Creating Stereoscopic 3D Images

Recreating Cameras and Lights in Maya

Original Image

Recreation

Different Angle

Extra Credit: Lighting a Scene in Maya

1 point

2 point

3 point

Building a Scene in Maya

Third Term Paper

My first two term paper scores were 95 and 85; I will not be writing a third term paper.

Outline for Third Term Paper

1. Introduction
   a. Evolution of VFX through the decades, from blue screen to matte painting and CGI
   b. Introduce specific effect, snow. Practical effects replaced by VFX in current film, tv and gaming. 
   c. For this paper I will discuss two pieces of media and the snow effects in them:
      1.Film, Monsters Inc
      2.Videogame, Journey

2. Body
   1. Monsters Inc
     a. Set up film, context: Mike and Sully are exiled into the Alps in the middle of a snowstorm.
     b. Snow effect created in programs such as AfterEffects, Maya, and 3DS Max with a particle system or particle tracking technique. Discuss animated particle systems.
     c. Effectiveness very good, combination of wind and sleeting effect with movement of Sully's fur drives point home, takes on very realistic quality.

          2. Journey

            a. Set up video game, context: The Protagonist is scaling the Mountain through the snow.

            b. Snow effects created in programs like AfterEffects, Maya, 3DS Max with particle system or particle tracking. Discuss static particle systems.

            c. Effectiveness so so, creates feeling of snow but with less realism than Monsters Inc, meant mostly just lend to atmosphere to remind player its snowy, snow sometimes looks less individual and looks more like clouds. Snow is at its most basic and atmospheric.  

     III. Conclusion

           a. Recap evolution of VFX, practical effects all but dead.

           b. Snow and other weather effects all done in CG.

Character Animation

This assignment was actually lots of fun! I'm used to/enjoy best drawn animation and have never done stop motion, so this was a little intimidating. I started off with my idea, which I had swimming around in my head for awhile, and planned it all out on paper to figure out where my timing would be, and then set up a friends downshooter and worked for hours, breaking up each part and making sure I was happy with it before I moved on (I broke the action into 3 parts, the swimming, the squash, and the flower vase transformation). The music was a happy accident, as the song came on when I was animating.

Science Fact or Cinematic Fiction

Newton's Third Law in Animated Films

   Ever since the early days of film, animation has allowed filmmakers to stretch the laws of physics to their hearts desire. They can create characters that can't exist, situations that can't happen, actions that defy the limits and abilities of the human body, all for our entertainment. For these movies to be believable and relatable, however, they need to be rooted in recognizable physics so the audience feels a sense of familiarity with the film, or they can be taken out of the experience. Newton's Third Law, which states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, its constantly bent and broken or flat-out ignored for effect in movies, to huge or subtle effect. For my paper, I chose to examine the films The Croods, Princess Mononoke, and The Incredibles and how the 3^rd Law is treated in them.

   My first example of a false portrayal of Newton's 3^rd Law is from “The Croods”. The film is a computer animated movie produced by Dreamworks Animation, released in 2013 and written and directed by Chris Sanders and Kirk DeMicco. The film is a colorful comedy set in a fictional prehistoric world populated with wild beasts and fearful cavemen, threatened by a brainy new traveler who challenges and changes their way of life as they search for a new place to live. The films universe is (very) loosely based on our own, and the distortion of physics in this films is used primarily for comedic effect and to heighten the action. The film breaks Newtons Third Law often, and the example I chose is the "log kick" scene. 

The scene occurs about halfway through the movie, where Grug and Guy are negotiating Guys continued presence and aid on their journey, which entails: no more trapping Guy in the log, and it ends with Grug kicking away the log at Guys command. The scene escalates when Grugs kick sends the log flying miles away, with only the effort and force of a average soccer kick. Now, it is set up early on that the family of cavemen are stronger than average, but it is also established that Guy has strength more similar to the average human. Newtons 3^rd Law states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. In this case, the action is the kicking of the log, which would more accurate if the kick were to cause very little motion in the log, rather than hurling it with the power of a trebuchet, as well as more effect on Grug himself. This case of ignoring the law by the filmmakers is, upon examination, an intentional comedic punctuation mark to offset how “serious” the standoff is, but even so, is impossible.

   My second example of a false portrayal of Newton's 3^rd Law is from Princess Mononoke, a traditionally animated film released in 1997 from Studio Ghibli and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Set in Feudal Japan, it follows the story of Ashitaka, a young man on a quest to break a curse placed upon him, who gets caught up in a battle between humans and animal spirits battling over the forest realm of the Forest God. This film, like most Ghibli films, is set in a world that is familiar to our own, with physics that resemble ours. My example of where Newton's 3^rd Law is broken occurs early on, after Ashitaka is cursed, when he is riding by a village being raided. He is pursued by the raiders himself, and he threatens them to keep away; his curse has given him strength and powers that frighten him and others. 

(unable to acquire video) 

   He draws his bow and fires on one raider, and the arrow severs the raiders head from his body. In this case, the action is the draw of the bow, the opposite reaction being the force of the release. In this example Ashitaka doesn't pull the bow with enough force to even knock a rider from his horse, let alone sever their head. A more accurate reaction would be for the rider to be struck, and to slip and fall off their mount when their grip slackens, not from the force of the arrows impact alone. This example of a clear breaking of the 3^rd Law was a conscious decision by the filmmakers to increase the narrative impact of Ashitaka's curse; the action is sudden and violent enough that it drives home to the audience just how serious our protagonist's situation is.

   My third example of a false portrayal of Newtons 3^rd Law is from The Incredibles. One of Pixars early greats, The Incredibles is a 3D animated film, written and directed by Brad Bird, about the secret lives of a family of superheroes, whose abilities defy the laws of physics simply by existing. My example is early in the film, when Bob Parr (Mr. Incredible) becomes angry with his bosses constant jabs and cruelty, until Bob finally snaps and punches him with such force he is hurled through several walls. 

This action is inconsistent and unbalanced in several ways when related to the Third Law. The force of the punch is great enough that walls are broken easily by a human body, which is stopped only by metal cabinets, but all things combined, do not kill the boss. If a punch from Mr. Incredible can move a giant robot, surely an average person would be killed. In this case the outcome of this action does not match up with what has been established as a massively destructive force. In the context of the story, this is a conscious decision that death is avoided so that the levity of the movie is not lost, and Mr. Incredible is not made a murderer in the first act.

   The Croods, Princess Mononoke, and The Incredibles demonstrate how Newton's 3^rd Law can be bent, broken, and in many cases completely ignored in many animated films to the point where actions can be so jarring it makes us, the audience, sit up and take notice, or laugh harder for how ridiculous it may be.

Outline for Second Term Paper

1. Introduction
    a. Establish genre, animation a style of film made for exaggeration.
    b. Newton's 3rd Law of action/reaction broken nonstop in animation
    c. List movies Princess Mononoke, The Croods, The Incredibles

2. Body
    I. Princess Mononoke
       a. Film description
       b. How 3rd Law is treated within film, bent for narrative impact.
       c. Example: Ashitaka exerts average force/pull on his bow, but the force of the arrows impact on its                  target severs their head.

    II. The Croods
         a. Film description
         b. How 3rd Law is treated within film, bent for comedic effect.
         c. Example: Grug kicks away the log with the force of an average soccer kick, but the log is propelled              miles away.

    III. The Incredibles
          a. Film description
          b. How 3rd Law is treated within film, bent deliberately to allow for superpowers.
          c. Example: Mr. Incredible punches his boss through a wall, an act that would clearly kill any human in               real life.

  3. Conclusion

Reverse Video Reference

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Stop Motion Animation of Falling

For my animation I decided to do a variation on the leaf drop, a (fake) flower blossom falling from a tree. The flower I used is from a decorative light I own. I filmed a little reference, but it wasn't what I was hoping for, and I instead turned to the internet to find instances of flowers falling more horizontally. I charted out my path of action on my living room wall, and taped the flower along my path of action and photographed each one. I then cleaned up all my frames in Photoshop and assembled them, removing frames for timing as need be. And here it is!

The Laws of Physics in an Animated Universe

   For my physics term paper, I chose to study Howl’s Moving Castle, a 2004 traditional hand-drawn animated film directed by Hayao Miyazaki from Studio Ghibli, a Japanese animation studio famous around the world for their unique and beautiful films. The story follows a plain young woman named Sophie, whose dull life is upended when she is cursed by a witch, and she seeks out the wizard Howl for help. Over the course of the film she becomes a cleaning lady for a wizard, befriends a fire demon, finds herself, finds a family, and finds love.  I chose this film because it is part of a great collection of films, and it is a less exaggerated movie (no outrageous squash and stretch or zany timing), unlike its western counterparts, and like many Ghibli films, is rooted very firmly in a world that resembles our own, where the humans move like we do, and adheres to physics like ours while also containing magic that lets characters defy these laws at the same time, at any moment. This sensibility of following physical laws until there is a reason to break them punctuates the sense of magic in the world of the film.

   In many Ghibli films, flight is a major theme, and ‘Castle’ is no exception; within the movie many characters and objects defy gravity in contrast to more human characters. At the very start of the movie, our heroine Sophie encounters Howl, who rescues her from a pair of guards and other enemies by lifting off into the air above the town building and floating over rooftops with no outside assistance or force behind the action (figure. 1), and throughout the movie Howl is seen flying or levitating like this. There are also many flying machines and aircrafts throughout the film, all constructed in such a way that their mass and shape, as well as their small fluttering wings (figure. 2), do not support their ability to fly as physics would allow it; this goes for both the huge and heavy bomber warships, and the smaller personal craft Howl pilots while visiting the king. They are aerodynamic in a hypothetical sense only. The dog Heen also uses his long ears to glide over the ground when he needs to move faster than his short legs allow. In contrast to these more fantastic elements, Sophie is often the unlucky receiver of the effects of gravity (she is frequently thrown around, carried, or crashes into things while Howl is afforded more grace via his powers), as is the Witch of the Wastes, who succumbs the a more unflattering and subtle form of gravity when her powers are stolen, and her magic can’t help her from showing her true age.

Fig. 1 Howl and Sophie

Fig. 2 Flying machine

 In this world, most characters experience inertia and overlapping action (like hair and clothes and limbs following the body in motion and continuing in that motion), law of acceleration and motion, but certain occasions of drama cause characters to break the rules. In one scene, Howl is protecting Sophie’s house from enemy bombs, and as one hurtles toward the ground, he chases after it, and seconds later overcomes it (and stops it from detonating), despite its mass and acceleration being greater than he is, and having air resistance working against him. The bombs terminal velocity is greater than Howls; it’s physically impossible that he would have caught up. In an instance that both follows and breaks laws, Howl carries Sophie to safety and lets her go to fly into the door back home. Her path of action, instead of falling straight down, sends her falling horizontally in an arc at the door, but normal physics kicks in again when her motion is stopped by crashing into stairs, the stairs being the unbalanced force. In another moment, Howl and Sophie are escaping the witch Suliman, and shoot through a glass roof into the sky, only to change direction without being effected by gravity or an opposing force.

   In ‘Castle’, many structures and characters defy physical believability in how they are put together with the aid of magic. The biggest example of this is the moving castle itself, which is a hodgepodge of metal and wood and brick seemingly thrown together on stilt-like clawed metal legs (figure. 3). Nothing appears to fit together in any discernible way, and the legs are too thin to support its weight or its ungainly way of moving.  Similarly, the character Turniphead, a sentient scarecrow Sophie encounters and befriends in the wastes, is constructed from a pair of sticks and a turnip, wearing and old suit (figure. 4). He moves primarily by bouncing around on the end of his stick, sometimes at great heights, and, like the castle, would not be able to actually stay together without the aid of magical forces, as physical laws mean he would fall apart. Certain living characters challenge believability as well, most notably the Witch of the Waste, a hulking woman whose sheer size, shape and weight would crumble quickly (or at least not last long) due to our physics, much like individuals with gigantism.

Fig. 3 The Moving Castle

Fig. 4 Turniphead

   In the end, there could be so much more to cover about the movie, but what remains is more magic than physics (the changing doorway, Howl transforming into a bird and back, Sophie’s shifting between young and old age, etc.), and requires suspension of disbelief, yet doesn't pull you out of the movie. Howl’s Moving Castle is a beautiful film, a work of pure artistry from Studio Ghibli. It’s full of beautiful and colorful environments and characters that draw you in.  To conclude, in this film, Howl and Sophie’s world feel similar to ours, the laws of physics followed the same way as ours, until they are broken on the whim of magical occurrence. This contrast is used at the most important story points of the film, and not overdone to create a sense of wonder, and we experience that wonder with Sophie as she does. The film lets you immerse yourself in that way, and I certainly am every time I watch it.

Term Paper Outline - Laws of Physics in "Howl's Moving Castle"

The Laws of Physics in Howl’s Moving Castle

I.                    Introduction

a.       Introduce film “Howl’s Moving Castle”

b.      Traditional animation from Japanese Studio Ghibli

c.       Hypothesis: Though the world of the film is rooted in in ours, Howl’d world breaks and ignores many laws of physics while following others, punctuating the sense of magic in the world.

II.                  Body

A.      Gravity

0.       Numerous characters/objects but especially Howl defy gravity in contrast to more human characters.

1.       At the start of the movie, Howl lifts Sophie with him off the ground to fly above the town festivities, defying gravity outright.

2.       There are numerous flying machines throughout the movie whose shape and mass negate any reasonable ability to fly.

3.       Sophie is subject to gravity, as is the (depowered) Witch of the Waste, whose body is quickly effected by physics.

B.      Inertia & Motion

0.       Most characters experience inertia and overlapping action, excluding occasions of drama.

1.       Howl chases the bomb down to the hat shop and catches up, despite the bomb having a greater mass and acceleration than Howl.

2.       Howl drops Sophie through the field doorway to safety, and she continues on her path until stopped by the stairs in the house.

3.       In contrast, the normal character Sophie experiences inertia and moves within the world similar to ours.

C.      Improbable Structure

0.       Buildings and characters structure defy physical believability

1.       The moving Castle is held together and moved by Calcifer’s presence, and in his absence quickly succumbs to the laws of physics and falls apart.

2.       Turniphead the scarecrow bounces around in such a way that should tear him apart easily, but he stays together via magic.  

III.                Conclusion

a.       Laws of physics are broken constantly, but also followed to create sense of magic in a familiar world.

b.      Certain aspects must have disbelief suspended for their magical sensibility, such as magical tricks enacted by Solomon and portal transportation.

Video Analysis of Path of Action

The tracker video export would "not encode" no matter how many times I tried. :(

Tracker Video Analysis of Falling

Shooting Video Reference

Fourth Down at Half Time

Mini-Portfolio

My name is Casey Straka and this semester is the start of my 3 year at SJSU. I'm a A/I major, focusing on character animation in both 2D and 3D, but am also interested in visual development. I haven't taken any science classes since community college 3 years ago, so my knowledge is fuzzy at best, but I'm looking forward to applying real world physics to my animations. If all goes well I should be starting BFA next school year, and hope to find a position as a character animator when I graduate. 

First image is a small still life I did in my sketchbook over summer of a glass bottle, done in acrylic.

Second is a series of studies done from masterwork paintings, done in oils.

Last is my final assignment for 115, which was to animate a character sitting in a chair.

The first post