Creating Stereoscopic 3D Images

Extra Credit: Gaming Art and Innovation

On Wednesday March 16, 2016 at 3:00pm I went with my boyfriend to the Gaming Art and Innovation workshop in the Walt Disney Museum. The ticket isn't under my name since my boyfriend bought the ticket for me. But I learned and got to meet with several alumni in the gaming industry (Such as Colin Fix who now is working for LindenLabs on a VR project) as well as learning about the development of games as a whole. I also got to see how all these artist that worked for different companies had once collaborated together. Which goes to show, that the industry is a small world and words about someone's reputation can spread fast.

 

Recreating Cameras and Lights in Maya

Original: ^



Maya lighting attempt: ^



45 degree to the left: ^

Extra Credit: Lighting a Scene in Maya

The Scene in Maya (Without Lights):

 One point Lighting: (Key)

Two point Lighting: (Fill)

Three point Lighting: (Rim)

Building a Scene in Maya

Outline for the Third Term Paper.

Introduction

A.Without lighting any scene of a movie or in our life would be pitch black all the more important that lighting brings believability to our life. The visual effects of light in The Amazing Spiderman 2 and Paranorman are very different however it creates a understandable belivibility.

B. Thesis: Though methods of creating visual effects of lighting are different, both movies aim to deliver a believable experience to audience; however, there are always flaws in their effects.

II. The Amazing Spiderman 2

A. Directed by Marc Webb.Spiderman once again has to stand against the villains to protect his loved ones.

B. Scene: Spiderman fight against Electro at the New York’s Times Square.

C.Techniques:

• VFX Team, Sony Pictures Imageworks built a small section of Times Square on stage surrounded by a wall of green screens
• A CG Spider-man was then composited into the foreground.
• CG Lighting both effects coming out of Electro were next added.
• The team use several VFX house including Blur and Pixel Playground.
• The final shot is one of 300 that were created Times Square sequence and one of 1,600 in the movie. Image works created about 1,000 shots, MPC handled about 300.

D. Successful or not

1.Unsuccessful:

• The lighting doesn’t feel as it travels through space.
• Feel flat and no sense of direction
• The time the lighting strike object is slower than in reality.

2.Successful:

• Color and movement feel believable.
• Inflict excitement to the scene.

III. Paranorman

1. Description: Directed by Chris Butler and Sam Fell. Paranormal is a 3D stop-motion animation. The story is about the boy who can see ghost has to protect his town though many people in his town don’t believe him.

B. Scene: Norman confronts Aggi to release zombies and his town.

C.Techniques:

• LAIKA calls it The Foundry’s KATANA in their lighting pipeline
• Take advantage of Dragonframe which is an advance software to capture stop motion. It is enhanced with advanced DMX lighting.
• 2D ink painting and microwaved CD’s.

D. Successful or not

1.Unsuccessful:

• 2D texture is distracted.
• Speed is not realistic.
• Color looks wrong for lighting

2. Successful:

• Work well for this style of animation.
• Get the emotion across.

IV. Conclusion

• Restate thesis
• Summarize points

Stop-Motion Character Animation

I started with planning the story and picked a few dolls I had as my characters. In the end I went with a simple story and started to do some test tries. Setting up the "tripod" was the hardest part since I don't have one so I had to pile up boxes upon boxes to get the height I wanted and then set my phone leaning on a wooden block before I can start animating. It was difficult using dolls since you can't pose their arms or legs well. So what I did instead was use tape especially when the blue penguin or (Piplup) raises his arms. The falling and tumbling motion was hard too. I had originally planned to photoshop myself out of that frame, but one thing led to another and I didn't have the time to do the final edit. I had a great time doing stop motion character animation in the end.

Reverse Video Reference

Walk A:

Walk B:

Walk C:

Walk D:

Science Fact or Cinematic Fiction?

Action films are exciting, entertaining, and can get people on the edge of their seat to see more. The action genre has increased its popularity since the  1990’s. Action genre has been widely successful in the film industry from hold films starring Jackie Chan to Ip Man 3 starring Donnie Yen but what about these action films draws the audience in so much? We all know those punches look fierce, strong, and over the top. The main reason for the success of this genre is that it breaks the laws of physics. It creates the illusion of impact in fighting scenes. According to Newton’s Third Law, it states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction; however, in Spiderman ll, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Grandmaster, the physics has been broken in order to deliver more excitement in the films.

Spiderman II is one of these action films that bends the rule of physics. The film is an adaptation of the popular comic series "Spiderman" created by Stan Lee. The film was released in 2004 and was directed by Sam Raimi. One scene that bends the rule of physics is when Spiderman tries to stop the passenger train using his web and his body. He stands in front of the train and shoots the webs to both sides of the track. Using his body in the middle as a mean to stop the train. In reality it would take an immense amount of effort and force to stop a moving train. 

According to Newton’s Second Law, force is equal mass time acceleration. In this scene, the train actually travel with the speed limit due to the damage caused by Doctor Octopus. The train obviously has a larger mass and force. On the other hand, Spiderman has smaller mass and force, which means it is impossible for Spiderman to stop the train. The force that Spiderman applies is less than the force that the train applies that it is physically impossible for that. In reality the mass and acceleration of the train, realistically Spiderman would die if he continues to hold on to his webs because his force and mass is no where near close to those of the moving train. It is obvious that Newton’s Third law Law is also bent on purpose especially for this shot. It would lose its entertainment aspects if the end of this scene Spiderman could not save all the passengers on the moving train. The director purpose was to demonstrate the outstanding ability of the  main character. While maintain other rules of physics, the main character will stand out in our own physical universe. On top of that show how heroic Spiderman is able to things no ordinary people can. 

Startrek: Into Darknesss is a science fiction film directed by J.J. Abrams and released in 2013. It is a sequel to the first installment. During the scene where Khan finally makes his way to Admiral Marcus’s battle ship, Khan grasps Marcus’s head in his hands and crushes it easily. The rules of physics is pushed to the extreme. To fracture a skull, it requires 1,100 pounds in normal gravity. A man need to weight around 1,100 pounds and step on the head to be able to crush any human skull. It is impossible to do so with  hands alone even if 90 percent of strength or force are biceps muscle. Following the Newton’s Third Laws, it states every action has an equal and opposite reaction. This mean bones in the hand need to be made out of stronger material than the skull to be able deliver the force. If the material is the same, the hand would be smashed into pieces during the process. The hand is exerting a force on the skull but so is the skull to the hand.  

Therefore, in reality, there is no way a normal human can achieve that because a study shows that human skull can withstand 6.5 GPa of pressure. It maybe possible coming from a species unlike human but in terms of human physics, no. If the film did not have such a gruesome and intense scene it will lose the plot point of showing how Khan is a rustless villain who has super strength. The audience will still consider Khan as a human though he is a superior alien specie, appearance goes a long way. 

The Grandmaster is a live-action film based on the life story of the Wing Chun grandmaster, Ip Man. The film was released in 2013 and directed by Wong Kar-wai. Though the film set in a reality world, the director really wants to emphasize the fantasy concept of martial arts. Because Ip Man is known as a Grandmaster, his kung-fu fighting style is almost effortless., smooth, and graceful. At the beginning of the movie, Ip Man stands against a group of man under the rain at night. With just his kicks and punches, he send people flying. The climax comes when another significant character who seems like a boss steps into the fight. He kicks the wagon toward Ip Man without getting pushed back. Ip Man just standing with his leg up and he is able to stop the wagon effortlessly. The proceed by trading kicks with the wagon in the middle that leads to break the wagon into pieces. Close to the end, Ip Man delivers final punches that send the boss few yard back.The laws of physics is bended in this sense because according to Newton’s Second laws that state force = mass x acceleration, it is impossible for Ip Man to actually send men flying with his punches. First of all, he almost stands in one place and his swing motion is really close to his body which mean his swing could not create enough acceleration. His weight is about the average asian male around 145.5lbs. This means the data is lacking of realistic number in acceleration to prove that the force of his punch is enough to counter those of the wagon and the boss. If Ip Man is able to land a punch with that much force, the recoil force will be strong enough to push him back. Also his body’s motion will need to be tremendous large to generate enough acceleration.

In addition, Newton’s Third Law of motion states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Ip Man barely move an inch after punch the boss back to few yards. This is defying Newton’s Third Law. The boss receives a great force that send him flying but does not give a reacting force back to Ip Man. If the director has Ip Man got pushed back after send the man flying than it will stay true to Newton’s Second and Third Laws. However, this scene will be ruined if it follows Newton's laws. The audience will unable to see the strength of Ip Man, and the fight will just a normal brute fight from Mixed Martial Arts (MMA.) The fantasy concept of Kung-fu will be dismissed and will affect the overall impact of credit of how incredible Ip Man is. 

Newton’s Laws are absolute, yet it is not entirely applied to action films. The films discussed here were Spiderman II, Startrek: Into the Darkness and The Gradmaster; all are action films that bends Newton's Third Law in one way or another.  In films, every action does not need to follow strictly to the rules. It can be distorted to fulfill the needs of creating excitement, entertainment, and/or drama. Many can debate doing so is not logical and looks wrong but in forms of entertainment and in the universe of the film it can be as real as how far the director's and audience's imagination can take them. 

Outline of the Second Term Paper

I.Introduction

a. Description of action/reaction principle.

b. Introduce 3 scenes from 3 movies that don't follow this principle

                1. Spiderman 2 

                2. Star Trek Into Darkness

                3. Grandmaster: fighting scene at the beginning of the movie.

c. Thesis

II. The Physics in Spiderman2

a. Short synopsis of the movie.

b. Spiderman tries to stop the train using his web

                i. Peter stand in front of the train and use his web to stop the train

                ii. Disregard his small body (mass), he is able to stop the train which has larger mass and acceleration.

 c. Example of what would happen in the real world.

III. The Physics in Star Trek Into Darkness

a. Short synopsis of the movie.

b. The chasing scene between Khan and Spock

                i. Khan smashed through the glass door without slowing down

                ii. is not affected by the force released from the thick glass.

c. Example of what would happen in the real world.

IV. The Physics in Grandmaster

a. Short synopsis of the movie.

b. The fight scene between Ip and group of people example.

                i. Ip light punches send a man flying back few meters.

                ii. He doesn't generate enough force to create that much power.

c. Example of what would happen in the real world.

V. Conclusion

a. Summary.

b. Restate thesis.

Stop Motion Animation of Falling

First I had to plan out what to do. I made a simple plan with the path of action, and then I took reference video of a somewhat heavy ball. I at the time did not have one, so instead I used a somewhat deflated ball as substitute. It appeared to have the same properties of a heavy ball. After planning out. I took a piece of paper and folded a crease on the edge to substitute a ramp. and I used a quarter as the cannon ball. I did several tries with the quarter on the wall, but having to edit my finger out of the way was not the best option. So I tried it out on the floor but my shadow casted over the "stage." I had to wait until it was a cloudy day with ambient lighting to shoot the animation. I had issues trying to get the camera positioned on the same spot, since I didn't have any tripod.

The Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe

The Croods is a 3-D full length animated movie produced by Dreamworks Animation (2013) and directed by Kirk De Micco and Chris Sanders. This story is set in a fictional prehistoric Pliocene  era called "The Croodaceous." It tells the story of the world's first modern family as they take on lifetime adventures. When their cave was destroyed, they are forced to travel to a new place where they can settle in peacefully again. The Croods is family of six with Eep (main character), Grug (father), Ugga (mother), Sandy (little sister), Thunk (brother), and Gran (grandma). During travelling, Guy will join them as a new member. Grug is a father who will do anything to keep his family safe, because he believes that curiosity is dangerous. Eep is a girl who is at the stage of discovery and wants to explore the world outside of her family's shelter. She is always against her father's overprotective attitude. When Guy appears, Eep knows for sure that there is a completely different world beyond her family’s cave. The movie is known for its beautiful 3D animation and stunning scenery shots. The movies also introduces many unique creatures and plants that make the environment in The Croods stands out to audiences. Furthermore, being an animated movie itself, The Croods cannot stay away from bending several scientific hypotheses. From scene to scene, audiences will notice an squash and stretch., physical laws of gravity, and exaggeration in action or reaction. By breaking apart these aspect, The Croods offers a highly entertaining movie for audience of all ages.

The Croods takes advantage of extreme usage of squash and stretch. During the scene where Grug and Guy got stuck in sticky mud and had to find a way out. They decide to make a puppet to attract a gigantic tiger near them. After successfully getting its attention, the tiger runs over and pulls the puppet. Grug and Guy held on tight on the puppet as it is pulled out by the tiger. In one frame, their rib cages are stretched out to the point it looks like play dough or stretchy plastic.Then there was another scene where a creature runs over a trap by accident. Eep and Guy trys to hunt down a gigantic chicken for the family. They struggled and then caused the chicken to become angry. The chicken chased them down; however, it runs over a trap without notice. When the rope is tightened, it pulls the chicken backward with a strong force. In that frame, audience can see the neck of the chicken is stretching out before snapping back to it’s body.

Another example of using squash and stretch in this movie was when Grug falls to the ground. When his body contacted with the ground, his body is squashed before returning to normal shape and volume. It happened once again in the scene where Grug throws Thunk to the other side of the cliff, Thunk's body is squashed as it hit the ground. Last but not least is the scene where Grug and Guy are falling off the clip. Their bodies are stretched out. Their necks are stretching out before snapping back to their bodies.There are plenty of scenes and examples of the wide variety of situations that uses squash and stretch to add more volume and texture to the visual enjoyment of the story.

The laws of gravity are also broken in “The Croods”. For example, When Eep is climbing up the cliff to see what was making that strange sound at the beginning of the movie. She does a backflip to reach the branches. Which is impossible if the gravity of this animated universe was following the gravity of Earth. Her foot’s contact point would not stay there as she flipped over to reach the branches.

Another example was when Eep chased Guy, she faces a cliff  about 20ft away. Giving the average weight of a young woman is around 110lbs. The gravity force alone is around 450.8 N (46 kg*9.8m/s2=450.8 N) She climbs to the top only in a few seconds. This created the illusion of no gravity. However, by breaking the laws of gravity, the movie's pace can become faster which help to deliver the right feeling of a fast chase or even help to convey the urgency of the scene’s mood. Otherwise, the pace will slow down and face a huge risk of becoming boring with stiffness.To further enforce the Gravity in the universe of “The Croods” is strange. All the objects become lighter than it should be. Eep can effortlessly lifts Guy with one hand. When objects are thrown or tossed, they tend to travel in  improbable arcs. The rock when Thunk throws away feels or visually seems light. It actually bounced back and hits Grug. Another example is when a creature runs over a trap. It is pulled back; however, it travels straight up high and falls back down in the area near where it takes off. Last but not least, close to the end of the movie, another clear example of breaking laws of gravity is when Grug throws everyone to the other side of the clip. With a simple swing of his arm, he is be able to throw everyone with ease. His motion does not suggest any strong contraction between his muscles, but the force he is able to make is enough to throw everyone without considering air resistance and gravity force.

Lastly the exaggeration in action or reaction is top notch in the movie and also another aspect that create visually appealing work but contradicts the laws of physics. When a force interacts with another force, an equal and opposite force is applied back. However, this fundamental aspect is breaking apart in this movie. A first clear example is the hunting of The Croods. The family found an egg, so they decide to steal it. The process involves a lot of chasing in high speed. Only in theory, human can run as fast as forty mph if they do not need to take account of air resistance and certain amount of force the limbs can take when striking the ground. This is not a problem to the Croods family, for all of them have super speed. In this scene, everyone seems to run really fast and they are hardly breaking any sweat. This means Gran, an old woman, is still be able to run as fast as youngsters.

Another example of the exaggeration in action or reaction is when Grug and his family have to jump down from the clip to the forest underneath. Usually, a fall of 170 feet would take around 4 seconds. It takes roughly 13 second for Grug and his family to land from the falling. Therefore, the height of their falling should be around 552.5 feet ((13 sec * 170 ft)/4sec). Considering it takes about 156 frames to land we can determine that the speed of falling should be 156 mph (552.5 ft / 156fps ~ 4fps). This speed is enough to kill entire Croods family.The same applies to a scene where Grug tries to show he has great ideas too to show that he can be better than Guy, but they backfire. He rolls a huge rock to the opposite side of the seesaw causing him to eject upwards in the sky where he gets hit by thunder, falls back down to have the rock roll back and collapse on top of him. All of which can kill Grug. 

In Conclusion, by breaking the Laws of physics, the movies becomes more excited. If “The Croods” were based strictly on the rules, the movie will become stiff and uncreative. Also, by bending these rules, it makes the storyline possible. The physic in the movie is focused on delivering the humor. It may have failed in realistic aspects, but it has been successful in helping the movie become more appealing to audiences of all ages. Creativity, entertainment, and the wow factor makes a movie worth watching even if it defies the laws of Physics.

The Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe (Outline)

I. Intro:

a. The Croods (2013)

b. This is a CGI Animation

c. Thesis: Bending several scientific hypotheses, “The Croods” offers a highly entertaining movie to audiences of all ages.

II. Body:

a. Squash and Stretch

1. Grug and Guy are able to get out of the "sticky mud" using the  force from an animal. During the process, their rib cages were stretching out like playdough or stretchy plastic.

2.  A creature was forced into sudden stop when it ran over a trap. Its body was stretching out before going back to its’ normal shape, mass, and volume.

3. Before Grug and Guy fall down the cliff, their body stretch out before dropping down giving them more anticipation for the next action.

b. Weightlessness and Gravity

1. Eep climbs to the top of the cave without any trouble. As if gravity does not exist weighing her down.

2. Grug throws everyone to the side of the cliff. This scene shows no physical resistance. The arcs of the throw is improbable, defying the laws of Physics.

3. Multiple small birds are able to carry a giant cage over a long distance. Which i Physics it is highly impossible since the combined force of the small birds are not enough to outweigh the net force of the cage. Not to mention the air resistance and the gravity is improbable.  

c. Exaggeration in Action/Reaction

1. The Croods family have super speed and strength. The scene where they chase an egg is a clear example.

2. When the whole family fall from high ground, they landed without any injuries.

3. When a huge stone fall on Grug, he was still be able to move and unharmed.

III. Conclus:

a. This movie defies the laws of Physics.

b. By doing so the movie become more exciting and entertaining to the viewers. Creativity, entertainment, and the wow factor makes a movie worth watching even if it defies the laws of Physics.  

Video Analysis of Path of Action

Original video:

Gif of the analysis:

Analysis of a running jump.

Tracker Video Analysis of Falling

Tracking analysis of a falling stress ball.

Shooting Video Reference

Video reference of tossing a basketball.

Mini-Portfolio

Acrylic still life studies I did for one of my painting classes. I learned to control the balance of paint and water as well as how to hold the brush to make marks. I got the chance to learn how to tackle reflective objects and distorted image through glass

These are a few of the digital painting studies I did using photoshop. Referenced from photos. Learning to use photoshop and translating traditional painting to digital.

I did not work on the above short film, however I would like to share it. The story has so much passion and in a great pace. I was literally on the edge of my seat as I watch this. Fair warning to those who get emotional easily, you will cry. At least I did.

My name is Jessica Tang and I go by the nickname 'Icy.' I am a senior student who majors in illustration and is currently the Librarian of Shrunkenheadman Club. I have taken classes on animation, illustration, visual development, and 3D modeling. As of right now, I'm taking advance illustration, physics of animation, public speaking, and Intro to 3D animation. I am currently aiming to become a visual development artist. I still have not decided to focus on environments or characters yet, since I enjoy both.

The First Post

Hi there, my name is Jessica Tang and I go by the nickname 'Icy.' Odd nickname, right? People have guessed it was because I am cold hearted as ice or that I am just too chilled for others. I assure you, it is none of that. It was a name my friends called me back in senior year of high school because of how cold I constantly was. No matter how much clothes I put on, my hands and face would feel lce cold. From there, the name became a part of me. I had the chance to ditch the name when I started college, but I didn't. Just embracing who I am and what I will become.