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. :)