Integration of Z-Depth in Compositing

It is important for video compositors to be able to complete their jobs quickly and efficiently. One of the tasks they might encounter is to insert assets such as characters into a 3D rendered environment that has depth information embedded into the image sequence. Currently, a plug-in that facilitates this task (Depth Matte®) functions by looking at the depth information of the layer it\u27s applied to and showing or hiding pixels of that layer. In this plug-in, the Z-Depth used is locked to the layer the plug-in is applied. This research focuses on comparing Depth Matte® to a custom-made plug-in that looks at depth information of a layer other than the one it is applied to, yet showing or hiding the pixels of the layer that it is associated with. Nine subjects tested both Depth Matte® and the custom plug-in ZeDI to gather time and mouse-click data. Time was gathered to test speed and mouse-click data was gathered to test efficiency. ZeDI was shown to be significantly quicker and more efficient, and was also overwhelmingly preferred by the users. In conclusion a technique where pixels are shown dependent on depth information that does not necessarily come from the same layer it\u27s applied to, is quicker and more efficient than one where the depth information is locked to the layer that the plug-in is applied

Integration of Z-Depth in Compositing

It is important for video compositors to be able to complete their jobs quickly and efficiently. One of the tasks they might encounter is to insert assets such as characters into a 3D rendered environment that has depth information embedded into the image sequence. Currently, a plug-in that facilitates this task (Depth Matte®) functions by looking at the depth information of the layer it\u27s applied to and showing or hiding pixels of that layer. In this plug-in, the Z-Depth used is locked to the layer the plug-in is applied. This research focuses on comparing Depth Matte® to a custom-made plug-in that looks at depth information of a layer other than the one it is applied to, yet showing or hiding the pixels of the layer that it is associated with. Nine subjects tested both Depth Matte® and the custom plug-in ZeDI to gather time and mouse-click data. Time was gathered to test speed and mouse-click data was gathered to test efficiency. ZeDI was shown to be significantly quicker and more efficient, and was also overwhelmingly preferred by the users. In conclusion a technique where pixels are shown dependent on depth information that does not necessarily come from the same layer it\u27s applied to, is quicker and more efficient than one where the depth information is locked to the layer that the plug-in is applied

The Implementation and Emulation of Cult Movie Marketing

Cult media is often an area of media studies that is difficult to define. Cult media branches through numerous time periods, genres, and fandom patterns. Cult trends are also constantly evolving over time, changing from word-of-mouth and point-of-sale advertising to social networks and Internet culture. But have the rudimentary basics of how media cults develop and spread their message changed along with the progressing marketing presentation? This dissertation explores the definition of media cults, their history, and marketing styles over time, ultimately exploring the tools utilized to market cult media and examine how these tools are now synthetically applied to many media products in hopes of garnering a passionate cult audience

Molly

“Molly” is a stop-motion animated graduate thesis short film completed at Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of Film and Animation and screened in May of 2019. The film tells a fictional story about a young boy named Elliott whose life has changed both very drastically and very quickly. In what seems like an instant, he loses both his mother and his childhood home and finds himself standing, overwhelmed, in the street in front of his new residence as his life is seemingly being unpacked from the back of a moving truck. He is shell-shocked and feels profoundly alone but soon he, quite literally, stumbles upon the strangest girl and unwillingly becomes a guest at her rather unusual social engagement. Events take a slightly devastating turn but, in the end, both children gain a companionship that they both so desperately needed. In making this film, I sought to tell a story about acceptance, loneliness, and finding companionship in times of need. I also aimed to make a film that was visually compelling, exemplifying the breadth of my skill in prop, set, and puppet fabrication. These assets were all made by hand. The film was shot utilizing only in-camera stop motion techniques with a Canon EOS Rebel T3i Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera and Dragonframe software and was assembled in Adobe After Effects CC 2018. The film was screened before an audience of professors and peers. This thesis paper covers the conceptualization and production of the film as well as the film’s receival upon screening and my final thoughts on the film and process

The Manipulation of Time Perception in John Adams's Doctor Atomic

This thesis is the first scholarly study of John Adams's 2005 opera Doctor Atomic. The study includes a brief history of the opera. It then concentrates specifically on one aspect of the work: time perception. Using a newly developed comprehensive methodology, I examine the manipulation of "clock time," "stage time," and "psychological time" in the libretto, the score, and the staging of Doctor Atomic. Thus, a dichotomy between poetry and prose in the "found" texts of Peter Sellars's libretto is reflected in a similar psychological time dichotomy of "now" vs. the timeless. Adams's score accentuates this point by relying on compositional techniques of the Baroque, as well as effectively elongates stage time in the final countdown scene. Finally, the analysis of the 2007 Amsterdam production of the opera reveals that a combination of props, blocking, and lighting in Sellars's staging contributes to the manipulation of the audience's perception of time

The Merchant of Venice at UMASS: An Exploration in Collaboration and Representation

Through an analysis of the details of The Merchant of Venice, I will show that a costume design which only satisfies the basic role of articulating the relationships, status, time and place, etc of the play but has no point of view regarding that text’s inherent assumptions will always support, rather than subvert, any problematic issues present therein. Secondly, I will show that without tandem movement from the creative team, no rehabilitation or subversion is possible

The “Ontological Fibrillation” of Transmedia Storyworlds. Paratexts, Cyberworlds and Augmented Reality

In this study we shall be trying to examine in more depth the relationships between the processes of trans-medial world-building and their “ontological fibrillation” via the affordances of recent digital technology. The analysis will be concentrating on the contribution from Augmented Reality in the ontological materialization of The Walking Dead transmedia storyworld. To this end, the dual configuration of a narrative continuum and an attractive-interactive materialization of the make-believe will be taken into consideration. This assumption will be backed up by our endeavouring to update the conceptual contributions of narratological categories, such as para-textuality, and medial categories, such as cyberworlds and the social media; the trend towards materialization of storyworlds, following in the tracks of a historical-archaeological perspective of pre-digital transmediality will be traced with reference to several scholars within transmedia studies