Recreating Cameras and Lights in Maya

Original Photo

Photo recreation

Different Angle

Building a Scene in Maya

For this assignment I used Maya for the first time. I constructed the letters out of rectangles and then had a friend show me how to change the colors of the objects. I just added a light to this scene so that the letters would show up better, the lighting was not intended for the extra credit. I also brightened the photo in photoshop because the image was very dark. Overall it was an interesting first try at maya and I'm excited to learn more.

Third Term Paper

My first two term paper scores were both above 80; I will not be writing a third term paper.

Outline for the Third Term Paper

I. Intro: For this paper, I would like to analyze two different approaches in film to creating realistic looking tsunami waves. Both the films "The Impossible," and "The Wave" feature massive, destructive waves that are so large that special effects animation must be used in order to capture a sense of realism.

II. Body:
     a. The film "The Impossible" is a combination of live action Tsunami simulations combined with CGI special effects to make a realistic looking Tsunami. The Usage of special effects is pulled off well because it meshes well with the live action and the film clearly had a high budget.

     b. The film "The Wave," pulled off the effect of creating a Tsunami with less of a realistic feel to it. The wave was clearly animated entirely in 3D and therefore just doesn't quite look right. It simply looks like it wasn't fully rendered realistically, and the movement of the wave also feels unnatural.

III. Conclusion: Both films display a similar 3D approach to creating a Tsunami, however "The Impossible" works significantly better because of the combination of real life scenes meshed with the CGI in the background/ not in the focal point.

Character Animation

For this project we decided to team up! Our group consists of Rita O-Young, Sean Donovan, and Johnny Sim.

We started out by first compiling our various characters and then planning by writing down our ideas in a chronological order of events that would occur. We decided upon a cheesy action movie type of plot for our story, with the clay mini-sean figurine being the antagonist and the superhero figurines being the heroines. Our John Cena toy served to be our damsel in distress. After deciding on our story, we began to prep to begin shooting. Rita drew the simple backgrounds for the shots, Sean prepared the camera with the tripod to measure our frame size, and Johnny attached string to all of our characters for easier manipulation. After all of this prep, we were ready to start animating. We also ended up doing extra prep between each shot depending on when a new background was needed or the characters needed more string attached to them.

 In terms of ideas, we definitely collaborated a ton while hashing out the story and deciding on how to shoot the scenes and which various jokes we wanted to include. For the majority of the animation Sean was manning the camera and helping direct the shots, Rita held the strings of the characters and animated some characters, and Johnny did a majority of character animation. The way we animated the more complicated scenes was that Rita would hold the strings of the characters to keep them in place as Johnny would move the character and Sean was photographing.

We definitely did switch off with animating and photographing, for example the "hacker" scene was photographed by Johnny and animated by Rita. Sean did a majority of directing the look of each shot. For the most part we stuck to our original roles, switching off where needed. With the car drift scene we definitely took inspiration from what we learned in class.

Post production was definitely pretty challenging, we switched off photographing with Sean/s camera and Johny's Surfacebook so we had to combine photos from two sources. We then compiled all of our footage from both devices in Premier. Sean and Johnny did the majority of compilation in Premier while Rita wrote out our blog post. We then recorded audio together on Johnny's Surfacebook and synced it into the Premier file.

Our goal with this project was to make something both memorable and hilarious. Upon looking at our final product we're definitely happy with it! We were able to do much more as a team than if we had worked alone. Remember to listen with audio!

Science Fact or Cinematic Fiction

The beauty of animation lies not only in the beautiful visual effects and fantastical ideas that can be conveyed, but also largely in the subtleties of the animated movements. Although to non-animators the differences between movements that are exaggerated and those that follow realistic physics might not be obvious, the presence of both kinds of movements are actually incredibly important to animation and story. Even someone who cannot animate can notice unrealistic movement and when done well can be quite humorous or dramatic. Good animation has a balance between realistic movement and strategic moments of exaggeration, and is not simply random in its moments of deviation from reality. This essay will be an analysis of the paths of actions of moving characters and objects, analyzing how bounces, jumps, and falls in a variety of movies do not follow the laws of physics by having incorrect timing, spacing, or a lack of weight. These unrealistic physics in all of the following scenarios are used with a specific intent and purpose, which is what makes them so interesting to analyze.

In the film Kung Fu Panda the laws of physics are exaggerated quite a bit. Specifically, the bounce of a character down several flights of stairs is extremely unrealistic for comedic effect. In this scene the very chubby panda protagonist is fighting with a leopard. When the leopard tackles the panda the laws of physics are broken as the two fly hundreds of feet through the air and then upon landing survive and bounce down stone steps as if the panda is a bouncy ball. The physics of the tackle itself are inaccurate with the momentum of the leopard running at the panda resulting in a flying out about 300 feet from the edge of the platform. In addition, the path of action of the fall is not parabolic but rather a long horizontal fall to the side and then more of an abrupt drop off closer to the end of the fall, which is physically impossible. Upon landing, the panda intertwined with the leopard are exaggerated to be bouncy due to the panda’s roundness whereas in reality his immense weight would not result in such a light, beachball-like bounce. Interestingly, the bounces down the stairs follow arcs in a parabolic path with each bounce having a smaller apex, so the figures were a bouncy ball the bounce would be correct. This deviation from realistic physics is used for comedic effect as well as to dramatize the entire fight scene.

           Another example of exaggerated paths of actions occurs in the film Tarzan. This movie also has many instances where the physics are exaggerated for the sake of the story and for entertainment value. One scene that displays incorrect physics is a scene in Tarzan that features Gorillas perched on top of barrels and bouncing along the ground lightly, moving forward with each jump. The gorillas bounce around on the barrels very quickly and lightly with no anticipation for each jump and covering a lot of ground. This is physically impossible because of the disparity between the weight and shape of the gorillas and barrels with the lightness and speed of the movement. Not only is the average young male gorilla about 300 pounds or more which would severely impact the ability of the barrel to bounce so lightly, but the barrels would not physically be able to squash and stretch as they do in the film. The wood would likely splinter from the impact but in the scene the barrels have properties akin to a rubber ball. The jumps are also very evenly spaced and the apexes of each jump are pretty equal, which is also unrealistic. Unlike a ball bounce, individual jumps with varying momentum would probably not be so uniform in their arcs. The purpose of the gorillas bouncing around on the barrels is purely for entertainment and comedy during one of the lighthearted moments in the movie.

A final example of incorrect physics in terms of arcs, spacing, and path of action is displayed in the film The Road to El Dorado. During a scene where the character are engaging in an Ancient Mayan ball game the main characters are doing terribly. They hit the ball and it misses the goal, bouncing past the opposing team. The ball bounces in the exact same arc past the team as all of their heads synchronize moving up and down with the even moment of the ball. The ball bounce is too evenly spaced to be realistic and hits same apex during each bounce as well as having the exact same arc length. This is not physically possible for a ball bounce, especially if the ball bounces about 5 times within the shot. The ball bounce should have a progression of parabolic arches that decrease proportionally with each bounce. The even-ness of the spacing is used for comedic effect, which is made obvious by the synchronicity between the bounce and background characters. The hilarious movement of the characters with the ball emphasizes the mistake and exaggerates their shock at how poorly the protagonists are performing in the game.

In conclusion, these movies all have some deviations from realistic paths of action and bounces for the purpose of drawing the audience's attention to certain movements and adding emotion and humour to the scenes. The humorous bounce of the panda and leopard down the hill is much more memorable because of its exaggeration, and plays much more with the imagination of the audience and makes the film feel much more fantastical. These deviations from reality are all used with a purpose and are a tool used by the animators to make each film and scene unique. If all of the films displayed only perfectly accurate physics there would be so much less expression and originality that could be expressed. Knowing how to properly animate realistic physical movement is vital to being a good animator, and so is knowing when to stray from the rules.

Outline of Second Term Paper

I. Intro: Essay will be an analysis of the paths of actions of moving characters and objects, analyzing how bounces, jumps, and falls in a variety of movies do not follow the laws of physics by having incorrect timing, spacing, or a lack of weight.

II. Body:
     a. Kung Fu Panda (film, 74 m). In this scene, a very chubby panda is fighting with a leopard. When the leopard tackles the panda the laws of physics are broken as the two fly hundreds of feet through the air and then upon landing bounce down stone steps as if they are a bouncy ball. The physics of the tackle itself are inaccurate, as well as path of action of the fall. The panda is exaggerated to be bouncy due to his roundness whereas in reality his immense weight would not result in such a light bounce.
     b. Tarzan (film, 42 m). This scene in Tarzan features Gorillas perched on top of barrels and bouncing along the ground lightly, moving forward with each jump. This is physically incorrect because of the lightness/bounciness of the movement. Not only is the average young male gorilla about 300 pounds or more which would severely impact the ability of the barrel to bounce so lightly, but the barrels would not physically be able to squash and stretch as they do in the film. The wood would likely splinter, but in the scene the barrels have properties akin to a rubber ball.
     c. The Road to El Dorado (54m) Ball bounce seems too evenly spaced to be realistic and hits same apex during each bounce. This is not physically possible for a ball bounce, especially if the ball bounces about 5 times within the shot. The even-ness of the spacing is used for comedic effect and is synchronized with the head movements of the background characters.

III. Conclusion: These movies all have some deviations from realistic paths of action/bounces for the purpose of emphasizing and exaggerating certain movements for entertainment.

Reverse Video Reference

WALK A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZCSD6ZVf2o

WALK B

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV--Ft1GuI8

WALK C

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V5VrRdXYMs

WALK D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sWcTJx-ZOQ

Stop Motion Animation of Falling

To create my stop motion animation I decided to use candy as little characters, and drew a background for the video on large paper. I then put it on the ground with a light source, and had my boyfriend photograph each frame from above when I told him to as I moved the characters between each shot. I used the iPhone app called 'Stop Motion Pro" to create my video. I reshot the animation about 4 times, and adjusted the timing with each attempt. I made an effort to include anticipation by making the pink candy back up before attempting his final great leap. I tried to make the path of his fall appear realistic as by using my knowledge of falling, acceleration, and velocity. I remembered from the 1/4 down at 1/2 time rule that the object would drop the furthest at the beginning of the fall before slightly slowing down as he gets closer to his terminal velocity.
Overall, the project was pretty fun and an interesting challenge.

The Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe

While the physics in our universe follow specific laws and behave in a predictable way, the physics in animated films are not tied to such a strict pattern. Animated films can exaggerate and alter physics to emphasize movement, create a more engaging story, and to produce a more interesting visual impact. Films like “The Road to El Dorado,” produced by Dreamworks Animation, follow many realistic laws of physics and yet include moments where the film breaks from reality to push the film to a more interesting level. These breaks from realistic physics are used strategically, and therefore strengthen the movie as a whole. Several examples of unrealistic movement in the movie include unrealistic paths of action, exaggerated reactions to the environment or lack thereof, and magical elements that completely defy reality.

“The Road to El Dorado,” features quite a few instances where objects and characters in the movie follow unrealistic paths of action and display impossible speed or spacing. These exaggerations would probably not stand out to a regular audience, however, to any animator or physicist watching, these discrepancies from reality are immediately noticeable. As stated earlier, these moments of unrealistic movement are used to further the story. In many of the following instances unrealistic physics are used for comedic effect or to make a challenging feat even more impressive.

An example of unrealistic physics in the film occurs when the two protagonists and their horse fall about one hundred feet or more from a ledge and are in free-fall and then tumble against the edge of the cliff and roll roughly to a stop but without any noticeable injuries. This is completely unrealistic because at least the horse should exhibit some sort of injury if not death. The average horse can way around 900 to 1,000 pounds, and since momentum of a falling object is based on both velocity and mass it would be falling with a considerable momentum. The terminal velocity for a human is about 120-140 mph, so it is safe to assume that the terminal velocity for a horse would be even higher. The horse would likely be accelerating to its terminal velocity and probably not even reach it before impact, meaning that it was accelerating until the moment that it made contact with the cliff side. The force to stop a 900 pound animal would be great, so the survival of the horse falling such a huge distance seems completely impossible. The horse could also be brought to a stop with a small amount of force applied for a long time, however the film shows the horse hitting the side of the cliff only a few times before tumbling along the ground. The survival of the two humans seems equally impossible, however because they are considerable smaller and perhaps would be able to survive with injuries if brought to a stop more gradually. In conclusion, all three beings were in free-fall for about 100 ft. and unrealistically survive without a scratch. While this is not a believable occurrence, it is used to exaggerate this moment in the story and also to physically block the characters from turning back along their journey and force them to continue moving forward.

Another instance in the movie where the physics of reality are altered is when the main characters engage in the ancient Mesoamerican ball game of ōllamaliztli. The characters have to use their armadillo companion who rolls up as their ball in order to cheat and win the game. The armadillo is able to fool the other players into believing he is a ball and when he is thrown he is able to alter his own path to get into the hoop and score points for his team. This action in and of itself is rather unrealistic, especially with the opposing team being oblivious to the living animal that they are playing with, however this is also for the purpose of bringing comedic effect to the scene. One specific instance during the game where the laws of physics are ignored when the opposing team manages to hit to armadillo in a direct arc toward the hoop. The armadillo sticks out its feet and comes to a complete stop outside of the hoop. According to the law of inertia, the armadillo’s ears, tail, and perhaps even entire head should continue moving forward even after the body of the animal comes to a full stop. It is quite a basic technique to include a drag of extremities and soft material with any sudden stop of movement, so it is clear that the animators made a calculated choice to leave out the effect. This choice actually works very well because like the previous example, this brings contrast to the movement and the complete halt of the animal not only makes the instant much more noticeable, it also adds comedic effect to the scene.

A final example of incorrect motion used in the film is during a scene where the character Miguel rides his horse at a gallop, the horse makes an impossibly high/far jump of about 100 feet horizontally and about 40 feet in height in a parabolic arc, and then Miguel jumps off of the horse at the apex of its jump another 30 feet in distance to the top mast of a ship. This is simply not possible, the furthest recorded jump performed by a horse was about 60 feet, and the highest jump recorded of a horse jumping was 8 feet. A human’s highest recorded jump was about 5 feet. Needless to say, the distance and height of both the character and the horse are not physically possible in our world but do serve to dramatize the moment. Exaggerating the jump emphasizes the sacrifice and emotion of the scene.

The physics of the world of “The Road to El Dorado” also deviate from reality is shown in the character’s exaggerated reactions to the environment, or lack thereof. One example of this is in a situation when the main characters are standing still when a huge crowd of strong men run past them at an unrealistically fast speed. The wind and dust following them is portrayed as so strong that it blows the character’s hair to about 3 times its original volume. While this would be possible with a teasing comb, a blowdryer, and a lot of hairspray, it simply isn’t possible for the breeze behind running men to cause such an incredibly strong wind. An under-reaction to an environmental effect shown in the movie occurs when the antagonist of the film falls into a waterfall. He is shown to fall at least 300 feet into a whirlpool, gets dragged underwater and is pushed through an underwater tunnel at least 60 feet below the surface of the water. The impact of hitting the water, pressure of being so deep under the surface, and extreme underwater speed seem like they would at least cause the antagonist to pass out, if not drown, however he surfaces from the water in the next scene fully conscious and capable of speaking. Lastly, another situation in which there is a noticeable under-reaction to environmental factors is when the horse runs across burning hot coals. The horse does not yet have horseshoes on his hooves (even though the steel would conduct heat anyway) and yet is somehow able to walk across flaming hot coals without any sign of pain. This was probably included for the purpose of making the scene exciting; this section of the movie accompanies music and singing, and features extremely bright, neon colors. The bright orangey red of the fiery coals adds to the overload of color that goes with this scene, and works well as a visual effect. I believe the reason for these overreactions/under reactions to the environment is visual and thematic purposes, as well as to explain the movement of the antagonist from one location to another.

Lastly, the film features feats of magic that are not possible in our world. The antagonist is able to bring a giant stone lion to life using a ritual. As far as we know today, it is not possible to imbue an inanimate object with life. In addition, this character is able to float above the ground during his ritual, which defies the laws of gravity on Earth. Without a net force greater that the character’s force that he is exerting against the ground, there would be no way for him to be lifted from the ground in such a way. There is no visibly strong wind coming from beneath him that could push him upward, so he is therefore breaking the laws of gravity on Earth. Finally,  the magician is able to transform his pear into the illusion of a rat and the conjures many of these holographic rats from thin air as well creating snakes and spiders that glow with a green light. It is also not possible to transform objects, create holograms of living creatures, or create a light source from thin air. The inclusion of magic in the movie is blatantly unrealistic compared to the physics of our world, and is part of the film for the sake of the plot. The antagonist’s magic plays a crucial role in the movie and without the villain, there would be no conflict in the story. Magic is used in this instance to completely break from reality and develop the story.

         In conclusion, the laws of Physics on Earth are broken for the sake of emphasis, exaggeration, and for the plot. These moments of unrealistic movement and effects serve to draw the audience’s attention to specific motions and areas of the screen. For example, when objects come to a sudden stop with no follow through, the contrast of fast movement to a complete stop draws the audience’s eye immediately. If the animators were to animate everything without any regard to the physical laws of Earth then the movie would likely feel less believable and would not noticeably emphasize certain moments. In addition, the unrealistic physics really work to escalate the drama in certain scenes and to move the story forward. I believe that all of the digressions from realistic physical laws have a purpose and are used strategically. This is kind of the whole point of animation; to imitate reality but use one’s power as an artist to alter it for the benefit of the story. Overall the world of “The Road to El Dorado” was wonderfully animated and the physics were altered with the intention of improving the quality of the film.  

Term Paper Outline: The Road to El Dorado

I. Introduction:

A. Animated Feature Film: The Road to El Dorado (2000). (89 m)
B. Thesis: The film "The Road to El Dorado" takes places on Earth, however, some of the physics are exaggerated and unrealistic.

II. Body:

A. Unrealistic path of action, spacing, or speed of moving objects:
1. The two human protagonists and horse fall hundreds of feet off of a cliff and roll softly to a stop without breaking any bones or dying. (19m)
2. Characters jump about 30 ft through the air from a giant statue onto a dragon made of paper/cloth and run along it as if it is solid. (35m)
3. Ball bounce seems too evenly spaced to be realistic and hits same apex during each bounce. (54m)
4. Armadillo in ball form stops completely after being thrown with no follow through. (55m)
5. Character riding horse jumps about 30 feet, and at the apex then jumps off of the horse even further about another 30 feet diagonally upwards and forward. (78m)

B. Exaggerated reaction to environment or lack thereof:
1. Crowd of men quickly run past main characters and their hair is blown to the side at a 90' angle and then bounces back completely frizzed up about 3x the original volume. (56m)
2. Horse walks over hot coals with no reaction of pain. (35m)
3. Character falls hundreds of feet into a waterfall, is bellow the surface about 60 feet and survives being blown around underwater at high speeds. (69m)

C. Stone lion magically brought to life/ other magical properties:
1. Antagonist floats backwards above the ground, defying gravity. (65m)
2. Antagonist brings inanimate stone lion to life with magic. (66m)
3. Character creates magical holograms out of thin air. (51m)

III. Conclusion:

A. Laws of physics are often broken in the film.
B. The film deviates from realistic physics for emphasis of certain scenes, for the sake of the plot of the movie, and to create visual contrast. The use of unrealistic physics is used well and with intention.

Video Analysis of Path of Action

Tracker Video Analysis of Falling

Shooting Video Reference

Video Reference:

Fourth Down at Half Time:

Mini Portfolio

YO

          My name is Rita O-Young and I'm a first year transfer student in the Animation/Illustration department at SJSU. I'm from Sonoma County and I attended Santa Rosa Junior College for two years after high school before transferring here. My background is in traditional fine arts, I've done a little bit of 3D modeling and animation before, and I'm just now learning to digitally paint. I'm not super experienced with physics, but I did take the subject in high school. Science isn't my strongest subject but I still enjoy learning about it. I'm crazy about traveling and would absolutely love to live in Europe or Asia for a few years. I also love animals, video games, long boarding, and Asian food. My favorite games are Dark Souls III, War Frame, Dying Light, and I'm super stoked to buy For Honor. My dream after this program would be to work as a VisDev or Concept Artist on games, preferably something realistic and with super good quality stories and content (think The Last of Us or Dying Light). We'll see what happens! Stoked to see where this program takes us and to learn something new in this class!

This is a sketch from last semester I did of a leopard using a pencil, copics, and microns. 

Here is a digital portrait I painted last semester, I'm slowly getting the hang of how Photoshop works.

This is my personality walk from Ani28 last fall (2016).

The First Post

I'm stoked for this class!