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

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Clip B:

Clip C:

Clip D: