Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Reverse Video Reference of Walking(late)

I couldn't help but laugh through most of these....the videos that we had to work off of, especially Alex Bishops which was the first one was rather difficult to keep a serious face. Also in the "stealthy" one...I felt like I was a hunch back.

A.

B.

C.

D.


Thursday, December 6, 2012

Creating Stereoscopic 3D Images





All pretty cool...though can't help but get a headache from looking at these. >.<

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Recreating Cameras and Lights in Maya

photograph 
http://s1254.beta.photobucket.com/user/sjphysics123/media/IMG_5765.jpg.html


according to reference.


45 degree turn.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Assignment 10 Outline of Second Term Paper


Path of Action Pushed and Broken within Animated Films

I.Intro:
In movies the Path of action defines the reality within the film. Often it is seen in animated films or shorts that the sense of Path of Action is broken to add comedy. Timing is key for when it comes to make a scene funny. In the films, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Over the Hedge and TMNT where it is intentionally meant to read as comedic.
II. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
a.       The scenes that dealt with Flint and Sam jumping within the Jello Mansion defies the matter of arcs in which there are longer pauses at the apex for the characters.
b.      Near the end there is a great storm that Flynn runs up the spaghetti tornado, defying the path  of action where Flint is able to elevate in certain moments through his travel down to the ground.
c.       In reality, with the speed of the wind, objects would follow through and be pulled with the force  and when it comes to jumping there is an even distribution of timing.

III. Over the Hedge
a.       The beginning shot where the red wagon is accidentally nudged over the cliff, the wagon should have followed through to arc out more instead of dropping suddenly.
b.      Also the sense of timing and speed through the movements of the characters are pushed to the extreme as in to relate to older Loony Toon cartoons.
IV. TMNT
a.       In the introduction and ending, the Teenage mutant turtles are running and jumping from building to building in the city. The one thing that is out of place is the fact that the end of their arcs end short to the point that they drop straight down instead of falling through.
b.      There is a scene when Mikey is skate boarding through the sewers, and with him riding up about the walls and railings, the amount of speed he is going as well as the angle should force him to keep moving forward instead of continuing on with sharp turns .
c.       The path of action is pushed to the extreme in comparison to reality where naturally with friction and weight, the object would follow through.


V. Conclusion
                Path of Action and Arcs of Action are broken within these movies based on the idea to make things more comedic as well as bring more “character” to the animation.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Assignment 9 Character Stop Motion Animation



Poor little devil can't get any company with these classically gorgeous people...so to cheer him up Mulan just felt that she could be nice and spare him some time.

And thankfully with the help of some fine friend's of mine I am able to show this little snippet. Didn't really consider the fact that 2 seconds of frames on ones, simply does not register for quicktime and other forms of media. Though for the most part with this film, I really should have timed it out to have the pauses that it calls for.

How I made this film, was by simply using my camera and statues along with a little trinket. I should have used a stand for my camera, but believing that everything would be fine,I just set it up on my desk. After dealing with some technical difficulties that I mentioned before, I soon turned to using After Effects and exporting out a rendering of the images that I composited.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

First Term Paper


                
Akira is a Japanese Animation classic that was first screened in 1988. The animation is based off of Katsuhiro Otomo’s manga Akira, which incorporates the use of psychic powers amongst the characters. One of the main characters, Tetsuyo obtains psychic powers and his friend, Kaneda, another main character has to figure out a way to stop him from over taking the city. The laws of physics are very similar to this worlds rules, because the location of the film is set in Tokyo, and is still within the elements of Earths rules. The rules of natural physics are often broken throughout the movie to relate with the “super natural” aspects of the characters and situations that occur.
                Through the movie, there is the works of low and high pressure interacting with each other and the rules that apply to pressure. Yet there is no definite rule to pressure within the film, there is a natural feeling to the use of the characters powers because there is always a sense of suction. Not only is the exposure of low and high pressure within the elements of using powers, there are the simpler elements that apply to the physics of objects in motion. In the scene where Kaneda is facing a rival gang leader, he challenges him to a game of chicken on their bikes. Riding along the center line of the freeway, the two bikers face off and barely miss each other, only to cause one to slide to the side while Kaneda skids to a stop. The issue that can be noticed within this scene is that with the higher pressure outside of the bikes as well as the low pressure following behind them, there should have been a rebound effect. This observation may be wrong but with the high amounts of speed as well as the amount of surface area penetrating through the wind force there would be more of a drastic result instead of sliding to the side but an actual incident similar to losing control of their vehicles.  In later scenes, there are more noticeable pressure changes that affiliate to the use of super natural powers.
                The main focus of the film is based on the use of super natural powers and their effects on their surroundings. In most cases with the use of special powers, the pressure change could be seen through the use of wind effects as well as surrounding debris. The first time the main character, Tetsuyo uses his powers is when he is in the other patient’s room getting payback for their previous teasing. In this scene Tetsuyo later on uses his powers to shoot out from the room, creating suction from the absence of his presence. Also later on in the film, there is a larger subject that is scene to display the exposure of low and high pressure creating suction. Within the last climatic scene of the film, there is a great explosion, similar to an atomic bomb exploding, but with this effect there is suction as in everything is drawn to the center like a black hole. Despite the expansion of the explosion, everything still is pulled to the center as well as in the end, everything zeroes into the very center where this episode ends without an actual outburst. Despite the use of pressure, gravity is greatly affected and played with throughout the film.
                Within films, the use of gravity gives the feel of solidarity, where the characters are contained by the rules of gravity like all people are, so that gives a center of connection between the audience and characters. In the first scene introducing Takashi, one of the young children with psychic powers, he creates an explosion, shattering glass of nearby buildings to fall down to a group of on lookers. The glass itself falls too slow to display realism, especially after the initial impact which is fast and sharp. There are other objects in this scene that falls consistently to the first initial impact, but it is believed that in order to make the scene feel more effective, the contrast of timing was used with the shards of glass. Also when it comes to using their power, a character with special capabilities can levitate and move objects despite their size and weight. An example of this can be noticed in the scene when Kaneda first discovers more about his powers, he uses his powers to throw large objects at people as well as using bursts of energy to channel objects at people. There was also another scene when he did this and it was with a fight between himself and a female lead, Kei, in which they both were somewhat equal in strengths of power. The only limitation one can believe in due to this technique is that they could not levitate or throw a building. Not only are objects through about or in the air, but also characters have the ability to fly.
                All characters with special powers have the ability to fly . The first introduction of flying was noticed in the scene when Tetsuyo was facing off the three other psychics , The sense of flight was easily accepted in the movie because also there was the use of flight through other means and it felt that it as a normal setting, especially after the fact that this film was set more in the future, and also that it was already clear that a person with special powers would have the ability of flight. In a way it is expected in more animations and films that anyone who has a special power should at least be able to fly to a degree. Also the characters with powers are able to walk on top of water like it is glass. This was revealed in a scene where Takashi is retrieving Kei from the other characters by guiding her to walk on top of the water. Gravity just doesn’t have any effect on anyone who has powers, but for normal people there are still the basic rules of physics.
                There is realistic physics involved in the movie but in order to convey the effect of super natural powers, the boundaries of realism is pushed. Some forms of basic natural physics that one can recognize is simply, inertia as the bike gang ride through the streets of Tokyo on their bikes. As Kaneda is racing through a tunnel, there was a fire, which resulted in a fire extinguishing system being activated. Kaneda had skidded to an abrupt stop which almost tossed him to the side. Also another incident of making a sharp abrupt turn resulting in sliding, is when Tetsuyo is racing after a rival gang member but losing his balance by turning in at a curve too much to cause him to slide and keep moving in the same line of motion. Other natural applications of physics relate to how with angle and weight, speed is increased with motion. In a scene that involved Kei defending herself against armed policemen, Kaneda is seen running down a steep slope, leading him to pick up speed and eventually tackling the office to fall into a sewage ravine below. Just with the basics of physics, can anchor the story to make it feel realistic, but what also makes a film are scenes that are just unnatural that makes you think of how it would be to be involved in such a situation.
                The last climatic section of the film dealt with the destruction of a portion of Tokyo. Reality is pushed to the degree that there is no real defined sense of gravity and speed of motion. The main character Kaneda was pulled into the core of the explosion, and he is literally floating through space and time, causing an unbalance of time and gravity as objects fly about and crumble at different speeds. The irregularity of the scene is what creates the mood for the ending, the unknown of endless possibilities. The  end of the film itself is left open for that reason, because the director/writer wanted the audience to decipher their own ending to this film.
                Akira can be a rather confusing movie to watch,  but the push between realism and surrealism is what makes it interesting. Having physics pushed to unrealistic settings benefited the story because it would feel unconvincing if everything was naturalistic yet t he characters have super natural powers. The laws of physics in this film are applied to the affiliation of gravity, pressure and realism, displaying a wide range of action between characters and the environment within scenes.

Assignment 7 Outline

OutlinePhysics of animation
I.Intro
Within the movie Akira, the laws of physics are very similar to our own, yet they are broken from time to time that relate more to the “super natural” aspect of the characters.
II. Body
A.      Low and High Pressure
1.       In the scene where Kaneda is facing off a rival biker gang leader, they play “chicken” with each other, leading them to ride the center line of the high way and face off, Kaneda wins simply based on the principle that his bike his more efficient and high tech, yet they both would have dealt with some difficulties.
a.       With higher pressure surrounding the bikes as they drive towards each other along with the lower amount of air pressure created from their speed, there would have been a vacuum effect between the two of them, playing a role of a whipping effect as soon as they pass each other.

2.       In the scene that Tetsuo makes his escape to find Akira, there is a suction from the great amount of speed he produces. As if from when Tetsuo uses his powers to levitate the debris surrounding him, he creates a source of lower pressure about his form as everything else is at a higher pressure.
3.       The last scene of the film
B.      Gravity
1.       In the first scene introducing Takashi, one of the young children with mental powers, he creates an explosion from the buildings, which in turn shatters glass to fall down to a group of onlookers. The glass itself falls too slow to display realism, especially after the initial explosion which is fast and short, the transition between the two is very apparent but is clearly used to enhance the scene itself.
2.       When it comes to using their power, the character with special capabilities can levitate and move objects despite their size and weight against gravity.
a.       The scene when Kaneda first discovers more of his powers within the Baby room within the government facility , he creates vacuums as well as channels energy to throw and levitate large pieces of debris.
3.       Characters with special powers are able to walk on water as well as fly.
a.       In the scenes when Takashi retrieves Kei at the channel, he is walking on the water as well as Kei because of her own special capabilities.
C.      Purpose
1.       There is realistic physics involved in the movie but in order to convey the effect of super natural powers, the boundaries of realism is pushed.
a.       The climatic ending for the film, has the combination of pushed reality in a sense that the main character Kaneda is floating through space but with inconstant speed as well as an unbalanced sense of gravity as objects are flying about the scene.
III. Conclusion                   
 The effect of physics being pushed to unrealistic settings help and benefit this movie. If  everything was of a more natural feel,  the story would be dull and unconvincing of how the characters have super natural powers.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Tracker Video Analysis of Falling

Of course, out of the more simpler drops, I picked the most bounciest of them all. :P

Screenshot of the first Ball drop in Tracker:


Original Reference

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Mini Portfolio

Hey All!

I guess I have great luck as in deleting my posts! Well anyways, if any of you didn't see my previous post, my name is Meghan Auer. I am part of the Animation/Illustration department as well as involved in the Shrunken Headmen Club.I have been at San Jose State for 5 years now, transfered from Las Positas in Livermore. I am originally from Pleasanton where my parents still live.As in being part of the A/I department, I am focusing on 3D modeling. Before I was mostly involved in environmental and Layout design for films. Right now I am in Ani 117 and 116 with Courtney Granner and Baron Storey, both great teachers and artists, even though I never had any classes with them before. I am currently working on an animated film with Professor Dave Chai, that a group of us had started in the beginning of summer. I am head of the CG department where I am creating 3D assets and rendering them to be in a 2D style. We should be done by the end of the month and I definitely recommend people to see it! (Well whenever we are able to even show it I guess). I had also worked on previous films such as; Why Do We Put Up With Them in the summer of 2011 and Green Ninja: For Goodness Rake this last spring semester. I am looking forward to this semester because I hope that it will also help me understand the physics of different CG assimilations such as fire, hair, cloth, and water. 

 

This last semester I designed out a steampunk girl and modeled it out in Maya. The one thing that was most difficult was to work with the Hair system within Maya. It is rather finicky.
The semester before in the Intermediate Modeling class with Dave Gustlin, we were to model out the Cave Troll from the Lord of the Rings. A really interesting project that was heavily depended on Z-brush, another program that we use within the class that deals with sculpting and texturing.

Well I hope you all enjoyed my work, and Thank you!

Thursday, August 23, 2012

first post

animation!!!nanananana! looking forward to this upcoming semester of physics of animation :D