Creating Stereoscopic 3D Images

Red/Cyan Image

Green/Magenta Image

Image in Maya

Failed attempt at doing a 3D Shot. 

Recreating Cameras and Lights in Maya

Tough little assignment to get right....

Photo:

Maya:

Angle 2:

Extra Credit Attempt

Photo:

Maya:

Building a Scene in Maya

I made this with one spot light attached only to the backdrop. 

Then placing 2 spot lights with linear decay onto the letters.

Then the directional rim light. 

Stop-Motion Character Animation

Here's my stop motion film, No Ball, No Problem:

This assignment was fun, But stop motion is hard. I have such respect for the artists who can create entire features doing stop motion. It's a delicate medium, and tough to get right.

For my film I wanted something simple with a character I could make easily and quickly. I decided to go with a sports theme, so I chose the best sport: basketball.

Here were some of my initial thumbnails to try and get the idea down: 

After this I decided to expand it into a few shots to create a little more of a set up. 

I then sketched out how I could go about building the hoop and character:

This design for my character did not work because the metal wiring I had was too strong and my clay was too soft, so there was no real strength in the armature and it fell apart easily. Eventually I did put some wiring in the character, but not as how I originally designed. 

Then I built the set on my desk:

For the final shot with the character throwing his head, I used  a clay base and metal wiring to hold up his head in mid-air. I just adjusted that frame by frame to get the right arc. 

I then masked out the base and wiring in After Effects. 

In the video below you can see the shot without any editing. 

And that's that!

Science Fact or Cinematic Fiction? (Paper)

          Films allow the audience to suspend disbelief and travel to other worlds, even if those other worlds define the laws of physics. The moments may not always be accurate, but they are intentional for the story moment. Filmmakers always looks for ways to expand the audiences horizon to increase entertainment levels, and one of the ways they do this is by breaking the rules. One of those rules is the law of inertia and the action/reaction principle, which states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This idea that an object at rest remains at rest until acted on by an unbalanced force is put to practice in many animated and special effects films, but with that it's also stretched and intentionally left behind for the purpose of entertainment.  

          One such film that occasionally defies the law of inertia is Elysium. In the final fight scene between Kruger and Max, there are a few times where the action/reaction principle is set aside in order to add more action and drama into the scene. There's a moment where Kruger kicks Max across the metal floor, and Max is sent flying backwards into the side bars of the platform. In the following shot we see Kruger getting up from the exact same position where he kicked Max. This is of course false in the true physical world because the force of Kruger's kick would be so powerful that if would send him shooting backwards in the opposing direction, slamming him into the other side bars. 

         Another moment during that fight sequence is when Max runs at Kruger to tackle him, but instead Kruger jumps directly back at Max, sending them both flying back towards the direction of Max's starting point. Granted that they are clad in metallic gear that gives them incredible strength and ability, this still seems like a farfetched move. The force of Max's run would roughly counterbalance Kruger's, as they are both relatively the same weight. Max could be sent flying backwards, but being shot back that far with that amount of force is a bit exaggerated for the realistic world it's set in. Nevertheless, moments like this are intentionally created by the filmmakers of Elysium to indicate how powerful the villain Kruger is, and it allows the audience to witness the strength he has and the danger that our hero Max is in. 

         In the world of animation, the rules become even further bent and mind-boggling, especially for a film like Kung Fu Panda. In the climactic battle between Po and Tai Lung, there's a moment where Tai Lung punches Po and Po's body arches back and wobbles for a bit in slow motion. After a few seconds Po recoils and knocks Tai Lung back and into the air, causing him to slam through a wall about 20 feet away. Po stands there in the same position, fists out, with a surprised look on his face. The amount of force needed to destroy a wall of concrete is quite large, even more so with someone made out of flesh and bone. The energy that Po builds up during the "wobble" is thrust back at Tai Lung, but Po would need to be sent backwards in some way, shape, or form to compensate for that amount of power and reaction. Instead, he's left there in the same position, which is not entirely plausible. 

         There's another moment here where Po is fighting Tai Lung and he grabs his tail and uses it as a pulley to bounce Tai Lung off of his butt, sending him tumbling down the street. This is just another moment like before where the amount of force needed for Po to do this is extensive. And what's more, during this hit Po actually moves forward a bit as opposed to the opposite direction of Tai Lung. His reaction in a realistic setting would send him bouncing the other way, not in the same direction as Tai Lung.

Of course when all this is going by and the audience sees it, no one notices and no one cares. Kung Fu Panda is one of those films where the exaggeration of these battles and hits makes the film what it is. It's established very early on that the world in which these characters exist is farfetched and fantastical. Po can bounce around left and right and Tai Lung can be smacked around China and we buy it because that's what kung fu allows these characters to do in this world. 

         The world in Final Fantasy: Advent Children is another place where characters can accomplish more fantastical scenarios. Numerous times during this film do you see characters jumping from one building to another, or flying upwards in ways gravity would never allow. But in terms of the action/reaction principle, one scene in particular showcases how it breaks that rule. There's one moment about halfway through the film where the protagonist Cloud falls off his motorcycle, which sends the vehicle spinning forward in the direction of a few of the films antagonists. One jumps over the bike with ease. The other— Lox— simply sticks out his leg and the large bike stops dead in its tracks. Simply put, Lox should be in the hospital. The size and weight of the bike would cause Lox to be thrown back by the motorcycle's acceleration and powerful path of action. Even if he were able to stop it with just his leg, he should react and slide back on the ground, then ease in to a final stop. Lox is an object at rest and he's being acted on by an unbalanced force. He should not remain at rest, but does so anyways. 

          As stated before, it's clear that films— especially animated and one's drenched in special effects— will intentionally break the rules of the normal physical world in order to achieve an emotional reaction out of the audience. The rules of these worlds are pushed to a measure of disbelief, but when done right they simply enhance the believability of the story. Elysium is a live action film that's grounded in that the characters are gifted with super strength. Kung Fu Panda's characters can break though walls and have kung fu powers that allow them to move and not move whenever they please. And Final Fantasy is just that: a fantasy. This means that the characters can muster up magic and contain strength and powers that would never work realistically. Yet they work on the world because we as the audience submit to them. If the action/reaction principle were followed strictly, films would eventually become dull and boring. the fact that the limits of physics are pushed gives cinema that extra drive it needs to keep the audience intrigued. 

Science Fact or Cinematic Fiction? (Outline)

The Action/Reaction Principle

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

An object at rest remains at rest until acted on by an unbalanced force.

Scene 1: Elysium

- Kruger kicks Max across a platform. Max slams into the saftey bars, Kruger remains in the same place.

-Kruger should slide backwards to compensate for the force of his kick. This violates the princicple because the reaction is not balanced.

Scene 2: Kung Fu Panda

-Po punches Tai Lung. Tai Lung goes flying off through walls, but Po doesn't move or budge.

-Po should counter the action by flying backwards. It's impossible that Tai lung went that far to begin with, but the rules in an animated film about Kung Fu are lenient. The reaction doesn't not match the action.

Scene 3: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

-A character stops a motorcycle dead it it's track without flinching or moving an inch.

-This character should fall backwards or have some sense of the "slow in" principle. But the animation style calls for very quick movements and very little attention to the laws of physics.

Reverse Video Reference

Clip A:

Clip B:

Clip C:

Clip D:

Stop Motion Animation of Falling

Stop Motion Explosion

For my animation I animated pretty much on the fly. I knew I wanted a character falling, I just wasn't sure what the story would be. I did have the idea of Superman trying to fly, but I thought a cape would be too complex for my first stop motion attempt. Then as I started animating I realized how morbid I was making it, as I realized that this man was not going to be landing on his feet: he was going to plant face-first to his death.

The angel wings didn't help me as I tried to make a "happy ending".

My original video:

So then the only solution became to blow the poor guy up. Quick and painless.

TERM PAPER: The Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe

          Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, like every film, contains its own laws of physics. The difference between this film compared to others, is that the physics in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 is just plain crazy. It's safe to say though— in its simplest terms— that the creators of the film made this world this way all for the sake of the story. The physical world in Cloudy 2 is one that allows strange gravitational pulls, buildings with impossible structures, and characters with seemingly jelly insides as they move. But even though the filmmakers of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs2 constantly break the rules of the real world, they do so in a consistent manner that makes us suspend disbelief so that we as the audience buy into the story and world they call "reality."

          First off, let's discuss the balance and weight of some of the structures in Cloudy 2. At the beginning of the film the citizens of Swallow Falls are relocated from their hometown to a sunny, beautiful location known as SanFranJose. The design of this city is very stylized, and though it mimics San Francisco's homes all crunched together on hills and slopes, the film takes it to another level. The homes come together in clumps and bunches, and they all are places very close together on hilltops are almost vertical in their slopes. It seems as though only people with helicopters can get to the top range of homes.  

         

         Then there's the design of LiveCorp's headquarters. This is an enormous light bulb-shaped formation that is made entirely of glass.  Structurally you would never see this in the real world. The sheer weight of millions of glass panels being supported by a thin column would topple before it was even finished. Nevertheless, it makes for a cool design that mirrors the silhouette of its creator, Chester V. 

          And inside the LiveCorp's structure you find another diabolical arrangement of impossibility. To get to the cubical on the lower floors, one must travel in an elaborate pathway of tubes and tunnels of glass cylinders. These "elevators" turn left and right, up and down, and would beat one to a pulp if this were real. Sure the glass sides may create a lack of friction, but it would still be an incredibly painful ride.

           Another aspect of the film that works the boundaries between realism and impossibility are the films gravitational pulls during sequences. One such impossible scene is where Flint falls from a rock candy precipice. He falls for approximately 6 seconds before hitting the water below him, though he does get knocked out, he lives to tell the tale. Mythbusters once did a test where they compared falling on concrete to falling on water. They dropped a pig from 600 feet onto a watery grave. This drop took about 5 seconds before the pig hit the water. It's terminal velocity reached 120 mph before it landed, giving it 7 skeletal fractures, including that of the ribs and neck. Flint falls from about the same height, perhaps even a little bit higher according to the time frame. He's lucky Cloudy 2 is just a kids movie, because he should be dead.

 

          Another shot that defies gravity is one where we see a LiveCorp water fountain shoot out water in the shape of a light bulb. The water follows a very particular, robotic path of action instead of the natural parabolic arc in would in real life. it's almost as if the water spouts are being guided in some strange way. 

         One scene that is actually quite accurate is the scene in which Flint travels down the crazy elevator tubes and his soy latte escapes from his cup due to zero gravity. This is actually possible, and the liquid in the shot is staying in tact— as it's an object at rest wishing to stay at rest— is a very real world scenario. Astronauts at the space station did tests like this, where they worked with the physical properties of liquid in zero gravity, and the results in Cloudy 2 are not far off. 

          As with most animated films, broken bones and stretched muscles populate the majority of the shots in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. I think the difference between this film and many others is that it tries to take this concept to a whole new level. You see it 30 seconds into the film with the introduction of Chester V, the film's antagonist. His arms and fingers stretch and bend in ways that only a person with jelly insides could move. And his weight is also very odd, as he can hold himself up with two fingers effortlessly. This helps set the tone and world of the film and it gives it a very unique and particular style. 

          Other shots that exemplify the stretched muscles of the characters are when they all see the foodimals for the first time. Their facial reactions and jaws drop further than any normal human, and again this just further supports the story moment. There's even a part that shows some characters slapping mosquitoast off of each other's faces. The stretch in the fingers and squash of the jaws and cheek muscles indicate how far the animators were able to push the poses and expressions of the characters they were working with. 

          Though some scenes and sequences from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 work in the real world, a majority of them do not. The story itself is crazy and requires the physics to match it. The characters have to have a lack of bone structure, the buildings need to be strange and improbable, and the weight of the world requires its own gravity for each particular moment. But we as the audience buy the physics; we accept it. And this is the beauty of cinema and the power of animation: a character can bend their arms in 12 different places and an enormous structure can be made entirely out of glass. We disembark from our own reality because Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 is grounded in its own world, and we follow every moment of it. 

Term Paper Outline: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

Introduction

            -The physics in Cloudy 2 is just plain crazy

            -obviously, the reasoning behind it is all for the sake of story

            -Thesis: Even though the filmmakers constantly break the rules of the real world, they do so in a consistent manner that makes us suspend disbelief so that we as the audience buy into the story and world they call "reality." 

          

Balance and Weight- Buildings with impossible structures

            -the Elevator tube at LiveCorp (0:11)

            -SanFranJose (0:08)

            -LiveCorp's giant glass lightbulb (0:09) (0:12)

Defying Gravity- Characters and Locations with crazy weight and gravitational pulls

            -Flint falling from a rock candy precipice (1:04)

            -LiveCorp's light bulb-shaped water fountain (0:09)

            -Coffee floating in zero Gravity (0:11)

Broken Bones and Stretched Muscles- Characters with seemingly jelly insides

            -Chester V's intro shot (0:01)

            -The big surprise of Food Animals (0:32)

            -Slapping off the maquitoasts (0:55)

Conclusion

            -certain scenes work in the real world, majority do not

            -Cloudy 2 is grounded in its own reality.

Video Analysis of Path of Action

Tracker Video Analysis of Falling Basketball

Shooting Video Reference

Shot at 60 frames/second

Frame 239 (Apex)

Frame 273 (Lowest Point before contact)

Mini Portfolio

My name is Youri Dekker, and I'm an animation/illustration major in my fifth year here at SJSU. I have a deep passion for character animation, storytelling, and films. I'm the president of the Shrunkenheadman Club for the 2013-2014 school year, and am enjoying every minute of it. I'll be entering my BFA year next year, with the hopes of eventually getting a job where I can have the opportunity to animate on a feature film. I like playing basketball and sleeping whenever I get the chance. I also like all sorts of food: lasagna, burritos, BBQ chicken wings, but most of all ice cream.

This is a film I directed a year ago called Roll, made in about 6 weeks time.
I still intend on going back and improving on it, but for now this is it. 

Here's my Demo Reel for ANI 128B, one of my digital animation classes that I took last semester.

This is my 2D Animation Reel:

Youri Dekker (2D Animation Reel)

from Youri Dekker on Vimeo.

Here's one of the model sheets I created for Jimmy Loves Juice,
the short film to come out of the A/I program last semester. 

And here's just a drawing I did a few months back. 

More work can be found on my website and my blog.

The First Post

This is me.

 And this is my dog, Chanel.

She's lazy and I love her.