DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF TURKISH FOLK DANCES AND MOTION CAPTURE TECHNOLOGY

Abstract

Folk dances are one of the traditional arts consisting of instruments and music, clothing, ornamentation and dance steps, which provide a lot of information about the culture of a society. Turkey, with its multicultural structure, has one of the richest traditional dance cultures in the world. It is possible to come across different dance cultures in every province of our country, even in the districts and villages of the same province. Despite this richness, there is almost no data that can be handled scientifically because not enough field research has been done. The most comprehensive compilation studies in our country were carried out in the 1980s by HAGEM (General Directorate of Folk Culture Research and Development), which was established under the Ministry of Culture in the 1970s. Apart from a few personal efforts, there has not been sufficient institutional and scientific interest in collecting this rich data in the field since then.  The data obtained with the video technique used in fieldwork 30-40 years ago is nowadays only very poor quality, low pixel images. It is almost impossible to detect sound and movement details from this data. In addition, many videotapes have become obsolete over time, resulting in the loss of the collected information. Although the data collected is very valuable, it is almost impossible to integrate it into today's technology, given the technology of the period in which it was collected. If it is not identified and preserved and/or transferred to future generations, it is inevitable that this data, which is limited to the lifetime of the individual, will be lost. For this reason, it is essential that the data collected through field research is technologically processed, preserved and shared under a digital library infrastructure. In today's globalized world, it is very difficult to encounter local cultural elements that are still living and surviving. Considering the point reached by technology, every element that cannot adapt to the digital age is either left far behind or disappears. From this point of view, it is of great importance to collect, archive and process the data of this rich culture in the most accurate way.  Looking at the world in general, it is seen that the most advanced technology used in this field is motion capture technology.