Showcasing Heritage with 3D Animation: Cambodia

Sambor Prei Kuk is a complex of ruined temples, situated in the forests of Kampong Thom Province, Cambodia.

It was built by the Chenla Empire, which flourished in the 7th century.

In 2017, it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

However, many people don't know about it, even here in Cambodia.

Let's ask people in Phnom Penh, the capital city.

Never heard of it.

I don't know it.

Sambor Prei Kuk?
No, sorry.

No, but I've heard the name.

An ongoing project aims to showcase the site by creating 3D animation.

Professor So Sokuntheary, of Norton University, is a key contributor.

She has studied the ruin for many years.

It's not just Sambor Prei Kuk.
Cambodia has lots of unknown ruins.

I want to spread awareness,
on a global scale.

The imaging for the project is being provided by a Japan-affiliated IT company.

This project is original content,
by Cambodians, for Cambodians.

Locally produced content
is crucial for future development.

We investigate how Cambodians and Japanese are working together to showcase a historic ruin.

Cambodia's capital city.

It's regaining its vitality, following the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the south of the city is Factory Phnom Penh.

This former manufacturing site was reinvented as a creative hub, featuring offices, coworking areas, cafes and art spaces.

Here, alongside Norton University, a Japan-affiliated IT company is recreating Sambor Prei Kuk using 3D imaging.

The workforce consists of around 100 young Cambodians, including engineers and designers.

Their main job is producing high-quality virtual environments for the Japanese real estate industry.

The company was set up in 2015 by Kobayashi Yu, from Japan.

Our vision is to create services from
remote corners for the wider world.

Cambodia is a developing country;
it's often exploited by other nations.

Even so, we aim to build
international services from here.

Even in this capitalist society,
we can create something different.

Norton University, established in Phnom Penh in 1996, was Cambodia's first private university.

It has four colleges, dedicated to subjects such as social science and science, and around 8,500 students.

Kobayashi and his team are visiting the architecture department.

They're here to see architectural historian Professor Sokuntheary.

She's a member of the National Authority for Sambor Prei Kuk.

This is some temples of Sambor Prei Kuk, there was built by a brick.

They talk about the progress of the 3D animation project.

When finished, it will be shown at a 3D theater inside a Phnom Penh shopping mall, and used as promotional material to boost tourism.

To make an accurate representation of the complex, the team must visit Sambor Prei Kuk, and record 3D data.

This is the temple.

We have a city area, and then northern group, central, and southern group.

There are so many temples, right?

OK, yeah.

So maybe we should focus on some temples, so I want to know which one is the most famous...

OK.

So I just starting from the small scale, we can do this first, for like a trial project.

This project is important for telling
people about an unknown ruin.

I'm sure the 3D animation will
inspire them to visit in person.

Sokuntheary met Kobayashi when he visited for a recruitment event.

Norton University is highly regarded for its IT education.

She spoke about her goal of promoting the unknown ruin using modern technology, and Kobayashi offered technical assistance.

In truth, he too had a similar vision.

Cambodia is famous for its historical
ruins. Angkor Wat, in particular.

We want to combine that history with
our modern technology.

That will let us create a brand-new
type of content.

A common business pattern is for
Cambodians to fulfill orders from Japan.

But this content is by Cambodians,
and for Cambodians.

Kobayashi's enthusiasm for this concept can be traced back to when he first set up his company, an experience that was not entirely successful.

It happened in Phum Tep Archun, an agricultural community one hour's drive south of Phnom Penh.

It has just 2,400 residents.

In his university days, Kobayashi volunteered in developing countries.

This inspired an ambition to offer support through business.

After working at a Japan-affiliated IT company in Phnom Penh for three years, he decided to set up a business here.

The idea was that computers and the internet could create employment in rural communities.

Here it is.

This is where I set up my office.

With the current owner's permission, we step inside.

Computers were lined up here.
And here, too.

We brought them from Phnom Penh,
and connected them to the internet.

The business was based on simple jobs from Japan, such as the digitization of hand-drawn diagrams.

This provided the locals with valuable income, but it was difficult to keep up with the complicated demands from the Japanese clients.

Just one year later, the office closed.

For people who hadn't used a computer
before, it was too big of a challenge.

I set up the business, but it's crucial
for Cambodians to work independently.

Otherwise the business won't be
sustainable in the long run.

That was an important lesson, and
so this was a good experience.

Kobayashi returned to Phnom Penh, and restarted his business.

He recruited highly motivated young people with IT experience, and gradually accepted more difficult work from Japan.

His goal was to move on from quick and easy projects, and instead create global, high-quality services, led by Cambodians.

The company's chief technology officer is Keo Phearin.

After graduating from university, he was resigned to doing a simple IT job.

But after a meeting with Kobayashi, he seized the chance to improve his skills, and he is now the lead engineer of the 3D imaging project.

At this company you can learn
new things, and progress quickly.

Every employee gets a chance.
That's another great factor.

Even new employees can ask
to do certain things.

And they may be given those tasks.

It's a great place to work.

Kobayashi and his team head north from Phnom Penh, to Kampong Thom.

After a four-hour drive, they arrive at Sambor Prei Kuk.

They're here to capture 3D data that will be used for the animation.

Professor Sokuntheary is here already.

In 2017, Sambor Prei Kuk became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This woodland complex of over 60 remaining temples dates from around the 7th century, making it even older than Angkor Wat.

"Sambor Prei Kuk" means
"the temple in the lush forest."

The buildings are spaced out, and
organized into distinct groups.

Their lush green surroundings
set them apart from Angkor Wat.

So, we start here?

The team begin collecting 3D data.

Kobayashi believes the project should be carried out by Cambodians.

He simply watches them work.

Three devices are used to capture data.

First, a drone.

It flies around each structure, taking detailed photographs from every angle.

This produces a large volume of visual data that is interpreted in a 3D context through a process called photogrammetry.

Details of the buildings, such as the stone staircase, are photographed with a digital camera.

These pictures will be combined with those from the drone.

Reference points captured using a scanner will allow for a more accurate 3D image.

The team also record the surrounding environment.

The devices rotate 360 degrees.

They capture the interiors too.

The project's first goal is to make a one-minute animation, as a trial.

But there's the potential to expand to other mediums, such as VR, so the team record lots of data.

As a Cambodian, I'm delighted
to take part in this project.

It will let us introduce our many
historic ruins to the world.

It's a worthwhile thing
for a Cambodian to do.

It's something I'm proud to work on.

Norton University architecture students have come along on the trip.

The experience they gain using cutting-edge equipment can be applied in their own studies, and if the 3D imaging project continues, at other historic ruins.

The animation being produced will show more than just the ruin.

This carving depicts a woman
fighting a lion.

She's using a martial art
called bokator.

Bokator is a Cambodian martial art that dates as far back as the Khmer Empire.

In 2022, it was designated as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The carving at Sambor Prei Kuk proves that it was actually used before the Khmer era.

Professor Sokuntheary hopes to spread awareness of this by including a scene in the animation where the carving comes to life and performs bokator.

The area around Sambor Prei Kuk is covered in idyllic farmland.

Here, people live quiet lives, following old traditions.

Sokuntheary sees villages like this as potential attractions, and is involved in efforts to encourage visitors to the temple complex to come here too.

She believes that traditional raised-floor buildings, which are plentiful here, are the most important factor.

She visits an official that helps to look after several villages in the area.

She's here with a proposal that may raise awareness in the villages.

We want to run a
beautiful homes contest.

The aim is to protect
traditional houses.

Also, owners can generate income
by letting tourists stay over.

Let's talk to six village leaders
about this idea.

We should all work together
to come up with a plan.

We want the contest to inspire pride
in the villagers for their homes.

If tourists stay here, they may
like it so much that they'll visit again.

That will generate income, and
hopefully improve people's lives.

Kobayashi and his team return to Phnom Penh, and begin processing the data they collected.

The scanner produces a 3D model.

It's surrounded by squares, showing the location of drone and digital photographs.

Specialized software combines this data and produces a 3D representation.

Any missing visual information requires additional photography.

It's painstaking work.

Both exteriors and interiors are recreated down to the finest detail.

Each building is meticulously modeled, and incorporated into the animation.

Another important element of the video is bokator.

This Norton University graduate is a practitioner of the martial art.

She's here at Professor Sokuntheary's invitation.

The team cover her body in sensors, which will record her movement through a process called motion capture.

Her bokator performance can then be reproduced as an animation.

Bokator is a mixed martial art that makes use of the whole body: hands, feet, knees and elbows.

There are over 300 techniques, including strikes and grapples, and in some cases with weapons such as sword, staff and stick.

I'm really happy to show everyone
this Cambodian tradition.

I'm also happy that my
professor remembered me!

The data is used to animate a character.

Any movements that can't be recorded using motion capture are analyzed and corrected on a skeletal level.

The connection to Cambodian tradition
is what makes this project difficult.

We must avoid
historical inaccuracies.

We have to consult experts about
the ruins, bokator and clothing.

The goal is for the animation to appeal to a wide range of people.

So it's important to consider how elements such as the ruins and bokator will be presented within the one-minute video.

The team regularly consult with Professor Sokuntheary.

They work for around a month, through a process of trial and error.

3D imaging is often used to study,
restore and preserve historic ruins.

This project is great because it
has other elements, like movement.

I love animation. I hope the video
appeals to a lot of people.

It's a Sunday in mid-December, 2022.

Students and interested parties gather in a Norton University lecture hall.

They're here to watch the finished 3D animation, ahead of its public release.

Professor Sokuntheary greets the audience.

This collaborative project will
raise awareness of our cultural heritage.

Both tangible and intangible.

Now it's Kobayashi's turn.

This project is focusing more on social impact.

Please enjoy our exciting demo.

Finally, in a 3D theater constructed specially in the lecture hall, the film begins.

The audience are wearing 3D glasses.

On a 360-degree display, Sambor Prei Kuk appears before them.

Here's what the 2D version looks like.

The temple complex is shown in the evening, to highlight its mystique.

The buildings are accurately represented, but placed together, for easier viewing.

And here's the bokator carving.

It made me want to go and visit.

It was great. I'm surprised
that it was made by Cambodians.

Showing visuals like this is great.
I felt like I was really there.

What does Sokuntheary make of the audience's reaction?

The project is finally complete.

I'm so happy to show it to everyone.

And I'm glad the students showed
such an interest.

It was something we could
only achieve in Cambodia.

We combined their history and
culture with digital technology.

We were able to produce something
new; that was the concept.

And from that perspective,
I think we made something fantastic.

The following week, the animation is shown for free in a 3D theater in a Phnom Penh shopping mall.

It's the first step for a project that aims to inform lots of people about the historic ruin.

In the future, the film will be shown in schools, and many other venues.

Meanwhile, Kobayashi's company have begun a second project.

They will use the data from Sambor Prei Kuk to create a VR tour.

When complete, people situated anywhere in the world will be able to take part in a simulated visit.

Kobayashi is also looking even further into the future.

We captured a large amount
of data.

We want to make it available to all.

If any Cambodian company can use it,
we'll see further development.

I want to continue working with
Kobayashi and his company.

We can tell a lot of people about
Cambodia's World Heritage.

Technology can showcase both
tangible and intangible heritage.

The project originated with a professor hoping to raise awareness of Cambodia's historic sites, and a Japanese businessman aiming to help Cambodians create their own new content.

Their collaboration represents just the beginning of a relationship between Cambodian tradition and cutting-edge technology.