Creating Stereoscopic 3D Images

green-magenta

happy holidays!

Lighting a Scene in Maya

one-point lighting

two-point lighting

three-point lighting

Building a Scene in Maya

Initial = MS. This was fun! :)

Science Fact or Cinematic Fiction

The Law of Falling Objects

 

            Everything on earth is pulled down by gravity whether it is an animate or inanimate object. Therefore, naturally, any object that is thrown to the air will accelerate downward to the ground. When the action is vertical, the path of action will be a straight vertical line. However, when the object travels vertically as well as horizontally, the path of action will be in form of a perfect arc. How is this possible? Well, an object will always move with a constant speed horizontally, no matter what height it is at, but when an object is getting closer to the ground, it will accelerate because of the force of gravity applied on it. Therefore, instead of a diagonal path, an object will fall in a parabolic or an arc path. This sounds like a simple law, but it is often violated in animated series or movies with special effects, including Captain Tsubasa (1980s), Shaolin Soccer (2001), and Wanted (2008). Some of the scenes of falling objects in these movies do not look believable which can either distract the viewer from enjoying the plot, or create dramatic or comedic effects depends on how well it is animated and the mood of the story.

            The Japanese animated series Captain Tsubasa has a lot of scenes with inconsistent path of action. In this ten minutes video from youtube, there are a lot of examples that can be used to illustrate how the law of falling is incorrectly used. For example, a few frames after the goalkeeper catches the ball on the top corner of the goal, he is on the ground, on a roughly same spot horizontally. This means that he falls vertically after jumping diagonally to catch the ball. In real life, the horizontal distance from where he starts jumping to the apex, and from the apex to where he lands should be approximately the same. Most people may not notice this because there are a few different frames in between his jump and landing, but when this scene is watched with a critical eye, this kind of mistakes can be easily caught. For instance, when I watched this series as a middle school student, I enjoyed it a lot. I watched it every day on television, curious of what would happen in the next episode. However, when I watched it again a couple of weeks ago, I found that the stiff movement and wrong physics distracted me from enjoying the story. What often happen in the series is that the ball will fall steeper compared to the angle it was kicked. In some other cases, the ball will fly straight horizontally, or worse, somehow fly higher after almost touching the ground. This case actually happens in the scene where the goalkeeper scores one point for the team. It looks like the ball is travelling in a double arcs path. Just like the first example, the viewer may not notice that the ball moves in an inconsistent path of action because the kicking and the landing are shot in different backgrounds. This kind of mistakes can distract the viewers from enjoying the film because they do not look like they are intentionally done for any specific purpose.
 

            When reading the title Shaolin Soccer, I suspect that this film will be similar to Captain Tsubasa, with the exception of the characters playing soccer being monks instead. Turns out, this movie is mostly about people using kungfu in different activities, including soccer. Props and special effects are used to make dramatic events, but most of them are unrealistic. These unrealistic scenes can be caught more easily compared to the scenes from Captain Tsubasa because the camera is actually tracking the object’s movement, and the fact that this film  is supposed to look like real life since the characters are real humans. People will have a more critical eye viewing something they encounter every day. For example, Mui, played by Vicki Zhao, throws bread dough in the air, and it stays in the air for a while. This scene may be believable to some people because she uses kungfu when throwing the dough to the air. However, a few scenes after that, the boy with no kungfu ability throws a cooking pot diagonally from a third or fourth floor apartment to Mui who is on the ground level. It is clear that a rope was used to move this object even though the rope is not visible in the scene. The reasons behind this statement are the energy that the boy applies to throw the object is not large enough for it to travel that far, and the fact that the object moves vertically constant which contradicts to the law a falling object accelerating the closer it is to the ground. In real life, the pot would move in an arc path. However, this scene may be animated that way to exaggerate the power of kungfu because if the cooking pot falls on the ground, kungfu will not look as impressive in this scene. However, the scene looks humorous instead because the trick is clearly visible. Another example from an earlier scene would be the scene where a monk is travelling horizontally in the air while neatly carving letters on a stone on top of a temple’s gate. The fact that this scene looks totally unrealistic makes this scene look comedic instead of impressive. Another example is when the main character, the Mighty Steel Leg, played by Stephen Chow, successfully kicks a heavy object to the top of other objects without making any dents on it. Just like a few examples from Captain Tsubasa, the action does not happen in a correct arc path; the object falls almost vertically straight from the apex. The good thing about these scenes is that they consistently look like they are made visible intentionally. The fact that the main character is funny, which can be seen from a lot of the scenes throughout the movie including the scene where he obnoxiously and badly sings in front of a crowd at the bread shop, helps convince the viewers that the physics of falling objects is violated on purpose for comedic effect.

              Unlike Captain Tsubasa and Shaolin Soccer, the movie Wanted looks a lot more polished. I enjoyed watching Wanted on the big screen a few years ago; however, after learning the physics of animation, I am able to find a few scenes that are impossible to execute in real life. Scenes that are incorporated in this three minutes music video are pretty much where most of the fun actions are. However, it is really hard to make a scene looks dramatic while still following the law of physics. For instance, the path of action in a scene where Wesley, played by James McAvoy, jumps through a window and lands inside the room is not a perfect arc. In this scene, Wesley gathers his energy by running, jumping, falling vertically after he reaches the apex of his jump, then landing successfully. Even though he is a really good shooter, he is still a regular human being, so he should, realistically, land farther from the window, equal to the distance from where he started jumping to the apex of his jump, and slide forward as an impact of the energy he previously built up by running. However, the incorrectness helps dramatized the scene. If he does not stop abruptly, there will be a better chance for the villains to shoot him while he is trying to stop sliding, which will not look at all impressive. Being able to land in a steady posture after a powerful jump shows how exceptional he is. Also, the special effects such as the window breaking help distract the viewer from paying attention to the correctness of the movement. In a different scene near the end, the character Fox, played by Angelina Jolie, shoots a bullet, which curved in a circular path like a boomerang which killed everybody in the circle including herself. The bullet travels in a perfect circle horizontally in the air at the same height, which is unreal. However, somehow, it looks believable and impressive instead of comedic. The anticipation she takes before shooting the bullet and the fact that she is an exceptional shooter conveyed through the entire movie, help convince the viewer that she actually has the talent to make this kind of shot happen. Most adult viewers will notice that these scenes are unrealistic, but they will make an exception for these two main characters because of their exceptional shooting talents. Overall, these unrealistic scenes help build powerful characters who are impressive instead of humorous. 

 Violating the law of a falling object is used differently and for different purposes in Captain Tsubasa, Shaolin Soccer, and Wanted. These series and movies are so different, and they show that when used effectively, violating this law can create a comedic effect like applied in the movie Shaolin Soccer or impressive effect like applied in the movie Wanted. However, when it is violated ineffectively, it can distract the viewers, especially adults, from enjoying the story. The law that an object will follow a perfect arc path when moving horizontally and vertically is simple, but not everybody is aware of that. The law of physics makes sense to most people, but most people will not be aware of it unless they pay attention to it. I personally feel like I have a more critical eye when watching animated series and movies now because I have learned the fundamental physics laws. Knowing laws like this will help me create believable or at least effective animated films in the future.

Outline for the Second Term Paper

OUTLINE

TOPIC: Arc

INTRODUCTION:

• Every object on earth is pulled down by gravity.
• An object should rise and fall in an arc.
• This law is violated in Captain Tsubasa, Shaolin Soccer, and Wanted.
• Thesis Statement.

BODY PARAGRAPH 1: Captain Tsubasa (1980s)

• The soccer ball moves horizontally in the air.
•  This kind of violation distracts me from enjoying the story.

BODY PARAGRAPH 2: Wanted (2008)

• On a scene, Angelina Jolie’s character shoots a bullet in a circular path.
• The bullet travels at the same height.

BODY PARAGRAPH 3: Shaolin Soccer (2001)

• The dough stays in the air longer than it should.
• The cooking pot moves diagonally when thrown to the ground, which will never happen in real life.

CONCLUSION:

• Restating main points.
• Violating law of physics can distract the viewer from enjoying the movies.
•             I have a more critical eye when watching special effect or animated movies after learning the physics of animation.
   

Character Animation

Wow, this assignment took a lot more time than I expected!

I started this assignment by thinking of ideas. Then I shot a few reference videos and planned the scenes based on the references. The next stage was shooting the images. I followed my planning roughly and made some changes when needed.

The objects I chose were kipling's monkey keychains. I had a couple of kipling bags, and each of them had monkey keychain (kipling's signature).

The story that I came up with was two best friends fighting over a girl. However, in the end, they were too busy fighting, and did not realize that the girl they were fighting for was falling over.

The monkeys were hard to pose, even though I had used paper clip, safety pin, and kneaded eraser as props, to help me move the monkeys' arms and stick the monkeys' feet to the ground.

The whole process was approximately ten hours. I'm exhausted, but I'm quite happy with the end result.

Reverse Video Reference of Walking

The Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe

Law of Physics in Private Eye Popeye (1954)

(Video is available on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIVMUbhhdns)

            Private Eye Popeye is a short animated film in which the main character, Popeye, is a regular guy who will have a super power if he eats spinach. In this episode, he is hired by Olive Oyl to guard a piece of precious stone because she suspects that somebody is planning to steal it. Later on the film, Olive’s suspicion turns out to be true when her own butler steals the precious stone. Popeye’s journey of taking back the gemstone and capturing the butler then becomes the main focus of this film. At the end, Popeye sends the butler to jail with the help of his favorite vegetable, spinach, and returns the precious stone to Olive. Throughout the film, the law of physics is neither constantly followed nor violated. The law of physics, specifically follow through and drag, balance and weight shift, and action and reaction, in Private Eye Popeye is explained thoroughly in this paper.

            Newton’s law of inertia states that an object moves with a constant and uniform motion until acted on by a force. In the animation industry, this law is also known as follow-through which is a concept that parts of a character (such as arms, hair, and clothing) continue moving for a few frames after the character stops.

A good example of follow-through in this film is when Popeye’s body is leaning backward or left behind when he is sliding down the cable of a telephone pole. However, on the same scene the law of inertia is not followed when Popeye suddenly stops, jumps, and lands successfully after sliding down the cable without slowing down first. This example goes against the concept of drag, which is a concept that an object in motion remains in motion (or an object at rest remains at rest) until a force acts on it. In reality, Popeye would fall forward when he lands continuing his motion from before. This concept is often violated in this film; however, it might be violated for a reason. For example, the door of Olive’s house suddenly stops opening and slams on Popeye. In this case, the law of inertia may be violated on purpose. It is animated as a character to create a sense of humor. In real life, an inanimate object, such as a door, will not be able to stop or move suddenly unless acted on by a force. 

Another bad example of follow through is when the butler is leaning forward when his plane is taking off or going forward. The force of the plane’s machine directly acts on the plane, not the butler. Therefore, according to the concept of follow-through, his body should at least lean backward, just like Popeye’s body when sliding down the cable of a telephone pole. A simpler example of this situation would be to imagine an insect, such as a ladybug, sitting on the plane. When the plane takes off the ladybug will naturally fly backward, or to be more accurate stay on its original place because when the plane takes off, the machines forces the plane to move forward, but not the ladybug. A good example of drag from this film is when the Butler’s cape is dragged when he is walking to a café. The cape is animated believably with a good flow that shows the light cape fighting against air resistance while being dragged. These examples show that the laws of follow-through and drag are neither followed nor violated constantly in this film.

            When an object changes its position, its center of gravity or weight is shifted. When the center of gravity is not on top of the base of support, the object will become unbalance and therefore fall or tumble.

This law is not followed in the scene when Popeye is walking or standing with good balance while bending forward. When he is bending forward, his center of gravity is not on top of his base of support, which is his feet; therefore, he would not be able to stand or walk with good balance in that position in reality. 

 However, a nice weight shift is presented in the scene when the butler is transitioning from standing straight to opening the door for Popeye. In the scene, the butler moves away from the door before grabbing the door handle. When the butler is holding the door handle, his center of gravity is combined with the door’s center of gravity, so moving his body away from the door creates a bigger base of support for him and the door, and therefore allows him to stand with greater stability. This type of movement is natural because a person would naturally adjust his or her position to be in a balanced position. 

 On the other hand, this law is very badly violated on the scene after Popeye eats spinach. He jumps then walks in the air for a couple of seconds in this scene. A real person would not be able to do that, but a viewer would be convinced that Popeye could do that because of the fact that he will have a superpower if he eats spinach. In this particular scene, Popeye becomes weightless and defies gravity. In the scene where Popeye is punching the butler repeatedly until he landed on jail, the butler also defies gravity. The butler stays in the air longer than he is supposed to in reality. The difference is that the butler is defying gravity not due to his own strength, but because Popeye is punching him upward. These examples show that the butler, who is the bad guy, is presented as a normal and vulnerable guy because he moves more realistically like a normal person, while Popeye is presented as a superhero because of his ability to violate the law of physics while moving or standing.

            An action will naturally cause a reaction, and a greater action will result in a greater impact. In animation, a scene where there is no reaction following an action will not look believable. 

 An example from the film would be the scene where Olive is shooting with a big gun. The gun has almost no impact on Olive even though she is really skinny and the gun is quite big. Naturally, the force that is used to shoot the bullet forward, would move Olive to the opposite direction. A reaction with a different angle compared to the original driving force will also cause a scene to look unreal. An example of this would be when Popeye is swimming straight forward but resulting a parabolic water splash as an impact. This kind of reaction would happen only if Popeye is also swimming in a parabolic arc. A straight action should cause a straight reaction on the opposite direction. However, an action will not always be big enough to cause a visible impact. 

 A scene where Popeye is lifting up a wall is totally unrealistic especially since he has not consumed any spinach, which can give him a superpower. The force he is applying on the wall should not be big enough to lift up a wall. On the other hand, a reaction should not occur if there is no action applied to it. There is a scene near the end of this short film where the precious stone guarded by Popeye is jumping out of his hand without any force applied. This situation will not happen in real life because a reaction will never occur without an action. The angle and power of reaction always depends on the original action.

            In conclusion, the law of physics is selectively followed and violated in this film. The protagonists such as Popeye and Olive are often animated as if they are stronger and have the ability to move against the law of physics, while the antagonist character which is the butler is animated as a normal and vulnerable human. Law of physics is often violated in an animated film, including Private Eye Popeye for comedic effect. The decisions that are made by the director and artists of this film are mostly effective even though most of them are not realistic.

           

Outline of the First Term Paper

OUTLINE

TITLE: Popeye – Private Eye Popeye (1954)

INTRODUCTION:

• Brief summary of the film.
• Popeye is a regular guy, but he has a super power after eating spinach.
• The law of physics is not constantly followed throughout the film.

BODY PARAGRAPH 1: Follow Though / Drag

• When sliding down the cable of a telephone pole, Popeye’s body is leaning backward, but then he suddenly stops and jumps without slowing down first.
• Door is animated as a character, because it can suddenly stop or move.
• Butler’s cape shows a good example of drag; his position in a plane when taking off shows a bad example of follow through.

BODY PARAGRAPH 2: Balance / Weight Shift

• Popeye is walking and standing with stability even though he is bending forward.
• Popeye’s unbalance position when his weight is shifted versus the butler’s balance position when his weight is shifted.
• Popeye defies gravity / becomes weightless after eating spinach.

BODY PARAGRAPH 3: Action and Reaction

• Shooting with a gun has almost no reaction on Olive.
• Popeye’s action should not be big enough to lift a wall before eating spinach.
• Water splash caused by Popeye swimming straight is forming an arc.
• Gem is jumping from Popeye’s hand without any force applied.

CONCLUSION:

• Restating main points.
• Law of physics is broken for comedic effect.

Stop Motion Animation of Falling

Finding a Home

Process:

I was thinking of other ideas before I found my old spongebob candy dispenser that I got for easter a couple of years ago. Instantly, I imagined spongebob walking in my scene, but I remembered that the animation should be about falling. Then, an idea of having a pineapple (spongebob's house) falling from the sky pops out, and I just went with it.

First I bought the materials that I needed such as a pineapple and a yellow sponge. Then, I set up the scene. I pulled out my old shower curtain for the background. Also some paper clips to be spongebob's hands, legs, and spine. I also did some research to see how exactly spongebob's face and house looked like. Then, I took a spartan daily issue and cut some shapes using scissors for the face, door, windows, etc.

Finally, I shot the scenes using a Konica Minolta digital camera and a strong light source. After I have all the images I needed, I adjust the timing by adding and deleting images. Overall, it was fun. :)

Video analysis of path of action

original reference: (sorry about the lighting)

path of action for one jump:

(Somehow I have a problem uploading this video, so I am posting a direct link to the video. I will try uploading this video again later)

http://s39.photobucket.com/albums/e168/meshall_san/?action=view&current=runningJumpTracker.mp4

01SJ Biennial 2010: Empire Drive-In

Friday, September 17, 2010
It was fun having a chance to see and sit inside a bunch of cool old cars. However, the real show started at night and I came at noon. There was a simple animated short film that was playing when I was there though, which was about a kite and a bicycle being friends and helping each other out, which was kinda cute.. :)

Tracker video analysis of falling

cool program!

Video Reference

20 fps

links

http://artphysics123.pbworks.com/Personal-Blogs-Fall-2010
http://artphysics123.pbworks.com/Schedule-Fall-2010

Mini-Portfolio

I am Michelle Santoso. I major in animation/illustration. I was interested in majoring in food science and computer science a couple of years ago, but I changed my mind and took animation instead. I have always been fascinated by art, computer, and science. I have physics and chemistry classes in high school; I have taken physics and biology classes in college; and I have taken a lot of art classes in these last three years. I am wishing to work in the animation industry a couple of years from now, hopefully either being an animator or a storyboard artist.

Here are some of my works:

The First Post

First blog. First post.