University for the Creative Arts staff research 2011

This publication brings together a selection of the University’s current research. The contributions foreground areas of research strength including still and moving image research, applied arts and crafts, as well as emerging fields of investigations such as design and architecture. It also maps thematic concerns across disciplinary areas that focus on models and processes of creative practice, value formations and processes of identification through art and artefacts as well as cross-cultural connectivity. Dr. Seymour Roworth-Stoke

Prepare to Board! Creating Story and Characters for Animated Features and Shorts

PREPARE TO BOARD! Creating Story and Characters for Animated Features and Shorts is a textbook for animators and storytellers working in time-based media. It discusses the creation of an animated conceptthe heart and soul of an animated motion picture that has not been covered in previously published storyboarding books and then describes techniques used to develop characters and storyboards simultaneously in accordance with industry practice. Exercises are included to allow readers who are not familiar with animation to progress from simple to increasingly complex projects. The text supports the visuals much in the same way that dialogue supports visuals in an animated film. Over 300 illustrations by student and professional artists are included. Three interviews with animation professionals and an extensive glossary of professional terms utilized in the text appear in separate appendixes. A website featuring illustrations from the book and a \u27commercial\u27 parodying the old Bouncing Ball cartoons is online at http://www.nancybeiman.com The site links to amazon.com\u27s order page for the book

Development of an XML Web based motion capture data warehousing and translation system for collaborative animation projects

While motion capture has been hailed as a way to achieve extremely realistic animation in a cost-effective manner, many animators are reluctant to use it or to intermix it with keyframing techniques in situations where they are required to collaborate with other production personnel due to the lack of consistent software performance. The myriad of different file formats and the performance of those formats across different animation packages have limited the penetration of this technology into the production environment. The author details the development of an ASP web based application which archives segmented motion capture data into an intermediate XML format and then allows the users of the system to dynamically retrieve the data in standard Biovision segmented data format (BVA), Lightwave 3D motion dump format, and Adaptive Optics Associates (AOA) motion capture format. The net result is a dynamic web enabled systems that allows users of Avid SoftImage 3D, AliasWavefront Maya, Newteck LightWave 3D, and Kinetix 3D Studio Max to exchange segmented motion capture data

MOTION CAPTURE PROCESS, TECHNIQUES AND APPLICATIONS

n technical terms "Motion capture (Mocap) is sampling and recording motion of humans, animals, and inanimate objects as 3D data", but in simple terms "Recording of motion and playback" OR "One way of acting out an animation" is Motion Capture. So in this paper we are going to present technical as well as simple aspects of Motion Capture like from simple history of Mocap to technical process of Mocap, simple applications of mocap to technical aspects of Mocap.In this paper first thing that would be cleared is that Mocap is not new technology it is used since 1872 when Edward Muybridge performs Flying Horse experiment to know that if a horse ever had all four feet off the ground while trotting? So Muybridge placed cameras to capture movements of running horse and takes multiple pictures of horse and proved that statement true. After that Etienne -Jules Marey became the First person to analyze human and animal motion with video. After all these main -frame motion capture started when in 1915 Rotoscoping which is described in this paper later comes in an imation techniques and it changed whole meaning of animation. Then process of basic motion capture and some techniques used i.e. how motion or movements of an actor are captured using various markers, sensors, cameras and mechanical or magnetic suits and then how these recorded data is converted and applied on a virtual actor to perform same movements. Then some applications like films, animation, medical etc. are discussed and at last a brief about some pros and cons of Mocap is stated.so overall in this paper we tried to give basic knowledge on mocap so that a non-technical or normal person can also understand that how mocap is started and how it is useful or popular now days

Implementation and Applications of Art-directable Ocean Simulation Tools

Ocean effects are important aspects of the filmmaking. They help to establish emotions and dynamism via the behaviors of the oceans, and provides the different atmosphere for storytelling by creating various ocean scenarios. Gilligan is a prototype environmental scene simulator, whose core technique of the ocean simulation has been widely used in feature film productions. This thesis develops ocean simulation tools working with Maya and Houdini with the techniques provided by Gilligan. The Gilligan-Maya workflow executes ocean simulation methods in Gilligan to simulate oceans. The Gilligan-Houdini workflow integrates Gilligan into Houdini, containing a Houdini wrapper of Gilligan, along with a series of Houdini digital assets to support the usage. Artists can use these tools to generate ocean effects, with controls to simplify the production workflow, and well-exposed to all the simulation data for advanced development. This thesis demonstrates several applications with different ocean effects scenarios: ocean environment creation, ocean with floating objects, and ocean character effects

Can Computers Create Art?

This essay discusses whether computers, using Artificial Intelligence (AI), could create art. First, the history of technologies that automated aspects of art is surveyed, including photography and animation. In each case, there were initial fears and denial of the technology, followed by a blossoming of new creative and professional opportunities for artists. The current hype and reality of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for art making is then discussed, together with predictions about how AI tools will be used. It is then speculated about whether it could ever happen that AI systems could be credited with authorship of artwork. It is theorized that art is something created by social agents, and so computers cannot be credited with authorship of art in our current understanding. A few ways that this could change are also hypothesized.Comment: to appear in Arts, special issue on Machine as Artist (21st Century

Poor little Rich Girl, What Does She Know About Misery? : The Significance and Symbolism of Rose in James Cameron\u27s Titanic

This thesis draws attention to and analyzes the various choices made by James Cameron for the characterization of Rose in Titanic, which is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary. While many scholars have defined the hidden meaning behind other directorial aspects, this thesis will take a more interpretive approach in connecting Rose\u27s character journey to her changing appearance on screen, her character defining actions and words, and her overall relationship with Jack. Rose reveals herself as a strong, modern woman throughout the film, and serves as an example of how costume design and dialogue and action mirrors the personal growth of a character

Hello Shoppers? - Themed Spaces, Immersive Popular Culture Exhibition, and Museum Pedagogy

This dissertation explores popular culture-related themed space exhibitions and immersive museum pedagogy through the emerging post-museum, media convergence culture, and Deborah L. Perry’s museum-oriented “What Makes Learning Fun” framework. These exhibitions utilize popular media like Star Wars, Doctor Who, and the films of Hayao Miyazaki as a means of engaging audiences with brand and subject-specific pedagogy. By bringing fictional worlds to life through environmental stimuli (sets, sounds, objects, media segments), these exhibitions use popular texts as a means of facilitating the educational goals of the institution by having visitors engage in “work as play.” Learning becomes encompassed in the “fun” and “play” that is experienced with theme parks and games. Oftentimes educational programs are developed for these exhibitions that are frequently tied to specific national and regional educational requirements. In the post-museum, visitors are assigned interpretive powers where meaning is produced through their own personal experience. As Eilean Hooper-Greenhill argues, the use of visual media helps transcend usual classifications of high and low culture. This study argues that fandom within a themed space exhibition enhances this aspect, and the act of play enhances visitor interpretation. These key issues are examined through three main examples: The Doctor Who Experience (addressing public service vs. corporate profits), Star Wars Identities: The Exhibition (roleplaying as pedagogy and Alberta, Canada’s CALM program), and the Ghibli Museum (Japanese history, national identity, and self-discovery). These exhibits act as sites where the tension between branding and pedagogy operate, and illustrate how popular texts and education are localized for different audiences. The close examination of these themed spaces leads to a better understanding of contemporary media culture and its social/cultural applications on an international scale

Crowd modeling: generation of a fully articulated crowd of characters

In this thesis I present a fast, efficient, and production friendly method to generate a crowd of fully articulated characters. A wide variety of characters can be created from a relatively few base models. The models that are generated are anatomically different from each another, while maintaining the same topology. They all have individual characteristics and features, that distinguish them from the others in the crowd. This method is easily adaptable to different kinds of characters, from hyper-realistic characters to highly stylized characters, and from human characters to insects like spiders. The crowd character models generated by this method are fully articulated and are ready to be animated

Magdalene Odundo

This book provides a complete illustrated catalogue of the artist's work to date (2004). There are essays by Emmanuel Cooper and Simon Olding, and a foreword by Sir Christopher Frayling. There are full-page colour reproductions of key works