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Diorama Engine guide

For lab presenters · Ecoss Sci-Art
The quick version

Presenting your diorama

Your station plays on its own. You step in whenever you want to talk about a picture, and step back when you're done.

  1. It plays by itself. Each stop opens its card on its own. If your station starts on a board of tiles, tap one to begin there. On a station with several journeys, the next one's title shows before it starts.
  2. Tap any thumbnail in the strip at the bottom to jump to that stop.
  3. Close a card with its
  4. Hold the moment: press Space, or Pause at the top of the Atlas.
  5. Anything odd? ⚙ gear → Reset. Still odd? Find your concierge.
Try it before the show

Practice on the live test site

Everything on this page works there, with a mouse, a trackpad or a touch screen.

Live construction zoneWe build every lab's station on this site while you practise. The landscape can literally change under you: art, stops and even the whole package may switch while you're using it. If something looks different from this guide, reload the page and carry on.
Open the practice dioramaopens in a new tab Pocket guide (PDF)print double-sided, fold
Find your way around

What's on screen

1 ? ⚙ 1 2 3 4 5 6
  1. 1Masthead. Lab, journey title and tagline. Shows as each journey begins, and now and then.
  2. 2Atlas . Every scene, as tiles. Its header has Pause / Play, ↺ Restart and ↑ Lobby: the easy route if you only have a mouse.
  3. 3Card. Title and picture first. means there are words below; ↗ opens it full screen; closes it.
  4. 4Strip (Cover Flow or Carousel). The centre thumbnail is where you are. Tap any other to go there.
  5. 5? Help. A short on-screen reminder.
  6. 6⚙ Controls. The gear panel, below.
Bottom-right corner

The gear panel

Navigation

How the stops line up along the bottom of the screen.

DialCarouselCover FlowFilmstripChicletsHidden

Layout

Board Mode: every stop as tiles; tap one to open it. Some stations start here.
Centered Stage: every card in the middle of the screen.

Sound & display

Soundtrack and Sound Effects, on or off.
Fullscreen for the station screen.
Accessibility: larger text, centered cards, a simpler strip.

Playback

Reset: back to the start of the journey.
Pause / Resume, same as Space or the Atlas's Pause.
Pop out: float these controls on the screen.
Advanced is PIN-locked for the concierge.
From a laptop

Keys & gestures

Moving through the diorama

SpacePause or resume the whole diorama ← →Previous / next stop EscClose the full-screen view, then the board DragSpin the Carousel ring; let go and it settles on a stop ScrollInside a card, when shows more below

Video, full screen

Tap a card video (it shows ) to open it large. The bar underneath is yours:

Drag the knobScrub to any moment SpacePlay / pause the clip ← →Back / ahead 2 s (Shift = 10 s) MSound on / off (it starts muted)

It stays open while you talk. Close it with its ✕ or Esc.

On the day: your diorama concierge is Steve, on site. If a station ever freezes, a hard refresh (⌘ R) restarts it.