Creating Stereoscopic 3D Images

Red/Cyan

Red/Cyan

Red/Cyan

Recreating Cameras and Lights in Maya

Original Image

Render

Render 45 degrees

Bonus Points: Lighting a Scene in Maya

Non-Lighted

1-Point

2-Point

3-Point

Building a Scene in Maya

"PC"

Special Effects in Animation and Live-Action

My first two term paper scores were both above 80; I will not be writing a third term paper.

Outline of the Third Term Paper

 For this paper, I will be comparing the visual and special effects of giant and small beings in Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones.

Introduction
    A. Special and visual effects are used in Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings.
    B. Thesis - This paper discusses the process of making normal-sized actors appear larger or smaller relative to the other characters using digital or practical effects.

Body
Lord of the Rings
    A. The film uses forced perspective to make the hobbits appear smaller than they truly are
    B. Uses highly specialized set design and camera movements to maintain the illusion
    C. Most of the time, not digitally altered or green-screened
    D. No placeholders needed most of the time
    E. Hobbits do not look like the camera is out of focus

Game of Thrones
    A. The show uses green screens as well as extreme camera angles to make the mythical creatures, such as Dire wolves and Giants, appear larger than the actors that play them
    B. Uses green screens to digitally enlarge the size of the wolves against real actors
    C. Also combines two different camera angles to make Giants appear larger
    D. Uses placeholders for green-screen creatures
    E. Wolves and Giants that are just digitally enlarged or blown up appear blurrier than the non-altered actors

Conclusion
    Both Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones have characters who appear realistic despite their size disparities with other characters. Lord of the Rings mostly avoided digital effects while filming the Hobbits while Game of Thrones almost exclusively used digital effects in one way or another. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages but the effects were incredible either way.

Stop-Motion Character Animation

For my stop motion, I filmed a scene using a video camera. I decided to use block figures for readability and their ability to pose. Unfortunately, the figures are terribly balanced without a block to stand on and they kept falling/ sliding. I planned the scenes and then set up the figures in a way to force perspective. I animated the scenes straight ahead and then imported/timed the frames in Flash.

(above) true size comparison of the figures

Science Fact or Cinematic Fiction

    Science fiction films and video games have always walked a fine line between realism and imagination. The directors and designers of these mediums bend the laws of physics to fit their own needs. However, if the laws of physics are bent too much then any sense of realism is gone. To be able to keep a sense of realism while still keeping scenes interesting, people need to carefully choose which laws of physics to break and how to break it effectively.
   
    In sci-fi films and video games, one of the most commonly broken laws of physics is the use of sound in space. According to the law of physics, sound cannot travel if there are no molecules, such as air or water, to carry the sound waves. In the deep vacuum of space there is nothing for sound waves to travel through. Without an atmosphere for sound waves to travel through, people would not be able to hear explosions or lasers or the roar of spaceship engines in space. However, films and video games include sound in space either out of lack of understanding or for dramatic effect. The use of sound effects gives life and a sense of action and awe in what would actually be a bland display of special effects. Star Wars VI, Halo 2, and Destiny: The Taken King all feature scenes in which the laws of physics are violated by including sound in outer spaces scenes.

    Sci Fi media were some of the first mediums to break the laws of physics in a realistic manner. A mixture between the realism of science and fiction allowed the genre to create believable unrealistic scenes. One major film that broke the laws of physics relating to sound in space was Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. During the Battle of Endor, the Rebel alliance forces battles the Empire fleet in space. The scene is filled with the sounds of ships firing lasers, exploding missiles and ships, and the roar of the TIE fighters as they zoom by. In reality, there would be absolutely no sound from the battle, other than radio chatter in the cockpits, because there is nothing for the sound waves to travel through. However, without the sound effects, the scene would be very lackluster and the iconic sound associated to Star Wars space fights would not exist. 

    Video games are also guilty of adding sound to scenes that take place in space.
One video game scene that had sound in a space scene is in the beginning of Halo 2. During the scene “Return to Sender”, the Master Chief jumps out of the orbital MAC station with the Covenant’s countdown bomb to give the Covenant back their bomb. As he flies towards his target, a Covenant battlecruiser, he passes a allied UNSC cruiser that is being destroyed by lasers from the battlecruiser. The UNSC cruiser’s engines can be heard and seen sputtering as the ship’s hull blows up in loud explosions. Just like the scene from Star Wars, there should be no sound in this scene. But the roar of the engines and the rumble of the explosions help to emphasize the massive scale of the battle happening around the Master Chief who is dwarfed by the enormous ships.

    Another video game that includes sound in a space scene is Destiny: The Taken King. In the opening scene, the Awoken fleet launches an attack on the Dreadnaught and its surrounding fleet in the rings of Saturn. The Awoken fighter ships are heard whizzing around the Dreadnaught while their missiles whistle towards their targets. Within the cockpits, the sound of explosions is slightly muted because they occur outside of the ship and the volume returns to normal when the camera pans back out. With sounds, you can follow each fighter ship and each missile in the chaotic space battle. Without sound effects, the scene just looks like a bunch of bugs flying around a lamp at night. This scene uses sound effects matched up with the musical cues to be able to blend into background more easily. Unlike Star Wars, which used sound to create action, Destiny uses sound and music together for dramatic effect.

    Although the laws of physics state that there can be no sound in the vacuum of space, film and video games use and manipulate sound effects to scenes for dramatic effect and an awe factor. Without sound effects, the audience would not be able to experience a scene to its fullest extent. Breaking the laws of physics in many other scenarios would break away from the realism and readability of a scene. But sometimes it is justifiable for filmmakers and game developers to break the laws of physics to enhance their audiences’ experience. Sometimes it is useful to suspend believability to help the flow of an action sequence.

Outline of the Second Term Paper

Outline for Second Term Paper

Introduction:

-Most movies and video game cutscenes feature space battles filled with the sounds of lasers and explosions.
-There is no sound in space, but it is added for dramatic effect.
-Three scenes that break this physical law are in Destiny, Halo 2, and Star Wars VI.

Body:

-There is no sound in space because sound waves move through through a medium such as oxygen or water. There is nothing in the vacuum of space.
-With no oxygen or atmosphere, explosions and lasers would not be heard, only seen.
-Explosions and fast moving objects would sound very different than they would in atmosphere.

Examples
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi VI- Battle of Endor
    -The scene shows the battle between Rebel alliance forces and the Empire fleet.
    -The scene has very loud explosions and noise from ships like the TIE fighters.

Halo 2 - Return to sender scene
    -The Master Chief jumps out of the MAC station with the Covenants’ bomb and flies past lasers and explosions.
    -Explosions and lasers have sound for dramatic effect.

Destiny: The Taken King - Assault on the Dreadnaught scene
    -The Awoken fleet attacks the Dreadnaught and its fleet in the rings of Saturn.
    -Ships are heard zooming by, exploding, and shooting.

Correct Examples
-Some films/video games choose to follow the laws of physics to an extent to add suspense.
    -Destiny: The Taken King - Final projectiles and the Dreadnaught blast
        -The explosions from the final projectiles and the blast have a muted sound that follow the cues of the music to add suspense to the scene.

    -Serenity - Shooting a Reaver ship
        -There is no sound when Mal uses the turret to shoot a Reaver ship in space just before they escape.

Conclusion:

-Although the laws of physics state that there can be no sound in the vacuum of space, sound effects are added to scenes for dramatic effect and an awe factor.
-Sometimes sound effects can be muted or muffled to add suspense or a false sense of realism.
-Sci-Fi is moving towards more effective use of sound (or lack of) in space scenes.

Reverse Video Reference

Clip A

Clip B

 

Clip C

 

Clip D

Stop Motion Animation of Falling

For my stop motion animation, I made a ball (bottle cap) roll off a ledge and bounce off the Spartan's head, distracting him enough for the Elite to sneak up on him. First, I took reference of a bouncing ball and used Tracker to get an idea of the spacing. The character movements were difficult because the figures were not flexible or sturdy enough to hold good poses. The Elite (red thing) had digitigrade legs which had little to no bending flexibility.
My first pass was shot with Stop Motion Studio on my phone but it was too shaky so I re-shot it with a camera.

Term Paper #1: The Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe

 The Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe (Kung Fu Panda)

    Kung Fu Panda is an action-packed 3-D animated film produced by DreamWorks Animation in 2008. The film follows the story of a clumsy panda named Po who dreams of being a Kung Fu master. The story takes place in a fictional version of ancient China in which there are no humans. Instead, the world is populated with anthromorphic animals. Among them are the kung fu masters such as Mantis, Crane, Tigress, Monkey, and Viper of the Furious Five whom Po admires. The film was shot to be an action comedy wuxia, a Chinese adventure genre featuring martial artists. To make the kung fu fighting entertaining and appealing to children, the film breaks the laws of physics to exaggerate the skills of the kung fu fighters. It is the superhuman abilities of the kung fu masters which keep the audience in awe and amazement even during the ridiculously comedic parts.

    Although the main characters of the film are kung fu masters, they are able to perform superhuman feats that not even the most skilled martial artist should be able to perform. In the film, there are two categories of people. The average normal strength people who mostly follow the laws of physics and those who know kung fu and essentially have superpowers.
    The first example of the difference in powers is when Po is announced as the Dragon Warrior. He is lifted off by several of the temple’s servants. The first round of servants, who are geese, can barely lift Po off the ground. The second group of servants, who are pigs, are able to work together to lift Po and walk him to the temple. In contrast, Tai Lung is able to perform several impossible superhuman feats during his destructive escape from his prison because he knows kung fu. While the temple servants struggled to work together to lift one overweight panda, Tai Lung was able to pull up an enormous boulder chained to one of his arms before breaking his shackles. In reality, his arm would have been torn out of its socket.

    Another example of superhuman feats is when Tigress leaves the temple to stop Tai Lung. She back flips off the temple cliff side, which is over 200 feet tall, and lands effortlessly onto a rooftop. Although cats are known to survive falls from great heights thanks to their physiology and low terminal velocity, a tiger would not be able to land safely because their size and terminal velocity is much greater.
    Another unbelievable feat of superhuman strength occurs during the Furious Five’s bridge encounter with Tai Lung. Everyone goes to attack Tai Lung on the broken bridge while Mantis volunteers to hold the ropes of the entire bridge. Mantis, a 6 inch tall insect, ignores the laws of physics and instead displays an exaggerated strength.

     On numerous occasions, the fighters of Kung Fu Panda actively defy the laws of gravity for dramatic effect and action scenes. The first instance of a character defying gravity is when Master Oogway is first introduced. Master Oogway is seen balanced on his head on the tip of his skinny cane. He then slowly moves down the cane as if he was as light as a feather. Considering that Master Oogway is a Galapagos tortoise upwards of 100 years old, he should weigh over 200 pounds. Under normal circumstances the crooked twig-like cane would have snapped instantly under Master Oogway‘s weight. 

 

     Another example of broken gravity is when Tai Lung is almost at the prison’s exit. As a last ditch attempt to stop him, the Rhino leader blows up stalactites hanging over the bridge to crash down and destroy the bridge. Determined to escape, Tai Lung jumps and runs from rock to rock, clearing over 30 feet with each vertical jump until he reaches the ceiling of the cave. In the span of about 20 seconds, Tai Lung went from 100 feet below the entrance, to over 50 feet above the entrance.

    Another good example of broken gravity is after the Furious Five failed to stop Tai Lung. Crane flies back to the temple while carrying the rest of the Furious Five. An injured Crane should not be able to carry, let alone fly, while carrying the combined dead weight of a tiger, monkey, viper, and mantis. Once again, gravity is broken to allow the story to progress.

    Although most objects in the film act as they do in the real world, the film utilizes exaggerated squash and stretch. This type of animation helps add a comedic element and also helps emphasize fighting styles. The first example is how the properties of wood and bamboo change for comedic purposes. During most of the film, wood is rigid and breaks into splinters when too much force is applied and the bamboo is durable and stays rigid. However, several times during the film Po is able to bend trees and bamboo as if they were made of rubber. The first instance is when Po is trying to vault over a wall to watch the Dragon Warrior Ceremony by using a bamboo stick. Rather than snapping under his weight, the stick bends into a half-circle before flinging Po into the wall. Later, during the battle with Tai Lung, Po pulls back a fully grown tree and flings it into Tai Lung and catapults him away. In reality the tree and bamboo would splinter and snap if they were to bend too far.

 

    Another example of squash and stretch is seen during fights. The film does an excellent job emphasizing the fighting styles of Po and the Furious Five by using this type of animation. The use of squash and stretch is best seen in Viper’s snake kung fu style. Whenever Viper coils up for a strike, her body becomes squashed and poised to strike. When she uses her body as a whip to attack, it becomes  stretched out to emphasize her tail strikes.

    Another good example occurs when the final battle starts. Tai Lung lunges at Po and the two of them fly off the mountain but instead of crashing into the ground, they bounce off the stair steps like a rubber ball. For comedic effect, their faces are squashed and stretched in slow motion as they hit and bounce off the stairs. If the laws of physics were active, then their skulls would have been split open and their bones broken.

    The world of Kung Fu Panda is relatively grounded in realism with the exception of those who practice kung fu. For kung fu masters, the laws of physics come secondary to martial art skill. The laws of physics are intentionally broken throughout the film to create more interesting and entertaining fight scenes. Although the kung fu masters constantly break the laws of physics, the animators were able to create a believable world by portraying realistic physics for those who were not exceptionaly talented. By separating the regular people and the kung fu masters, the film makers were able to create a team of superheroes and villains in a world without magic, mutant powers, or technology.

Outline of First Term Paper (Kung Fu Panda)

Term Paper Outline: Kung Fu Panda

 

Introduction

A. Animated Feature Film: Kung Fu Panda (2008)
B. Thesis – Dreamworks’ Kung Fu Panda, like many kung fu films, greatly exaggerates the laws of physics to dramatize and showcase the martial arts in the film.

Body Paragraphs

1. Superhuman feats and Exaggerated force
- Tigress backflips off of the temple mountain cliff side and lands on a rooftop with ease.

- Mantis is able to hold up a long bridge while five characters fought on it.

- Shifu extinguished a large circle of candles with a flick of his palm.

- Tai Lung causes serious destruction to buildings and pavement during his fight with Po.

2. Broken Gravity

- Master Oogway is able to balance on a walking stick and move around on its tip like a feather.

- Tai Lung runs up and across falling stalactites to reach higher ground.

- The Furious Five fight Tai Lung on a broken rope bridge. There are moments where they are suspended in air.

- Crane is able to fly while carrying the rest of the Furious Five.

- Tai Lung kicks Shifu through the roof and floats in the air during the apex while fighting him.

- Non-Kung Fu characters/ instances follow the rules of gravity.

3. Exaggerated Weight, Squash, and Stretch

- Trees and bamboo bend unrealistically to Po’s weight for comedic/strategic effect.

- The slow motion scenes show exaggerated squash and stretch of faces for comedic effect.

- Po’s body (mainly his belly) squashes and stretches when he is fighting Tai Lung.

- Po and Tai Lung bounce down stairs and off rooftops. Results in squashing of faces.

Conclusion

- The laws of physics in the film Kung Fu Panda are broken many times when showcasing martial arts.

- Breaking the laws of physics greatly increases the entertainment value and interest in kung fu in the film while still keeping the fight scenes family friendly.

Video Analysis of Path of Action

5 Jumps Reference

Tracker Video Analysis of Falling

Shooting Video Reference

Mini Portfolio

My name is Patrick Choi. I am currently studying Animation/Illustration at San Jose State University. The courses I've taken have covered subjects such as figure drawing, storyboarding, animation, and visual development. I am working towards visual development. This semester I am taking classes covering more visual development and a short film. My experience in science courses are mostly in biology, marine biology, and geology.


This is a photo speed painting of a satanic leaf gecko.

Here is a still life painting of some mini pinecones. This is one of my favorite painting that I did last year.

This video is an animation of a bucket drag and drop from ANI 115.

The First Post

First post for Phys 123