Embedding 3D Content
It would be really useful if we could demonstrate some of our work by inserting 3D content hosted on platforms with that capability. As demonstrated at the bottom of this page, your bog-standard You-Tube or Vimeo link punched through an i-frame works just fine but there’s a trick to using them with more complicated embed codes.
Basically, don’t believe QUT instructions about using the custom WordPress theme’s ShortCode functionality. Instead copy the full embed code from say, SketchFab and it will work fine. Is this best practice? Dunno! Have logged a job to find out. Make sure you are using your WordPress editor in ‘text’ mode not ‘visual’!
Note that the example below is not ‘centered’ deliberately – just to see what it looks like. It does demonstrate that you can remove a lot of the SketchFab overlay material if you are prepared to pay for the privilege though. We can do that in this case because it’s coming from QMN’s ‘Enterprise’ level account which enables lots of options to customise your embed code. This is a QMN model with animation done by QUT PhD student Guy Lobwein…
This next model is one done in ScanCave by David Pyle and is being embedded from Gavin Sade’s ‘Pro’ level account. The Pro account is not quite so powerful which means watermarks, links, and other overlay elements cannot be removed…
This QMN model of Australovenator is embedded courtesy of an ARDC-hosted Linux VM using the Smithsonian Institute’s open-sourced 3D platform Voyager. Unlike SketchFab, which requires an annual subscription, this and other free 3D Javascript frameworks just need suitable web-hosting. And brain-power!
The above 3D examples are all works-in-progress, so there’s plenty of tweaking to be done in terms of settings and determining the best method for ‘cooking’ them but, as a proof-of-concept, they will suffice for the moment. The first one has built-in animation, the others don’t. The next example is not a 3D model but a 360 image viewer. We’re using the free version.
BTW, just to show that it’s a goer, this last demo is done using the QUT simplified ‘ShortCode’ embed for video content using YouTube coming through in an i-frame. This show went to air nationally on the Seven Network @ 8:30pm on April 1st, 1991 – back when TV was 4:3 aspect ratio and special effects were done with analog technology. Those were the days.