J M Barrie and the ballets russes

Barrie’s playlet The Truth about the Russian Dancers (written as a direct response to the impact upon British cultural life of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes) has been hardly discussed in the literary scholarship dedicated to his writings. By placing the playlet in the social and political context of the age, as well as focusing on close analysis of the textual variants of the manuscript, the paper discusses Barrie’s exploration of the impressionistic notion of the unfamiliar and the exotic. It is shown that as a searching piece of dramatic criticism, the work provides a penetrating reflection on cultural dialogism produced within the framework of a modernist, rather than Edwardian platform, and thus puts into new perspective certain aspects of the British perception of what was notoriously categorised as the Russian myth

Real-time Realistic Rain Rendering

Artistic outdoor filming and rendering need to choose specific weather conditions in order to properly trigger the audience reaction; for instance, rain, one of the most common conditions, is usually employed to transmit a sense of unrest. Synthetic methods to recreate weather are an important avenue to simplify and cheapen filming, but simulations are a challenging problem due to the variety of different phenomena that need to be computed. Rain alone involves raindrops, splashes on the ground, fog, clouds, lightnings, etc. We propose a new rain rendering algorithm that uses and extends present state of the art approaches in this field. The scope of our method is to achieve real-time renders of rain streaks and splashes on the ground, while considering complex illumination effects and allowing an artistic direction for the drops placement. Our algorithm takes as input an artist-defined rain distribution and density, and then creates particles in the scene following these indications. No restrictions are imposed on the dimensions of the rain area, thus direct rendering approaches could rapidly overwhelm current computational capabilities with huge particle amounts. To solve this situation, we propose techniques that, in rendering time, adaptively sample the particles generated in order to only select the ones in the regions that really need to be simulated and rendered. Particle simulation is executed entirely in the graphics hardware. The algorithm proceeds by placing the particles in their updated coordinates. It then checks whether a particle is falling as a rain streak, it has reached the ground and it is a splash or, finally, if it should be discarded because it has entered a solid object of the scene. Different rendering techniques are used for each case. Complex illumination parameters are computed for rain streaks to select textures matching them. These textures are generated in a preprocess step and realistically simulate light when interacting with the optical properties of the water drops

Fifth Freedom, 1982-02-01

Making Love In Buffalo: pg1 Media Watch: pg1 Editorial: pg2 How Does Your Garden Grow: pg3 As The World Queers: A Sad, Sad Tale: pg4 The Aural Column: pg5 MCC: Why We Are A Fellowship : pg7 Gay Press Association To Meet: pg7 Rosie\u27s Reviews: pg9 Cheryl of M.C. Compton\u27s: pg9 Community Center Calendar: pg11 Bob Damron: pg12 Captain Kink: pg13 SELections by Sam: pg14 Gay Directory: pg15 Want Ads: pg15https://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/fifthfreedom/1082/thumbnail.jp

Real-time Realistic Rain Rendering

Artistic outdoor filming and rendering need to choose specific weather conditions in order to properly trigger the audience reaction; for instance, rain, one of the most common conditions, is usually employed to transmit a sense of unrest. Synthetic methods to recreate weather are an important avenue to simplify and cheapen filming, but simulations are a challenging problem due to the variety of different phenomena that need to be computed. Rain alone involves raindrops, splashes on the ground, fog, clouds, lightnings, etc. We propose a new rain rendering algorithm that uses and extends present state of the art approaches in this field. The scope of our method is to achieve real-time renders of rain streaks and splashes on the ground, while considering complex illumination effects and allowing an artistic direction for the drops placement. Our algorithm takes as input an artist-defined rain distribution and density, and then creates particles in the scene following these indications. No restrictions are imposed on the dimensions of the rain area, thus direct rendering approaches could rapidly overwhelm current computational capabilities with huge particle amounts. To solve this situation, we propose techniques that, in rendering time, adaptively sample the particles generated in order to only select the ones in the regions that really need to be simulated and rendered. Particle simulation is executed entirely in the graphics hardware. The algorithm proceeds by placing the particles in their updated coordinates. It then checks whether a particle is falling as a rain streak, it has reached the ground and it is a splash or, finally, if it should be discarded because it has entered a solid object of the scene. Different rendering techniques are used for each case. Complex illumination parameters are computed for rain streaks to select textures matching them. These textures are generated in a preprocess step and realistically simulate light when interacting with the optical properties of the water drops

Physically Based Forehead Modelling and Animation including Wrinkles

There has been a vast amount of research on the production of realistic facial models and animations, which is one of the most challenging areas of computer graphics. Recently, there has been an increased interest in the use of physically based approaches for facial animation, whereby the effects of muscle contractions are propagated through facial soft-tissue models to automatically deform them in a more realistic and anatomically accurate manner. Presented in this thesis is a fully physically based approach for efficiently producing realistic-looking animations of facial movement, including animation of expressive wrinkles, focussing on the forehead. This is done by modelling more physics-based behaviour than current computer graphics approaches. The presented research has two major components. The first is a novel model creation process to automatically create animatable non-conforming hexahedral finite element (FE) simulation models of facial soft tissue from any surface mesh that contains hole-free volumes. The generated multi-layered voxel-based models are immediately ready for simulation, with skin layers and element material properties, muscle properties, and boundary conditions being automatically computed. The second major component is an advanced optimised GPU-based process to simulate and visualise these models over time using the total Lagrangian explicit dynamic (TLED) formulation of the FE method. An anatomical muscle contraction model computes active and transversely isotropic passive muscle stresses, while advanced boundary conditions enable the sliding effect between the superficial and deep soft-tissue layers to be simulated. Soft-tissue models and animations with varying complexity are presented, from a simple soft-tissue-block model with uniform layers of skin and muscle, to a complex forehead model. These demonstrate the flexibility of the animation approach to produce detailed animations of realistic gross- and fine-scale soft-tissue movement, including wrinkles, with different muscle structures and material parameters, for example, to animate different-aged skin. Owing to the detail and accuracy of the models and simulations, the animation approach could also be used for applications outside of computer graphics, such as surgical applications. Furthermore, the animation approach can be used to animate any multi-layered soft body (not just soft tissue)

Convergência entre o cinema e a realidade virtual

Doutoramento em Ciências e Tecnologias da ComunicaçãoEsta tese tem como objectivos centrais apontar hipóteses sobre a origem dos problemas de criação e desenvolvimento emocional em plataformas de entretenimento interactivo e na sequência da comprovação dessas hipóteses apontar possíveis soluções. Nesse sentido este projecto assume relevância na discussão centrada sobre o desenvolvimento de elementos emocionais para narrativas interactivas estruturadas em ambientes virtuais. A forma de enquadrar o conhecimento a trabalhar foi concretizado no estudo sobre aspectos da resposta emocional na convergência entre o Cinema e a Realidade Virtual (RV). Procurou-se definir similaridades e diferenças não apenas nos artefactos criativos mas também nos aspectos comunicacionais entre o artefacto e os receptores. Foi a partir desta primeira abordagem que desenvolvemos a nossa hipótese principal: que a RV sofre de um deficit de estimulação de diversidade emocional nos seus receptores quando comparada com o Cinema. Com esta hipótese foi necessário proceder a estudos empíricos no sentido de determinar a veracidade das nossas conjecturas teóricas. Assim testámos 14 artefactos de RV em termos emocionais e depois comparámos os resultados com testes prévios realizados sobre segmentos fílmicos. Deste estudo empírico retirámos a confirmação da nossa hipótese mas determinámos também a (provável) dificuldade que as nossas hipóteses teriam de enfrentar. A um nível emocional mais profundo, descobrimos que a provável causa da falta de diversidade deriva de um paradoxo, entre a interactividade necessária ao artefacto e a inactividade necessária ao receptor para que este possa sentir determinadas emoções. Estamos assim perante um paradoxo da emoção inter(activa). Partindo deste paradoxo, desenvolvemos um estudo de análise de conteúdos sobre um grupo de sequências fílmicas previamente testadas por nós e em outros testes psicológicos, em termos da especificidade das emoções despoletadas por cada sequência. A análise foi realizada com base em critérios da linguagem formal fílmica mas em vez de realizar um estudo subjectivo de cada sequência, desenvolvemos uma abordagem empírica tendo como grupo alvo, realizadores e argumentistas de cinema. A análise dos excertos produziu uma base de dados de técnicas estilísticas que serviriam ao desenvolvimento da nossa metodologia de design de emoção geral assim como para responder ao caso específico levantado pelo paradoxo anterior. Para este caso específico desenvolvemos uma nova técnica de interacção a que chamámos de toque físico-virtual. Com os estudos empíricos realizados e as metodologias de design de emoção geral e específica estabelecidas, avançámos para a primeira aproximação à prototipagem, ou seja para a conversão das semânticas fílmicas em semânticas RV e por fim procedeu-se à implementação do protótipo. O protótipo foi depois submetido a um conjunto de testes para determinar da sua suficiência, usabilidade e facilidade de uso. Os resultados obtidos indicam que foi atingindo um nível satisfatório na estimulação da diversidade emocional.This thesis has as its central objectives the identification of the source of problems in the elicitation of emotion within interactive platforms, followed by the advancing of possible solutions to the hypotheses thus arrived at. In this regard, the dissertation seeks to make a valid contribution to discussions related with the development of emotional elements in interactive narratives built into virtual environments. The conceptual framework has been grounded in research on aspects of emotional response in the convergence between Film and Virtual Reality, looking for similarities and differences not only in creative artefacts but also in the communication between those artefacts and their consumers. From this first approach, we have stated our main hypothesis: that VR suffers from a deficit in the emotional diversity elicited in receivers when compared with that of Film. With this hypothesis, it was necessary to proceed first with empirical studies in order to ascertain the veracity of our theoretical conjectures. So we have tested 14 VR pieces in emotional terms through self-reports and then we compared the results with previous studies carried out in the analysis of film. From this empirical study we find our hypothesis confirmed but we have also determined the (probable) main difficulty with the reliability of the hypotheses. At a deeper emotional level, we have discovered that the probable cause of lack of diversity derives from a paradox, between the interactivity needed by the artefact and the inactivity needed by the user to feel certain emotions. We are therefore faced with a paradox of emotion inter(activity). Taking our lead from this paradox, we developed a content-analysis study of a selected group of film sequences previously tested by us and in other psychological studies, in terms of the specificity of the emotions elicited by each film clip. The analysis was made following objective film stylistics criteria but instead of doing a subjective analysis of each sequence, we developed an empirical approach grounded in the ideas of a group of filmmakers and film writers, analysing our excerpts in order to produce a database of possible formal film techniques. The database would serve as our main design methodology for emotional diversity and for dealing with the specific problematic areas we had found previously in our interactive artefacts study. For this specific problem, we developed a new interactive technique that we named virtual body touch. With the empirical studies carried out and the methodologies for the general and specific design of emotional diversity established, we moved on to the first stages in prototyping, mainly the conversion of film semantics methodologies into VR semantics. The prototyping then used these converted interactive categories and parameters to produce results in respect of scenery and characterization. Finally, we have submitted the prototype to a series of validation tests to determine the sufficiency, usability and easiness of the tool. This validation process obtained results which indicate a satisfactory level of appraisal by the experimenters. Finally, we present possible suggestions to be taken up and explored in further research work

Emoções interactivas, do cinema para os videojogos

Coleção : Comunicação e Sociedade n.º 1