is too damaged to put on show.

The team also produced a 'fly-through' animation to show how the figures would look on display, which is currently being developed into a DVD.

The firm has invested in the latest glass-cutting DVD technology to complete the assignment, and as a result is already in talks with a number of Chinese companies about future projects.

Although WOW specialises in creating 3D pictures, computer-generated images and animations, it also produces films and corporate photography, and offers editing and post-production services to the film and television industry.

As well as the Hong Kong studio, it also has an office in Budapest. Mr Ali works alongside creative director Leona Jordin in North Staffordshire, and the firm uses a database of hundreds of self-employed animators, producers, film-makers, photographers and other specialists.

Mr Ali said he hopes WOW's Hong Kong office can provide an effective platform for international expansion.

As well as the museums project, the firm has also worked with the Great Painters Gallery in Wan Chai, which features CGI exhibitions, to produce a 3D model of a Salvador Dali exhibition.

And WOW is currently in discussions with the Silk Museum in Macclesfield about potential interactive and digital projects.

Mr Ali said: "The more traditional institutions such as arts and museums are now catching up quite fast with this technology. WOW is proud to be at the forefront and branching out internationally from here in North Staffordshire."

Allan Watson, lecturer in human geography at Staffordshire University, said: "The development of an innovative and thriving creative sector is crucial to future economic prosperity in North Staffordshire.

"Companies like WOW Digital Media represent an excellent model for developing capacity in the new media sector. Through their work in Hong Kong, they have demonstrated how a successful creative sector can act to link North Staffordshire's local economy into the wider global economy, promoting long-term economic growth."

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