Digital Media Dr. Jim Rowan ITEC 2110 Animation

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Two ways to create moving images Capture using a camera –edit in a video editor like iMovie Create using animation techniques today we will spend most of our time here

Two ways to create moving images Capture using a camera –edit in a video editor like iMovie Create using animation techniques

Image Capture and iMovie... Capture images using miniDV camera Manipulate using iMovie

Two ways to create moving images Capture using a camera –edit in a video editor like iMovie Create using animation techniques

Animation “Bring to life” using still images to create frames Many techniques –draw each frame individually (FlipBook) –paint on (or otherwise modify) existing video or film rotoscope changes frames of an existing film –Trace some portion of a frame and delete it –Add something drawn-in later –cell animation –cut-out manipulation –clayMation or modeling clay manipulation –mixed cell and film

Walt Disney Snow White 1937

Cell Animation... Only have to re-create the parts that change Use paintings on clear plastic Can have a background that is larger than the frame and “slides” past

Cell Animation... Disney had an army of excellent painters More skilled painters painted key frames Less skilled filled in between the key frames –Known as “tweeners” Shadows had to be individually painted

Disney’s original cells sell for a fortune So... what about “Simpsons?”

Simpsons Cell animation First 14 episodes were hand painted Subsequent episodes used digital-ink-and-paint to mimic hand-painted cells So... what about “South Park?”

South Park Pilot was cut-out animation in the style of Terry Gilliam of Monty Python’s Flying Circus fame

After the pilot, episodes used computer animation that mimicked cut-outs So… why cut-outs? South Park

Simpsons vs Southpark Simpsons takes 6-8 Months per episode –produces reasonably high quality animations South Park takes 6 weeks –so... if you want to have a plot that is derived from very current events, cut out animation allows you to get it produced before it becomes dated

Animation Process... You need to create drawings by some means... –2D model to 2D frame hand drawn cell cutout –3D model to 2D frame physical model manipulation –aka stop motion clay-mation 3D computer modeling

Animation Process Examples 2D model producing 2D images? –South Park (cutout) –Simpsons (cell) 3D model producing 2D images? –3D model manipulation Gumby Wallace and Gromit –3D computer modeling Toy Story Up

Animation Process Create drawings by some means… –2D model producing 2D images create an image store the image as a frame create another image...

Create drawings by some means.. –3D model producing 2D images –Two approaches (physical model and 3D animation models –both have these elements produce the model manipulate the model define light source define camera position and angle take a picture Animation Process

3D model, 2D images Use a physical 3D model –build the model –set the lighting –set the camera position and angle –make a frame –move the model –make a frame –move the model... –Very time-consuming! –Wallace and Gromit –30 frames per day, 5 years to produce

3D model, 2D images Using a vector-based 3D model (like Blender) –build the model: time consuming –define light source(s) (in the computer) –define camera position and angle (in the computer) –move the model: set key frames and time frame –render the frames: computationally expensive

Other Computer Animation Techniques Create a series of image files and import them to Quicktime Build an animated GIF Directly manipulate cutouts

Build an animated GIF Allows for sequences of images to be placed in one “image” that, when displayed, shows movement

Directly Manipulate Cutouts

Key Frames Came from Disney following Ford’s ideas Break production into simpler tasks Assign tasks to less skilled labor At Disney, Key Frames, the important frames, –done by skilled animators –came at important portions of the action –came at scene changes Less skilled labor connected the action –key-frame to key frame (in-betweeners) Process is similar to interpolation

Key Frame Interpolation This is natural since model is in the computer as numbers already Forms of interpolation –linear... motion follows a straight line velocity is constant moves same distance for each unit of time not natural... instantly starts, instantly stops –quadratic... motion follows a curve acceleration (deceleration) is constant “easing in” and “easing out”

Achieving natural human motion This is REALLY hard to do unless you use motion- capture

Making of AVATAR

Making of AVATAR

Making of AVATAR

Making of AVATAR

Making of AVATAR

Making of AVATAR Video edhttp:// ed

Virtual Reality Total immersive VR (full 3 dimensions) –Stereo head mounted display –sensors to detect your position on your head on your hands (or any other part that will be in the scene Quicktime VR and VRML (3D on 2D screen) –not immersive (you aren’t in them directly) –not stereo vision –viewed on a screen –you can navigate through them

Augmented Reality

Questions?