Colosseo

In my FMP research I wish to seek out all of the Colosseum's facts and secrets and everything about its structure including the amount of arches built in, the height, length and width. I will be looking into all of the events that were held in the Colosseum to present in my final project, finding out when the events were held, how many animals or people roughly were killed. I will further investigate into such things as what happened to make part of the Colosseum collapse and how and what they rebuilt it with. after I have researched into all of its history and facts I will begin my research in plant life or 'foliage' so I can begin to get examples of it or how it drapes over buildings or ruins, what textures would the plants and Colosseum have and finally I will look into various ways of modelling in Maya to maybe make the construction of my model quicker or simpler.

In the pictures below it shows the simple construction of the Colosseum or also known as the Flavian Amphitheater, as it portrays in the picture the Colosseum is a large oval shape with a large amount of arcs built in that were used as entrances, there is 80 arcs for access of around 55, 000 spectators, being a huge 188m long and 156m meters it had no problem fitting thousands of people in to watch events that were held there. This information was collected from http://www.roman-empire.net/emperors/domitian-index.html

Construction of the Colosseum began in 72 AD under the rule of Emperor Vespasian, he completed most of it but then passed away and that was when his son, Titus Flavius Domitianius, took the responsibility of Emperor and continued to build the Colosseum. At the end of Titus's rule he became ill, rumour had it that Domitian poisoned Titus to get the throne, others say that he simply died of an illness. Either way that same night when Titus lay dying, Domitian rode to his camp and proclaimed to his soldiers that he was now Emperor, the following day of Titus's passing Domitian was confirmed Emperor by the senate. Now Domitian wanted to live upto the reputation of his predecessors, so aswell as his great victory on the conquest of Agri Decumates, lands of the upper rhines, he fully completed the Colosseum with a grand total of 240 masts on the 4th floor. This was gathered from http://www.rome.info/colosseum/

The Colosseum has been slowly damaged through the years, it has endured various earthquakes and took large amounts of damage, of course the largest destroying the entire other half of the wall. It has been rebuilt and preserved over the years, it can now be visited and aswell as walking around in the actual Colosseum there are displays and statues to observe and 3D models of the Colosseum and the city surrounding it.

The photo to the left is a completed model of the Colosseum, unlike my model this Colosseum is fully complete and it has not been damaged and it is not decayed in anyway. My model will look very differently to this as mine will be broken down and decayed, similar to the real thing as it stands today, in my recreation of the Colosseum it will not have the 4th level and therefore will not have the 240 masts placed around its top. Although, in my version the passages or pathways will be preserved so that it will be easier and more interesting to walk around in.

This brilliant model has the same structure that I wish to achieve in my project, it has half of the wall left from when it collapsed in an earthquake but has been rebuilt so the edges do not look completely destroyed. I hope after paying alot of attention to detail through various types of research on the Colosseum to get all its passages and rooms, I will build them correctly in my design so that with the first person controller you explore the entire Colosseum picking up facts that are brought up on the screen as you pass through them. A factor of this model I wont be adding to mine will be all the metal gates, it would be good to stop the character to stop from walking off the edge and giving you a sense of direction, but in this model instead of the gates, foliage and trees will be blocking most of the exits above the 1st floor.

This image I have collected has a similar design of what I wish to achieve in my project, this an astounding piece of work and I do not expect my model to be up to these kind of standards but as close as I can get. The light seeping in through doorways and holes in walls also is an effect I wish to achieve, giving my model a more realistic feel and a better experience. It is parts of the Colosseum like this that I will be placing fact pick ups for the player, stating what happens here and where it leads and other information and facts I have collected. As you can see in the image above there is various passages you can take at anytime, one leading around the Colosseum or another leading into the actual arena or beneath it, most of the models passages like this will be preserved, hopefully it will look as well as it does here.

The picture to the left shows a closer view of the Colosseums bottom level, this is where the gladiators or animals would sometimes come up from. It gives me a better look inside the lower level so I can make my interpretation of this more accurate, there are multiple cavities and spaces in this layer for all the equipment and gladiators. In the background there is a small moon like base covering the lower level slightly, this is to show us where the stage would be and therefor giving me a better insight on how to lay out the structure of my model.

This image of the Colosseum shows how I can set out most of the staircases in my model, all the holes in the walls and the decay around the stone materials gives me an insight on how to texture and portray them in my final project. This image has obviously been taken recently as it has the handrails for visitors, in my version it will not have anything like this, it will be as if it was abandoned only a few months after the collapse. Also, the stairs in this picture have been rebuilt due to damage from the earthquake and for the purpose of the thousands of tourists it attracts, my version will not have demolished stairs but I will portray them like they are still intact and made from the same material they were years ago, my main aim is to show decay and overgrowth in most places but the inside where you will be able to explore will be mostly preserved.

To the left is an image I have collected, a type of blueprint which allows me to see a side view of the Colosseum, making all hallways, entrances and exits clear. This will help my design greatly, I now know where specifically to model my hallways and passages, making alot more points accessible for the player. This gives you the ability to explore every passage, door and stairway to any other room or level. Also this will help me to plan out my bottom level of my model and able to make it quite similar to the rest of the level giving it a more realistic feel.

 The picture of the Colosseum to the left is from the the film gladiator, it was set in the time when the 'Colosseo' was in its best state, as I have explained in earlier research I am recreating it as ruins so as impressive it does look in this picture my model will be alot more broken down. Some features that are visible in this picture that caught my eye is the large archway in the background, this would make a nice addition to my model especially when I have to improvise and make it as If it was decayed, my own interpretation. Another thing in this picture is the large canopy looking feature at the top of the Colosseum, this was for keeping the sun out as it is mostly always hot in Rome, it would of been a nice feature in my model when you reached the top but with the material it was made of it would of decayed completely years ago

This picture shows Maximus out of Gladiator fighting in the arena itself, in the background you can see types of pillars, they are in the same style as the archway in the picture above. I hope to include some of these pillars in my model, even though my model is decayed I think standing in the arena looking around should be the best part of the model.

This picture of the Colosseum from the film Gladiator portrays it as if its just been built, pristine white stone, all the statues in the archways, if possible I would like to include at least one statue in my model, obviously decayed. The way it portrays the Colosseum in this picture is very different to how it is in real life as I have been to the Colosseum and took pictures of its structure, especially the material, here it shows it as a white stone, now it is a decayed ruin made up of types of red brick and whatever is left of the actual Colosseum itself. 

From my research so far I have managed to collect all the facts and information I wished find out about, I now have a rough understanding of the Colosseum's size all around and the amount of arcs needed to make it evenly set out and get the size right. Through my research I have also got various images of the Colosseum itself and peoples interpretations of it, giving me ideas of how to set my model out and as I do not know in detail what the inside of the Colosseum looks like I will be making it upto the standards of the actual thing and interpreting what I think the underground section would look like. After looking into detail at the events held in the Colosseum in the end I found out what I wanted, what events were held and roughly how many deaths there were, giving me more than I expected but therefore adding to my list of facts I can insert into my final project. I think this is a good amount of work as a main factor of my project and I think the information I have gathered is very useful and has helped me understand how I should construct my model and how it should be portrayed.