Virtual Museum Tour the Louvre

¶ … Virtual Museum Tour The Louvre Museum in Paris maintains a graphically-intense website at http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home_flash.jsp?bmLocale=en.Like most major museums, the Louvre has created a sophisticated virtual tour of its property. The tour can be initiated by clicking on "Virtual Tours" under the "Museum" menu on the homepage listed above. Virtual museum tours are not simply JPEG photo albums with thumbnail images of artwork.

Rather, a virtual tour involves three-dimensional imaging, on-site video of the museum grounds, dynamic zooming in and out of the works of art, and other multimedia features including sound. From the page http://www.louvre.fr/llv/musee/visite_virtuelle.jsp?bmLocale=en, the viewer can click on "Take a Tour Online." Even before launching the tour, the viewer can see a Macromedia Flash video of the Louvre grounds, viewed from the main courtyard. One of the main software technologies used for the Louvre virtual tour is QuickTime.

QuickTime is an Apple company-designed software system, and the player is free for website visitors. QuickTime development technology is not free, but rather is used for a number of professional applications including gaming and movies. In addition to the QuickTime technology, ordinary hypertext and imaging software are employed in the creation of the Louvre virtual tour. When a viewer clicks on an element of interest on the virtual tour page, he or she is directed to a new page.

The page contains a number of different elements, including a QuickTime video image, ordinary text, and GIF images. Therefore, the Louvre virtual tour proves that a multitude of different computer software technologies are required for the creation of virtual tours. The QuickTime aspect of the tour is the most media-rich and the most interesting and compelling for the viewer. The QuickTime technology enables viewers to participate in their virtual tour: "Interactive three-dimensional plans allow visitors to "surf" the galleries and gardens," ("About the Site").

The Louvre museum website attracts people from around the world. According to the Louvre's website, some of the main purposes of taking a virtual tour include the ability for "Internet users in France and around the world visiting the site to find out more about the museum's collections, but without necessarily making a trip to the Louvre itself." As one of the most famous institutions in the world, the Louvre has a responsibility to make their website as accessible as possible.

The site does an apt job of offering the viewer a virtual tour, a tour that transcends the limitations of language. The virtual tour can only be conducted in English or French. However, the tour is so visually-oriented as to eliminate any potential language barriers. Therefore, recommendations regarding the creation of a virtual tour include economical accessibility. QuickTime enables such universal access to visual data, via a "video of astonishing quality," (Apple QuickTime).

In addition to QuickTime technology, graphic imaging technology and software like Adobe Photoshop may be necessary for the completion of a sophisticated virtual tour such as the Louvre's. While the QuickTime movies provide a vibrant three-dimensional view of individual rooms in the museum, the static graphics are straightforward and can also be viewed by users who do not have QuickTime installed on their computers. All developers need to be aware of the potential limitations of their audience's computer applications and must make simpler alternatives for taking a virtual tour.

Finally, the virtual tour includes good web design in general. For the virtual tour to be accessible and easily navigable, designers must arrange objects on the page with respect the basic rules of design. Frames, text boxes, font, color, and titles all contribute to the overall view-ability of the virtual tour. Web viewers will not have the patience to.