The Dynamics of Change in the Computer Imaging of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Other Ancient Inscriptions

A publication on the Imaging of the Dead Sea Scrolls Part 1 | Part 2

by Bruce Zuckerman
Digital Design by Tara Waugh

(Revised and enlarged from Rediscovering the Dead Sea Scrolls: An Assessment of Old and New Approaches and Methods (Maxine L. Gorsman, ed.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010): 69-88. This version is dated October 1, 2010)

This article is a revised and enlarged version of a study previously published in conventional book form.  Its aim is to see what can be done, using current technologies, to transform a static text into a dynamic, all-electronic, media-rich essay. The transformation was designed not simply to illustrate key points in this study, but to begin to embody a new form of visual analysis that takes full advantage of high resolution photography, special imaging techniques and animation to enhance its narrative.

This article is intended to be fully readable on either a PC or a Mac platform using Adobe’s Acrobat software. It is written using Adobe’s “In-Design” programming and in order to be fully used requires Adobe Reader version 9.The latest version can be downloaded at http://get.adobe.com/reader free of charge. Note: Be sure that you are reading this article in Acrobat 9 or higher. If this article defaults to another program or an earlier version of Acrobat, neither the “layers” nor the “animation” functions will be operative. On a Mac platform, you can tell if Acrobat is employed if “Adobe Reader” appears in the upper left corner of your screen to the right of the “Apple” icon. On a PC platform, the “Adobe Reader” should appear in the upper left title of the window containing the open document. To ensure the program opens in Abode Reader, you should open the article by right clicking on it with your mouse,selecting “Open With” and then selecting Adobe Reader 9.

The electronic version of this article was done in collaboration with USC’s Institute of Multimedia Literacy (IML; see http://iml.usc.edu/) in the School of Cinematic Arts and particularly in close coordination with Tara Waugh of the IML. I am grateful to Holly Willis, director of the IML, and Elizabeth Daley, Dean of the School of Cinematic arts for making this possible.

Please report any technical difficulties encountered in downloading this article to bzuckerm@usc.edu.

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