WEEK 1
Prince, S. (2010) Through the Looking Glass: Philosophical Toys and Digital Visual Effects. Projections, 4(2), pp. 19-40.
Stephen Prince a prominent professor of cinema, examines new digital technologies as an expanded toolbox and a dialectic of art and science for VFX. For the first time used in 1881 by Helmholtz, which was showing photographs of horses in motion (zoopraxiscope).
Since that time filmmaker and scientist increased the credibility of their visual effects by working together. Creating utilising software programs gave a birth for the movies for producing perceptual realism. The popularity of visual effects has grown significantly, which is why they are now used not only in movies, but also in video games. A great achievement for cinematography was the film The Abyss (1989), where we observe for the first time realistic animation of water, as well as a human face appearing on its surface. Jurassic Park (1993), also was a breakthrough where for the first time realistic animals were integrated into the real background and work of the actors. It is true that many of the models presented in the film were made with the use of animatronics - they were real remote-controlled robots, this is the first time CGI appeared in the movies on such a large scale, intended to simulate photorealistic behaviour of living creatures. Today VFX in Cinema became an essential guide for understanding movie-making.
Prof. Stampfer's phenakistiscope (1832)
The zoopraxiscope used for the first time. Constructed, for synthetically demonstrating movements analytically photographed from life, and in its resulting effects is the prototype of all the various instruments which, under a variety of names, are used for a similar purpose at the present day."
— Eadweard Muybridge, Animals in Motion (1899)
Images from King Kong © 1933 Warner Bros. Ent.
Jurassic Park (1993)
WEEK 2
Manovich, L. (2001) 'Digital Cinema' ,The Language of New Media. Cambridge MA: MIT press.
In this text Lev Manovich introduces the idea of digital media analyse the influence of the computational nature of contemporary visual content on the aesthetics of the digital image. This aesthetics is also directly related to the existence of specific ecosystems of creative software, which are the digital atelier of contemporary creators of various types of media, based on digital imaging. Digital visual content functions simultaneously on two ontic levels. Manovich calls the first of them surface - images are then experienced as photos, films, graphics displayed on device screens. At this level, the aesthetic status of the content experienced is important, as is its connection with other media or cultural phenomena. The researcher calls this level the cultural layer of the image. New media are paradoxically nothing new. In the late 19th century societies also experienced new media such as telephone, electric light, calculating machine, gramophone, photography, cinema, and radio. However, at the end of the twentieth century, the term "new media" began to be applied to digital media, i.e. based on computer production or distribution of content.
We should all learn the alphabet of "The language of new media". We lack the resources to understand the effects of the rolling waves of new messages and devices. Reflecting on their simplest parts is a way of living a conscious life at a time when, as Manovich writes, the interface and language of new media structure our experience of ourselves and the world.
Lev Manovich is currently one of the most important and influential new media theorists. He is also probably one of the few thinkers and researchers of contemporary media culture who is known not only to the still narrow group of academic researchers, scientists, artists, curators exploring the areas of art created with the help of new media, but also to a much wider group of recipients, viewers, active participants and co-founders of contemporary culture understood en globe.
Tom Gunning received his B.A. in 1970 from New York University's Washington Square College, his M.A. in 1974 and his Ph.D. in 1986 from New York University. A recipient in 1993 of the Award for Excellence in Teaching given by the New York State Chancellor, Gunning taught at SUNY at Purchase from 1986 until 1993, when he joined the faculty at Northwestern. He has been a visiting professor at Harvard and the University of Stockholm.
Fields of research
International early and silent cinema; American avant-garde cinema; Hollywood film genres; film and narrative theory; classical film theory; film and still photography; Japanese cinema; early cinema and the experience of modernity; directors' styles (especially Lang, Griffith, Von Sternberg, Hitchcock, Godard, Bresson, Borzage); film historiography; film exhibition and spectatorship; modernist cinema of the twenties (Soviet, French, and German).
Gunning, T. (2006) 'The Cinema of Attractions: Early Film, Its Spectator and the Avant-Garde', in Strauven, W. (1.) The Cinema of Attractions Reloaded. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, pp. 381-388
The term "cinema of attractions" deals with early cinema as a relatively coherent mode of film practice, in which the point is not to weave engaging the plot, but to amaze the viewer with a spectacle of curiosities. This concept will appear in English in the academic 1980s.
It is difficult to overestimate the impact of the "cinema of attractions" on the understanding of the film's past. Today, it is taken for granted that, contrary to the times of classic Hollywood - where interesting stories were sold - from 1895 to 1908, a better idea for a business was to launch various images of attractions. Such a film Le Voyage dans la lune (1902). Georges Melies, the creator of the cinema show, made a decisive contribution to the development of film art. He invented dozens of tricks used in photography to this day, introduced colour to the film by slow motion, reverse motion, substitution, manually colouring film frames and developed a whole theory of acting - all these were seven-mile steps in the development of the film. Early cinema exhibited sets of shocking views, unheard of and unrelated to any overarching plot.Touch, sensuality, tactility, and haptics are concepts that should be paid special attention when we track the meanings of the cinema of attractions in all its modalities. This is especially true in the context of the attraction associated with early films.
A Trip to the Moon, original title: Le voyage dans la lune (1902)
Human emotions, for Ishiguro, are nothing more than responses to stimuli and are thus subject to manipulation. Article from Wired wrote by Alex Mar (2017)
The Elephant Man (1980), Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images.
Zerkalo/Mirror 1975
"Detroit, which director David Cage has described as their most ambitious game to date, puts you in control of 3 different androids who begin to feel emotions, and it’s up to you to decide their actions, which in turn will impact the story and the world around them."
Cultured Vultures/Ash Bates (2018)
WEEK 3
McClean, S. (2008) Digital storytelling: the narrative power of visual effects in film. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
In chapter 1 of this book McClean discusses that DVFx are considered a fundamental element for “blockbuster” films. Special effects artists are not only employee but also a certain status that was achieved by previous generations. Shilo McClean agreed that film critics is often imply that the use of DVFx is a substitute for storytelling. Story in many films taking second background now where digital effects "dance on its grave". Film theorist focusing more upon issues of spectacularity and its relationship to narrative. DVFx are the most prominent and expensive aspects of
the digital revolution. Make them interesting to theorists who interested in technology and globalization. Also global entertainment are closely associated with the entertainment products where commercial interests is for fastest growing and most powerful.
Van Helsing and Eternal Sunshine tell different kinds of stories but both strong rely upon visual-effects imagination and how effects are being used in film storycraft.
In film theory there exist belief that narrative integrity is sacrificed benefits of spectacle when effects has been used. VFX are incorporated in films because the range of practice it becomes virtually impossible to detect the presence of effects.
Van Helsing is an American action gothic horror film written and directed by Stephen Sommers from 2004. The story of Gabriel, the legendary vampire hunter.
Van Helsing is what would most often be described as a “Holly-wood computer-generated-effects movie,” (2004, Gondry)
Judgment Day is the best entertainment movie ever made. It retains the perfect proportions of the action and the sensational plot that allows for deeper reflection on human existence, clothed with great and innovative special effects that were breathtaking and still make a great impression during the screening.
Joel discovers that his ex-girlfriend has undergone a procedure to erase him from memory. He decides to do the same, but realizes during the operation that he still loves her.
WEEK 4
'Shapes' (2011) The Code, Series 1, Episode 3, Box of Broadcasts, at: https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/01E00B35?bcast=68266791 (Accessed: 26 October 2021)
The view about the inner nature of mathematics is not new. The author takes his view of uncovers patterns that explain the shape of the world. Marcus du Santoy, investigate the fractal geometry and compare how the complexity of nature can be portrayed by realistic worlds that signified the power of math.
Mathematics is commonly understood through the prism of school experiences and everyday life uses as the study of numbers (arithmetic) or figures (geometry). As you get closer to it, you can see more and more floors, that is domains such as function theory, differentiation and integration, probability theory, game theory, algebra, topology, etc. The number of different branches of mathematics continues to grow. This is true for both because of the specialization of research (that is, the development of specific domains that fall within existing ones), as well as due to the discovery of new areas that connect with each other issues already existing (but treated as distant) or completely go beyond the current ones knowledge. In all its departments mathematics manifests itself as a characteristic method of approaching posing and solving issues, which is just a certain way of thinking.
WEEK 5
Jackson Pollock paintings at first glance, seem to be a random collection of spots. However, as the artist himself claimed, every hand movement was carefully thought out.
Santoy is interviewing Lauren Carpenter, co-founder of the Pixar company. (an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films) which was inspired by the French innovator Benoit Mandelbrot, who in 1970 suggested that natures is transcendentally fractal.
The term fractal expressionism was coined by physicist artist Richard Taylor and co-authors in order to distinguish fractal art generated directly by artists from fractal art generated using mathematics or computers. Fractals are patterns that repeat on increasingly precise scales and are common in natural scenery (examples include clouds, rivers, and mountains). Fractal expressionism implies the direct expression of nature patterns in a work of art.
Loren Carpenter explains how he created the code to create realistic mountains in digital format by multiplying the number of triangles in the mountains, which resulted in a closer realism effect.
Patterns in nature are visible in regular forms.
Mori M. (2012) 'The Uncanny Valley', IEEE Robotics & automation magazine, pp. 98-100
The term "uncanny valley" is a term used to describe a state of unpleasant confusion that accompanies a person in contact with an object that resembles a person but is clearly not human. When Mori first proposed the amazing valley phenomenon, he created a graph to explain the concept:
According to Mori, the more "human" a robot is, the more positive our feelings for it will be - to some extent. As robots get closer to near-perfect human likeness, our reactions quickly change from positive to negative. This sharp emotional decline, seen in the chart above, is an amazing valley. Negative responses can range from mild discomfort to severe pushing away. Mori's original chart showed two separate paths to the eerie valley: one for stationary creatures such as corpses, and one for moving creatures such as zombies. Mori predicted that the eerie valley was steeper for moving creatures.
Initially was described in the context of humanoid robots, but the development of realism in animations and computer games influenced the consideration of UV also in these areas. The great interest in the valley of weirdness on the part of players is particularly visible. It has recently increased number of research reports that empirically test the effects of UV on reception realistic game characters.
Sophia the robot.
"Scientists have identified mechanisms in the human brain that could help explain the phenomenon of the ‘Uncanny Valley’ – the unsettling feeling we get from robots and virtual agents that are too human-like. They have also shown that some people respond more adversely to human-like agents than other"
Scientists find mental cause of ‘Uncanny Valley’ feeling
(July 22, 2019)
https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/cause-of-uncanny-valley/69655/
WEEK 6
Trenholm, R., 2017. 'Youth and ignorance' drove eye-popping 'Star Wars' effects. [online] www.cnet.com. Available at: <https://www.cnet.com/news/john-dykstra-star-wars-anniversary-industrial-light-and-magic-special-effects/> [Accessed 19 November 2021].
George Lucas not only revolutionized sound in Star Wars by popularizing four-channel surround and then creating the THX standard. The father of the Star Wars series also founded the Industrial Light & Magic studio in 1975, long associated all over the world as special effects wizards.
The origins of Star Wars are very distant times. Anyway, this film was made for a really modest sum of 11 million dollars, when the top productions cost 20 million and more. Here Lucas used miniature models to depict spacecraft. Interestingly, the filmmaker used computer-programmed cameras that could automate complex movements. And this is how the whole "choreography" of cosmic battles was created. This technology was called Dykstraflex, after its inventor John Dykstra.
The big innovation of Empire Strikes Back (1980) was the introduction of stop-motion animation obtained with the participation of the so-called blue screen - thanks to this, the famous scene on the planet Hoth with AT-AT walking machines was created.
LucasFilm pioneered many of the rendering techniques that are now commonplace in both CGI animation and video games since 1986. Among other things, it is about the so-called volume rendering, used e.g. to transform objects from 2D to 3D.
How they did it: Blue screen special effects in the 1980s By Anthony Thurston August 3, 2016
Industrial Light and Magic used several tools in The Force Awakens to create impressive spacecraft, including Autodesk Maya, but also Pixar's proprietary 3D rendering solution, Renderman. In turn, the Arnold software by Solid Angle, which was created in cooperation with Sony Pictures and Imageworks, was responsible for creating the effects with ray-tracing. ILM also uses its own solutions, such as Plume, an application for simulation and volume rendering along with the ray casting technique, i.e. simulating the incidence of photorealistic rays in 3D (a bit depleted ray-tracing, but with different applications).
Whether in the CGI era or before it, Star Wars has always led the technological revolution, but as recent movies show - computer graphics are not always the only right solution.
WEEK 9
'The Illusion of Life' (2014) Vimeo, at: https://vimeo.com/93206523 (Accessed 14 October 2020). Johnson, O. and Thomas, F. (1981) The Illusion of Life. New York: Disney Editions.
The art of animation leaves its creators a lot of room to show off, with its help they can create their own heroes, stories or worlds and use nothing but their imagination. However, there are rules, the knowledge of which not only greatly facilitates the process of creating an animation, but also gives it character and makes it unique. The father of these rules is Walt Disney, and they were created in the first half of the 20th century.
Disney's studio has developed 12 animation principles that have been followed for a long time. The truth is, many animators use these rules, they are universal and timeless:
1. Squash & Stretch:
Considered the most important principle of animation. This principle is intended to reflect the dynamics of movement, taking into account the forces acting on the object. The creator must remember about bending and crushing characteristic of this type of processes, depending on various factors, such as weight or structure. This rule applies to both the creation of objects and the facial expressions of the characters.
This principle is intended to reflect the dynamics of movement, taking into account the forces acting on the object. The creator must remember about bending and crushing characteristic of this type of processes, depending on various factors, such as weight or structure. This rule applies to both the creation of objects and the facial expressions of the characters.
2. Anticipation
Anticipation is simply moving the character in such a way as to prepare the viewer (and also the character himself) for the next action. Most often, we will achieve overtaking by a small movement of the characters in the opposite direction to the intended one. Each action can be divided into three simple parts: Preparation, action and ending. Anticipation is the first part - preparation. Every big action taken should have overtaking. The larger the action, the longer and more exaggerated the preparation should be. It is anticipation that is responsible for broadcasting realistic and "live" physics in animation.
Anticipation is not just about anticipating the action. Thanks to him, we can give the character traits of our character. The longer advance means that our character has thought about the whole action for a longer time and is sure of what he is doing
3. Staging.
Staging defines the way in which we present the action taking place in the scene. We will achieve this, among others, by arranging characters, lights, cameras, and for the appropriate selection of near and far plans. Simply put, staging is creating an animation in such a way that the viewer knows exactly what is going on or what is about to happen.
Usually staging begins during the planning stage of our animation. Thinking through the frames and defining the key positions for the characters will certainly contribute to the transparency of the action. Staging affects work throughout the animation production. Already at the blocking stage, we will find out if we will achieve the intended effect.
4. Straight ahead and pose to pose.
Straight ahead refers to the technique we use to make our animation. This is quite an important point, so at the beginning I will divide this post into two parts. The progressive method is the creation of key-frames one after the other (with an interval of one or more frames) to the very end. Straight ahead can be used for an inorganic animation. For example, imagine how long it would take us to animate a swimming pool trampoline other than progressively. Only frame by frame we are able to predict how much the board will bend and when we should end the movement.
Pose to pose.
Animating by key-frames is basically drawing the ENTIRE animation by defining the key poses of all motion. Quoting an example of painting a picture again: At the very beginning, we will think about how our painting will look like, maybe we will make a tiny sketch on the side. Later, we will sketch all the elements on the canvas, if necessary, we will improve them, and at the end we will reach for the brush. This is what pose to pose looks like. We create key poses, and then fill the space between them with intermediate frames.
5. Overlapping action and follow through.
Whenever a character in a scene tends to stop, not everything related to the character stops. There are a few elements that stay in motion for a few seconds after the character stops. Overlapping action indicates that different parts of the body will move at different times. For example: When raising your arm, the first movement will be the shoulder, then the arm, then the forearm, and then the hand
These two closely related principles allow to increase the realism of motion through displacements in accordance with the laws of physics. Following an action can be described as (inertly) displacing a part of a character or object in the direction of the force despite the completion of the primary displacement process. The overlapping of the action is the use of an appropriate temporal relationship between the movement of different elements. The third rule is dragging - referring to the fact that if a character begins to move, its related elements will need a few more frames to follow. Examples include coat or hair
6. Slow in slow out.
It is nothing more than the time needed to start or end a movement. Each object takes time to speed up and slow down. Without it, our movements would be terribly unnatural. Quite robotic! Acceleration and slowing down are probably the bane of novice animators. The movements are often absurd, and the transition to the pose is completely random.
The human body and most objects take time to start moving or stopping - the longer it takes, the greater the mass, and therefore inertia, of a given body. For this reason, an animation looks more realistic if it has more frames at the start and end of a movement than in the middle - when it's fastest. The rule applies both to objects in motion between two extremely different poses, and to objects already in motion.
7. Arc.
Arc is simply the movement of characters and objects in an arc. Everything (almost) in our world moves in a certain way in an arc. This principle revolves around this concept. When the head is moving or the arm is turned, it is always accompanied by an arcuate movement. Arc speed is important, sometimes negligible but sometimes easily noticeable.
8. Secondary action.
Secondary action refers to creating a movement in such a way as to enhance or improve the main action. In short, it is any animation that is not crucial for the shot. The background action should be subtle enough not to distract the viewer from what is happening. It can also be considered a subconscious and completely natural movement. For example: Character taking a shower. The main action will be washing yourself, while the secondary action may be whistling / singing.
9. Timing
Timing is the time it takes to complete an activity. For example, rotating the clock by 360 degrees in 24 frames . This is what timing will be. Spacing is the way these frames will be arranged in the animation. For example, the pointer might only 'hover' every 90 degrees (that is, only four times) or even more frequently every 45 degrees. Timing and spacing have a lot to do with slow in / slow out. The acceleration of the falling ball will be correctly achieved by the correct arrangement of the key frames. So at the beginning we will need more frames.
10. Exaggeration.
Exaggeration is the way we give the action more charm. Principle of animation is mainly used to achieve a cartoon-like motion effect. Too much realism can sometimes spoil the entire animation and scene. To spice up the situation, add surreal elements to the scene. This can be done in a variety of ways such as face distortion, character movement, etc. Push your characters beyond the boundaries of your animation and your animation will progress.
11. Solid drawing.
Solid drawing is the ability to draw correctly. Additionally, balance and knowledge of human anatomy in every pose we draw are required. This principle encourages animators to remember that while forms can be displayed in 2D, they should try to look in 3D. In this example, despite being drawn in 2D, by selecting the animation, we as viewers feel that Zeus has weight and is three-dimensional.
12. Appeal.
Appeal in character animation is the equivalent of an actor's charisma. Don't let the word charm mislead you - it's not about our character being sweet and delightful. Each character has its own charm. Appeal includes a clear and easy to understand character design and personality with which the viewer can identify. Of course, not every character should be attractive. But this rule implies that animators should strive to create images that are interesting and attractive to viewers.
WEEK 10
Remake two films. Blade Runner (1982) directed by Ridley Scott and Blade Runner 2049 (2017) directed by Denis Villeneuve.
Blade Runner (1982)
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
A comparison of the trailers for both films shows that they were built in a twin way. The new film is better in terms of directing - Scott in his piece, masterfully portrayed individual scenes, created a vision of the atmospheric world, but when creating this film, he just wanted to have fun, make a cyberpunk movie, which wasn't before.
Denis is a master of staging - K's entry to Las Vegas, which combines Kubrick's styles or, Lynch's atmosphere. The direction of the new Hunter can be compared to the direction of Kubrick's Odyssey, Denis has created a contemporary film that has the style of old films, as if from the old era, and at the same time retains its modernity and atmospheric director's style. Both movies have the same pace and enchantment with individual scenes, and this new movie keeps you even more curious and anxious. The new film, in terms of content, threads, messages - maybe not so original, but presented in an interesting, original form, surpasses the original. The new film has a History (K's real investigation), it is not only admiring the vision of the world, and even the atmosphere is sometimes more disturbing and stuffy than in the original. Both films are Experiencing Something Amazing...
Opening Scene Blade Runner (1982)
Opening Scene Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
WEEK 11
Presentation:
WEEK 14
Essay:
