Creating Stereoscopic 3D Images

For this assignment I decided to use the imotion HD app that I used for making stop motion videos. I found it useful because I was able to take a picture and have the ghost of that image stay on screen while I take my second picture, which allowed me to make sure I only shifted over horizontally.

Here are extras that I took for fun!

Recreating Cameras and Lights in Maya

Photo 1: IMG_5785

Maya Render:

Photo 2: IMG_5854

Maya Render: 

Photo 3:  IMG_5917

Maya Render: 

Extra Credit Lighting a Scene in Maya

1. Spot Light

2. 2 Point Light

3. 3 point Light

Building a Scene in Maya

Third Term Paper

My first two term paper scores were 90 and 90; I will not be writing a third term paper.

Outline of Third Term Paper

Introduction: I will compare fire effects from a low budget indie movie (Clerks 2), and compare it to computer graphics fire effects from a high production studio movie (Toy Story 3).

Thesis: Although computer graphics generated fire is more visually realistic, it could be out of the budget of independent filmmakers. I will explore alternative methods to simulate fire on screen.

Body:

1. How Toy Story 3 created fire in the scene where the gang is about to be incinerated in the dumpster.
     - Used computer graphics algorithms.
     - Mainly made use of lighting to insinuate that the characters are within an inferno.
2. How Clerks 2 created fire in the opening scene.
     - The opening scene was in black and white so color would not be an issue.
     - Real fire was filmed in front of a green screen and later composited over another green screen, so when      the character opens the doors, fire can be seen raging from within.

Conclusion:

3. Although Toy Story 3 had realistic fire effects, the lighting and color of the scene is what convinced viewers that the characters were surrounded by fire. Clerks opted to use real fire over a green screen which looked less convincing. Perhaps if the filmmakers had opted for more of a mood effect, by using lighting and sound, and showing minimal fire, it would have been more convincing.

Second Stop Motion

The previous stop motion I created involved mainly 2D characters. For this assignment, I wanted to create a character that I could move freely in any direction. I started by making a little adventurer out of pipe cleaner. I fashioned his cape out of some fabric that I rubbed in the dirt to make it look weathered. To finish it off, I created a weathered map for him to hold.

The feet were the hardest obstacle to overcome. I decided to leave them as pointy wires, and I wet the dirt outside so that I could pierce his legs into the soft earth. Despite my best efforts, and after endless trials, this was my best result. I tried to make his legs move in all of the main walking positions, but even with the damp dirt, it was difficult to keep the character upright, and in the correct position. I recognize that the stop motion animation could be better, but given what I had, I made it work as best as I could.

What I love most about this stop motion is the setting. I have always been inspired by how easily a world can be transformed by scale, in this case, a little man in a forest made for human sized people.

Second Term Paper

Newton's Second Law and Deep Space

         An object in motion will stay in motion until acted upon by another force. This is Newton's Second Law of Motion. There is no better place to illustrate this law than in deep space. The lack of friction and air resistance in space makes this law very easy to demonstrate. In space, if a pen were thrown down a hallway of a spaceship, it would travel at a uniform speed, not speeding up nor slowing down, until it hits the opposite end of the ship, at which point it would change direction and keep traveling.

     The movie industry has always been interested in depicting stories in deep space. This is because space is a frontier that is mostly unknown to people. One can only imagine what mysteries that space contains. Space could be wacky, lonely, or terrifying. The following movies: Wall E (2008, Andrew Stanton), Gravity (2013, Alfonso Cuaron), and Apollo 18 (2011, Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego), all depict space in a different way. All of them break Newton's Second Law of Motion, but only most of them do so in a believable way, as a choice to further the story.

     Wall E is Disney Pixar's animated movie that features a love story of two robots in space. There is only one scene in which both robots, Wall E and Eve, are free floating in deep space. Eve is a high tech robot with technology that allows her to move around as she pleases. Wall E, on the other hand, is quite primitive, and can only move through space with makeshift thrusters in the form of a fire extinguisher. 

     Newton's Second Law of Motion is broken when Wall E uses his fire extinguisher to blast himself through space, but an imaginary friction slows him down. One blast from the extinguisher should propel him along through space unless he uses another blast to change direction, or unless he encounters another object. Instead, he uses a blast to chug him along, and when he slows down, he uses another blast, and so on.

(The white smears show that Wall E has used the fire extinguisher to propel himself. He has multiple blasts because after each one, he was propelled forward and slowed down, thus giving him the need to use another blast.)

(The white specks show that Wall E has used the fire extinguisher to propel himself. In this shot, Wall E has actually slowed down in the background and he is about to give himself another blast to propel him towards Eve.)

         This law of motion was broken intentionally to illustrate a humorous contrast between the primitive robot and the sleek, high tech robot. This scene is a character piece that depicts the two wildly different robots, and how they interact with each other. The broken law of motion can be dismissed mainly because the movie is a visually stunning animated movie, and it does not paint itself to be steeped in realism, but it is also dismissed because it takes the time to understand how objects do behave in space, and it breaks the law in a way that is not jarringly wrong. Wall E still has the feeling that he is gliding along through space, even though he slows down, it is not enough to where viewers would feel like he is not in space.

     On the other hand, the movie Gravity is a successful suspense-thriller that takes place in deep space because the realistic quality of the film evokes true feelings of being utterly lost and alone in unknown terrain. The film is live action, and it makes good use of modern computer graphics to create deep space like viewers have never before seen. Most of the movie pays great attention to the details of the physics, but Newton's Second Law is indeed broken.

     Two astronauts, Dr. Stone, and Matt Kowalski, are hit by a storm of debris. Dr. Stone becomes entangled in some ropes that are connected to a large mass. She grabs hold of Kowalski who is being flung around by the storm of debris. When she grabs Kowalski, it is as if his momentum is pulling her towards him, and the ropes that she is connected to become taut.

(This promotional poster shows the scene in which Dr. Stone is tethered to a large mass off screen, and the rope holding her is taut. She is also holding another taut rope with Kowalski at the other end of it.)

         In the movie, there is a scene which would accurately portray what should have happened. In this scene, Kowalski has Dr. Stone tethered to his body. He uses thrusters to propel himself through space, and as he  moves along and changes direction, Dr. Stone experiences nauseating jerks as she is pulled along after him. Kowalski would propel himself, and once the tether became taut, Dr. Stone would follow abruptly after.

(Kowalski is in front, with Dr. Stone tethered to him, and following in the back.)

         Back to the scene that breaks Newton's Second Law, instead of Kowalski pulling Stone away from the heavy mass, Stone should have been able to easily pull Kowalski towards her, especially when the ropes became taut. It is true that Kowalski was floating through space and would have continued to do so, but he encountered another force and that was of Dr. Stone tethered to the large mass. The force of her grabbing hold of him should have been enough to stop him and pull him back towards Stone.

     As like in Wall E, the decision to break Newton's Second law was done in a way that can be believable. The entire scene is hectic and perhaps non physicists can believe that Kowalski's force was so great that he pulled Stone towards him instead of the opposite. Much more believable is the fact that this scene heightened the tension and created suspense, as well as raising the danger of the situation for Stone's character. The makers of the movie must have decided that they could in this scene, sacrifice authenticity of physics for heightened drama that would further the story of the film.

     These last two movies purposefully broke Newton's Second Law in order to further the story. This next movie demonstrates how breaking Newton's Second Law can take viewers out of the moment. Apollo 18 opted to depict deep space through found footage. In the first scene that shows the astronauts in space, the footage is simply too unbelievable to feel immersed in the story. The camera films sideways, and upside down, in order to create a sense that the astronauts are in zero gravity, however this does not change the fact that many things are still not behaving as they would in space.

(The astronaut has just spun this pen that is floating in zero gravity.)

     One astronaut takes a pen and spins it, marveling as it keeps spinning in midair before him. However, the hair on his head is very static, it is clear that he is still being affected by earthly gravity. Whenever the astronauts move about, their hair does not swish and sway as it would in zero gravity. It is moments like these that do not further the story, but instead it is a detail problem that detracts from the overall environment.

( The astronaut in the foreground is moving upwards in this shot. His hair is static upon his head, but it should be pushed backwards as he propels himself upwards.)

     Because Newton's Second Law is so obvious when demonstrated in space, it is always clear to viewers whenever it is broken. Apollo 18 is a case in which it pulls viewers out of the moment and keeps them from feeling immersed in the movie. Gravity and Wall E are both movies in which Newton's Second Law was more bent, than broken, which allowed it to still retain the feeling of deep space, while allowing the story to move forwards. Although deep space is a terrain unfamiliar to most, attention to detail will inevitably declare whether or not the film will convince viewers or not.

(My previous outline was done incorrectly in that I used only one movie and three examples from that movie. In this essay, I have added two more movies, and have written about one scene from each movie.)

Second Term Paper Outline

I. Introduction - Gravity (2013), Alfonso Cuaron, Sandra Bullock, George Clooney

II. Thesis - Gravity is a movie that centers around the physics of deep space, but at its core, it is a movie, and a movie tells a story. Although the movie often breaks Newton's first law of motion (any object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by another force), it does so to further the action and continue the story.

III. Body

     1. Dr. Bryan Stone is hurled away into space. She tumbles and spins, but eventually slows down.

         A. In space, there is no air resistance, and no friction, so Dr. Stone should have                     continued spinning and tumbling until she encountered another force.

         B.  Despite how the physics was wrong, audience was not pulled out of the moment because Dr. Stone did not come to a complete stop, instead she slowed down spinning enough to be rescued  by Matt Kowalski. This was a choice to further the action in a believable although false way.

     2. Dr. Stone is tethered to a heavy object, and she catches a free flying Matt Kowalski, but his  momentum keeps pulling him away from Stone.

         A. There is a scene that accurately portrays what should have happened. Kowalski has Stone tethered to himself as he uses a thruster pack to propel    himself through space. Kowalski moves and changes  direction, which jerks Stone to and fro.

                     - Stone is continuing to move in one direction, but once Kowalski changes direction, she experiences an abrupt jerk because she must change direction as well.

         B. The decision was made to somehow have Kowalski's momentum carry him away from Stone despite the fact that her efforts should have pulled him towards her, in order to heighten suspense and tension.

      3. When Stone removes her helmet inside of the space station and she is floating in zero gravity, her hair stays flat on her head as if she were on earth.

           A. There is a scene that accurately portrays how her hair should have behaved. Stone begins to cry and when her tears leave her eyes, they float away, along with other miscellaneous objects that are not strapped down.

           B. This is a detail problem that could take viewers out of the moment.

                   

IV. Conclusion - Whenever the movie breaks Newton's First Law, it is for the sake of furthering the plot, or creating tension and suspense. At times Newton's First Law may be broken by an apparent lack of attention to detail, however, in consideration of how well done the rest of the movie is, this minor detail can be     overlooked. Overall, the movie accurately portrays a sense of claustrophobia and oppression in space, where if an object is in motion, it will continue forever and ever unless it comes into contact with another force.

Reverse Reference

These videos are muted mainly because the sound in them was very distracting. In the first video, I had a makeshift dolly by having someone record from a skateboard, which is also why the camera is a bit shakey.
Clip D was most difficult because I have no sense of rhythm... if the video were unmuted you would be able to hear my boyfriend coaching me by saying "one TWO one TWO..." and despite my best efforts, I definitely fell flat compared to the awesome animation.

Stop Motion Animation

I present to you, Skittle Scrimmage

I shot this on my ipad, using the imotion HD app. It's best when viewed fullscreen due to its tiny size!! In the future, I will probably use a different method to shoot my videos, unless there is a way to shoot larger pictures with my ipad.








I was inspired to try my hand at this type of stop motion after watching this video many years ago.

I came up with a plan based on how I thought the music video was made.
I shot a video of my gracious boyfriend playing with a soccer ball. Then I sifted through the video frame by frame to pick out what would basically be my keys, breakdowns, and in betweens.
I took these screenshots and scaled them down in photoshop to about three inches.
Then comes the tedious part...I printed and cut out each picture...114 in total.

Here are some of my sprite sheets.

The aftermath

I tried to shoot my animation outside, but the changing light and the wind paired with 114 tiny paper men, proved to be too cumbersome, so I had to bring my materials inside where I could control my environment.

I went through many test trials to see how exactly I wanted to shoot my animation. I first tried placing the character and taking a picture, then shifting the character slightly and taking another. I figured this would be the same as shooting on twos for a traditional animation, while giving it some "stop motion wobble". The results were erratic, and I ended up placing the character, and shooting it twice without shifting it at all, which worked better.

I learned many things through trial and error, but the most striking thing is that I didn't anticipate how hard it would be to have a character whose animations are locked in (paper cut out), and having a free character (the skittle). There were many times that I wanted the skittle to move a certain way but I had to conform to the animations of the cut out in order for the overall animation to make sense.

I learned so much doing this stop motion, and I had tons of fun!

The Physics of Tangled

          Ever since its doors opened, Disney Studios has been creating magic on the screen. The secret to their success lies in the motto, "let the animation be felt, not seen". This deftness of hand is what allows audiences to have their breath taken away by animated movies. They know that what they are seeing cannot possibly be real, that it can only exist in this movie, yet they are mesmerized because the action is executed believably. Tangled, Disney's 2010 animated movie, was received with critical acclaim. It has all the charm that Disney is known to carry, but on a closer inspection, what makes this movie so enjoyable? It is because the world that Tangled presents to the audience is one in which the laws of physics have been bent to allow unique animated characters to interact with their surroundings, while still being believable.

            The trailers for the movie Tangled boast that Rapunzel has seventy feet of golden locks. Seventy feet of human hair would weigh much more than Rapunzel's neck and spine could support, yet Rapunzel is able to maneuver around like a normal person. For example, Rapunzel is able to lower Mother Gothel on her hair, then swiftly run away from the window. With her entire length of hair suspended off of a tower, she would not be able to dash quickly away without the weight of the hair snapping her head back.

            In another scene, Rapunzel heaves herself onto a riverbank with considerable ease. With her entire length of hair drenching wet, she would not be able to support herself out of the river because her damp hair would be much heavier than her dry hair, not to mention that the river's current was very rapid. The combined forces of her heavy hair, and the swirling current, would make it especially difficult for Rapunzel to support herself.

            It may be logical to think that Rapunzel can support her hair because so much of it lies on the ground. However, when Rapunzel enters the town, she has her hair braided so that none of it touches the ground. The weight of her hair would be the same, but the surface area over which the weight is distributed would have shrunk significantly. It is certain that her neck and spine would not be able to support her hair when she has it braided off the ground.

            Instead of behaving like heavy human hair, which would not be able to move and flow so effortlessly, Rapunzel's hair acts more like a silk scarf. She is able to dash about quickly with her hair trailing behind her like a ribbon. With this said, her hair also does not float about in an ethereal fashion as it falls. The makers of the movie made her hair feel heavy, yet it does not adhere to true physics. This allows Rapunzel to be able to perform normally, yet still feel like she has very long hair.

            Eugene, another one of Tangled's characters, also does not follow the true laws of physics. Instead of behaving like a human, Eugene behaves much like a cat, or any other light weighted animal. This is appropriate because he is a thief. He is able to scale the castle astonishingly fast. Much like a cat, he is also unearthly quite. His feet make no noise even though he jumps from towers to roofs, to other towers. He would be much noisier if he landed with his full body weight like a normal human would. Conversely, it could be speculated that perhaps the castle walls don't behave quite like stone. It may be that the material of the castle is cushioning the impact of Eugene's movements, which would also allow for them to be very quiet.

            Also like a cat, Eugene can survive falls that would normally be much too high for a human to handle. He is able to land unscathed after tumbling down a canyon. He is also able to be launched hundreds of feet into the air, and survive the landing. He behaves as if he were very light, like a cat, which is able to survive falls higher than that of humans due to the nature that their terminal velocity is too slow to be fatal in some cases.

            Apart from being very light, Eugene can also be weightless completely. When he and Rapunzel are running from the guards, he leaps across a wide canyon and lands on the other side. Compared to what would happen in real life, Eugene's path of action as he leaps is greatly exaggerated. The only way he could achieve this is if the force of gravity on Earth were less than what it really is.

            The animations of Maximus the horse may seem out of place when talking about the subtlety of Rapunzel's, and Eugene's animations. Maximus is the only character that behaves in a way that can be categorized as cartoon. Although he exists in the same world as the other two characters, he is allowed more freedom in his movements for the special reason of comedic relief. For example, Maximus's head stays suspended in the air for a split second before following the rest of his body into a fall. This visual stretch is not something that occurs in physics, but it is used to really draw attention to the abrupt action that takes place, in this case, a supporting branch that suddenly snaps.

            Maximus's animations also include the cartoon like power of having super strength, but only at certain moments. When Eugene is launched into the air, and lands on Maximus's back, Maximus does not so much as flinch at the impact. If the animators were to adhere to true physics, Maximus would collapse on impact, and Eugene would most certainly not have survived.

            The steed also exhibits anthropomorphic traits. He can stand on two legs and use his front hooves like hands, for instance, he rips a poster off of the wall. He then proceeds to chomp the poster with the characteristics of a paper shredder. There are times that he goes from acting like a dog with a wagging tail, to butting heads with Eugene in the blink of an eye. His movements and actions are extremely exaggerated to be very fast, and he moves his body in ways a horse never could. 

            Tangled, like any other animated movie, has many flaws in physics when compared with the real world. But what would the point of the story be, if Rapunzel had seventy feet of hair, yet she was confined to a neck brace and a hospital bed because there was no way her body could handle all that weight? Once the real physics makes it impractical for a character to act, then the physics must be bent. Disney bends the physics of Tangled in such a way that the audience probably does not think about it. They feel it, but they do not see it. Rapunzel's hair is believably heavy, yet it doesn't hinder her, Eugene's actions are believably nimble for a thief, without looking like he has superhuman powers. Maximus is outrageous, but it is for comedic effect, so the audience still does not question the laws of physics. These subtleties are what draw viewers into the world, and what makes the world so believable. 

Term Paper Outline: Tangled

I. Introduction

1. Disney's Tangled.

2. Thesis: The universe in Tangled bends the laws of physics in a subtle way to give life to the animation while still being believable.


II. Body Paragraphs

1. Rapunzel's hair is 70 feet long, yet it is portrayed as much lighter than it should be.

A. Rapunzel is able to dash quickly away from the window while her entire length of hair is draped outside.
B. Rapunzel is able to hoist herself up out of the river bank while her entire length of hair is soaking wet.
C. Rapunzel is able to support her hair when it is completely braided, and off the ground.
D. The animators chose to make Rapunzel's hair lighter so that she can interact with the world uninhibited.


2. The thieves are nimble and lightweight like cats.

A. The thieves can scale the castle, and jump from tower to tower swiftly and soundlessly.
B. Eugene is able survive falls from great heights.
C. Eugene can make huge leaps and land on his feet.

3. Maximus the horse's actions are exaggerated to create comic relief.

A. Maximus visibly stretches when he falls.
B. He can catch Eugene without collapsing from the impact.
C. He can jump incredible lengths.
D. He is anthropomorphic. He can nudge, punch, crawl, and change positions extremely fast.


III. Conclusion

1. The physics in Tangled is carefully manipulated to create a world in which characters can interact in a way unlike any other medium.

A. If it were true to life, it would look rigid, but the animation is believable even though the physics is not accurate.
B. These characters could not exist in the real world. Rapunzel would collapse under her hair, and Eugene and the thieves wouldn't be able to complete the feats that they do.

Video Analysis of Path of Action

Tracker Video Analysis of Falling Soccer Ball

Video Reference

This is video reference for the exercise called "Fourth Down at Half Time". I analysed the video reference to find that during the time frame half of the way from the apex to the catch, the ball falls only one fourth of the distance.

 

Mini-Portfolio

I completed these two digital paintings last semester in my ANI113b class. The goal was to recreate the same forest but change the lighting from day time to night time. I enjoyed this assignment because it was the first time I have used Photoshop to complete a project.

This is a video of a ball bounce cycle that I have just completed for my ANI114 class. I tried to keep in mind the principles of slowing in and out when the ball reaches its apex.

This is my fifth year at SJSU as an Animation/Illustration major. I have completed all of my lower division animation classes, and this is my first year of taking upper division classes. As far as science classes go, I have taken geology, and biology at SJSU. The last physics class that I took was during my senior year of high school. The greatest thing that I have learned so far during my years here, is that storytelling is the underlying life vein of all art. I'm not quite sure which direction I want to go in when I graduate, but I know for sure that I will be telling stories.

The First Post

Hello, my name is Chau Nguyen, but I prefer to go by Mimi. I'm looking forward to a wonderful new semester!