Stereoscopic 3D Images

On Campus

Me

Plants

Lighting a Scene in Maya

One Point Lighting

Two Point Lighting

Three Point Lighting

Building a Scene in Maya

My initials in a Maya scene..

Science Fact or Cinematic Fiction

         Rarely do we stop to appreciate the laws of physics in our daily lives. A boy falls off his skateboard and the board keeps rolling, the law of inertia. Toss a baseball into the air and it will undoubtedly come falling back down, the effects of gravity. With as little as we pay attention to these everyday examples of how the laws of physics work around us, we certainly don’t tend to notice these same effects in the fantasy world of movies, that is not until they are played out incorrectly. These simple concepts that all human beings understand in the back of their minds are sometimes quite suddenly jolted forward when they are so blatantly ignored in the visual creation of a film. The law of inertia is one of the most frequently bent and broken rules of physics in both animated and live-action CGI films. An object in motion will stay in motion until otherwise acted upon by an outside force, unless of course you’re making a film.

         The animated DreamWorks film, Kung Fu Panda, provides many examples of this rule being bent for the purpose of dramatic storytelling. One of the most prominently ignorant scenes is one of Master Tigress. Standing atop the training facility, which is nestled high up in the mountains that surround the Valley of Peace, Master Tigress makes the decision to go after Tai Lung to try and stop him before he can even reach the valley to destroy it. She leaps from the roof of the building without a second thought and plummets down into the valley below, falling a long distance. Despite the great speed she picks up while falling, Tigress lands perfectly safe and unharmed on the roof of one of the houses. Not even one tile of the roof is knocked out of place.

According to Newton’s law of inertia, Tigress’ falling body would not stop simply because her feet met the roof. Although her body would stop moving if another force acted upon it, in this case that force is the roof of the house, the rate at which she was falling would require a much greater force to stop Tigress’ body. In reality, she would have crashed straight through the roof the house, and anything below that, until enough force was applied to stop her. In this scene, she would most likely not have stopped until her body met with the floor of the house. Additionally, if a fall such as this were done in a completely realistic manner, using the laws of physics correctly, the abrupt stop of her body meeting the ground would also kill Master Tigress, thusly giving quite a nasty turn to that scene in the film. If the filmmakers had created the scene this way, it would not have served the story well.

         Although the live-action film, The Fifth Element, takes place in the future where things like flying cars and space travel are completely ordinary, the law of inertia is still broken several times. During an important scene, Korbin Dallas is persuaded by his attractive fare, Leeloo, to help her evade police capture by taking off in his hover-taxi. A chase ensues and in an attempt to avoid bullets and being captured, he makes a sharp vertical turn at a high speed. Despite the sudden change in direction the taxi experiences no drag. Even if the car had been able to make such a drastic directional change, it would have been moving forward as it tried to pull upwards into the vertical turn. Secondarily, in the next few moments of the scene, when the vertical turn takes them up through some train tracks and the train is headed for their vehicle, the taxi takes yet another sharp left turn in which there is no effect from the inertia it had when traveling in a forward direction. In reality, the taxi should have been dragged forward here as well, and since the train was so close to hitting the car it likely would have been struck by the front of the train. It is also worth noting that the police car that was chasing them prior to the vertical turn ended up crashing through the side of a big rig truck but somehow managed to stop just inside, without crashing through completely, in spite of the high speed at which they were traveling.

         One of the best displays of inaccuracy where the law of inertia is concerned can be found in a scene from the recent 2009 film, Star Trek, during which the young James Kirk drives a car off a cliff. When the scene opens, Kirk is driving a stolen vehicle down a long stretch of dirt road when a police officer pulls up alongside him and orders him to pull over. He pulls a sharp right and busts through the gates to a restricted area of land and continues speeding along at over eighty miles per hour towards the edge of a cliff that is in the distance; the policeman is not far behind him. Within the last twenty feet before the drop, he yanks the emergency break and the car turns so it turns and skids towards the ledge. Immediately following this action, Kirk flings himself from the vehicle so that he won’t go hurtling over the edge with it.

When first viewed, there is a feeling of doubt instilled by what is seen on the screen; there’s no way a normal human being could really do this and live to tell the tale. The mind might rationalize that perhaps if Kirk knew his way around cars that perhaps he could pull it off if the action was timed right, but this just isn’t true or possible. When Kirk jumps from the vehicle, it is within reason to presume that the car is still moving close to eighty miles per hour as it barrels towards the edge, and his body continues at that speed as well, even though he’s leapt from the car. With such a short amount of space in which to jump from the car safely, and while moving at such a high speed, Kirk would plunge over the edge before his body even had a chance to drop far enough to hit the level of the ground. Even if he did manage to land on the dirt before the cliff’s edge, Kirk would still be dragged over since there’s not enough applied friction from the ground to stop him in time.

         Through all of these scenes, it is apparent that filmmakers have little issue with bending and breaking the laws of physics in both animated films, where it might be expected, and live-action films, where a certain degree of reality is expected. When breaking the law of inertia suits the story, the thought of inaccuracy might only barely cross our minds as we sit back to enjoy the cinematic efforts. And, perhaps it is too much to expect that films would at least take such a simple thing as inertia and display it accurately when we go to view these films for the purpose of being taken out of the real world. So, while the law of inertia is often inaccurately portrayed in films, it is usually done so for dramatic effect to make the scene more interesting without maiming or killing the characters involved and we can forgive these indiscretions in favor of the great stories we seek by choosing to view these movies.

Outline for the Second Term Paper

I.      Introduction

A. Thesis: The law of inertia is often bent and broken in both animated movies and live-action CGI films.

II.     Example One: Kung Fu Panda

A.    Discuss Master Tigress’ leap from the temple atop the mountain to the roof of the house in the valley below

i.  Falling such a long distance and being able to safely land on the roof without harm to the character or the house is not plausible

ii.              Rate at which Tigress is falling, she would have crashed straight through the roof and anything below her in the house

iii.            With a fall like that, if it were done realistically, the abrupt stop of her body meeting the floor would also kill her.

III.   Example Two: Fifth Element

A.    Discuss taxi chase scene

B.    When Bruce Willis’ character is being chased in his taxi by the police, he gets away by pulling a sharp upwards turn in which the car experiences no drag at all

i.  The scene is unrealistic because the car was moving forward at such a high speed that even if it managed to make a sharp turn upwards, it still would have been dragged forward as it also tried to make a vertical turn

C.   Secondarily, in the next moment when the vertical turn takes them up through train tracks and a train is headed for them, the taxi takes another sharp turn to the left in which it experiences no drag

i.  The taxi would have been dragged forward here as well and since the train was so close to hitting them, at least the tail end of the car would have been struck by the front of the train.

IV.  Example Three: Star Trek

A.    Discuss scene in which young Kirk drives the car off a cliff

i.  Kirk jumps from the vehicle perhaps 15 feet before the cliff, but his body would still be going at 80 some odd miles per hour

ii.              He would go flying over the edge of the cliff before his body even had a chance to drop far enough to hit the ground because his body is still moving so quickly in the same direction as the car

iii.            Even if he did manage to land on the ground before the edge of the cliff, Kirk’s body wouldn’t stop being dragged in time for him to avoid plunging over the side, again because his body is still moving at 80 something miles per hour even after leaping from the car.

V.    Conclusion

A. Although this law of inertia is often inaccurately portrayed in films, it is usually for dramatic effect to make the scene more interesting without killing the characters involved.

Stop-Motion Character Animation

To make this animation, I bought Play-Doh, because it turns out I have absolutely no figurines, stuffed animals, or otherwise posable toys that work for stop-motion animation. First I planned what sort of characters I wanted, and what actions I wanted them to take before molding the dog, cat, and ball out of the Play-Doh. It was tough to time the movements of the dog's legs, and to be sure they were all in the correct place during each photo.

I took the images one at a time, pausing to move the character between each image. I also did my best to keep the camera steady on the tripod, but it did end up wiggling a little anyway. Though I shot the whole thing a couple times, this take came out the best. I put the photos into SAM Animation and adjusted the frames per second there.

Reverse Video Reference of Walking

Clip A

Clip B

Clip C

The Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe

Laws of Physics in Kung Fu Panda

Imagine a world full of animals that walk and talk, just like us, but they can also perform exciting kung fu moves that bend the laws of physics. That is the world created in Kung Fu Panda, a 3D animated film produced by DreamWorks Animation. In ancient China, nestled next to the mountains, is a peaceful village where a large panda named Po resides. Po lives and works with his father in their family-owned noodle shop. He dreams of one day escaping his ordinary life to become a kung fu master and fight alongside his heroes, the Furious Five. High up in the mountains beside the village, where the Furious Five train, their master, Shifu, receives some horrible news; his mentor has had a vision of Shifu’s former student, Tai Lung, escaping prison to take revenge on the village for being denied the opportunity to become the Dragon Warrior. While Shifu sends a messenger to the prison to warn them, unknowingly setting off a chain of events that will free Tai Lung, his mentor, Oogway, makes the decision to choose someone that will become the Dragon Warrior and protect the valley from Tai Lung’s rage. When Po is seemingly, accidentally chosen as the new Dragon Warrior, he must deal with the irritated Furious Five, who feel he does not belong amongst kung fu masters, and Shifu who tries everything to get him to leave. As Po struggles through these obstacles to achieve his dream of being a kung fu master, the movie also works hard to maintain a balance between realistic physics and creating entertaining imagery for a better story.

            Kung Fu Panda is based in a world where normal gravity constraints are applicable. This is evident in many scenes throughout the film, but is easily established within the first few. Po wakes from dreaming about being a skilled and respected kung fu master and tries to perform a flip to get up and out of his bed. However, he fails and only manages to get a few inches off the ground before thumping back down onto his floor. Only a few moments later when he rolls over and stands up, he picks up some ninja stars and throws them at a wall. Again, his attempt fails and they bounce off the wooden wall and tumble to the ground, pulled by gravity. The rate of the fall and subsequent bounces is what anyone would expect to see given the forces gravity exerts on our own world, so it is safe to assume that the world of Kung Fu Panda operates under the same gravitational pull.

            Along with the rules of gravity, the movie also follows realistic guidelines about mass; larger objects have greater mass and weigh more, and smaller objects have less mass and are lighter in weight. This becomes apparent rather quickly as the characters are introduced. Po is large and overweight, so his mass is great. It is clear that he is heavy through his attempts to clear the wall surrounding the temple so he can witness the choosing of the Dragon Warrior. When he tries to bend some bamboo stalks back and use them to fling himself over the wall, he fails because he is too heavy for the bamboo to lift off the ground. Po also has to struggle to hold his weight up when he’s trying to peek through a hole in the wall of the temple, not only indicating that he’s out of shape, but that he is heavy enough to need more force to lift his own mass. This is very different from the character, Viper, who is a slender snake. She has much less mass than Po, so she is light and capable of being quite quick. Viper is able to jump higher and further than heavier characters like Po or Tai Lung.

            While the world of Kung Fu Panda does operate on the same physics of our world, there is one major difference that is used to create exciting scenes within the realm of the movie, which is that the force exerted upon objects and characters during kung fu moves does not have an equal and opposite reaction as it should. For example, when Tigress decides to leave and fight Tai Lung, she leaps from atop the temple and falls down into the valley below. Although the temple is on top of a high mountain, she lands safely and gracefully on the roof of a house. If the scene was realistic, she would have crashed through the roof of the house and died, but the bend in the rules of physics created a dramatic and interesting action that works to the advantage of the story in this film. Another great example of how the force exerted during a kung fu action does not have an equal and opposite reaction is illustrated during Tai Lung’s escape from prison. On two separate instances, he kicks or punches a rhino guard and sends them flying not only much further than they should, given their mass and the gravity of the world, but Tai Lung also experiences no recoil whatsoever.

            Despite these three laws on which the physics of the movie is based, there are a few scenes that contradict the set rules on gravity and mass. One of the most obvious rule-breakers is Po’s attempt to gain access to the temple arena by lighting a bunch of fireworks that he’s attached to a chair in which he sits. Not only is he propelled into the air, but also when he reaches the top of his parabolic arc, Po hovers in the air while the chair disintegrates before falling back towards the ground. This is not likely to happen because the force required by the fireworks to lift a heavy panda and the chair would need to be much greater. In another scene where the Furious Five attempt to defeat Tai Lung, Mantis holds up a rope bridge that is also supporting the weight of the other members of the Furious Five and Tai Lung as well. Mantis is a very small character with less mass than all the others, so he wouldn’t be able to hold up so much weight without going over the edge of the cliff. Once again, when a metal wok is kicked at Tai Lung’s head during his battle with Po, Tai Lung experiences no recoil when it hits his face. Instead, the imprint is indented into the surface of the wok for comedic effect.

            By the end of the film, it is apparent that although Kung Fu Panda sets rules for gravity and mass, it bends those rules as it fits for the story. Upon close examination, it is obvious where movements and actions are not realistic, but stretching and possibly breaking the rules of physics set for this world serves to be entertaining for the viewers and keep the story interesting and flowing smoothly. These unrealistic parts are either written off in a comedic manner, or not obvious enough to pull away from the story of the film, while the rest of the movie is in line with realistic physics, so it is believable. This is why Kung Fu Panda is successful in spite of the errors in physics.

Outline for the First Term Paper

I. Introduction
     A. Short intro and synopsis of movie: Kung Fu Panda
     B. Thesis: The universe in which Kung Fu Panda takes place is based on the gravity of the world we all live in, but has contradicting physics.

II. Kung Fu Panda is based in a world where normal gravity constraints apply.
     A. Objects and people are weighed down by the force of normal gravity.
            i. When Po tries to flip himself up out of bed, he doesn't get more than a few inches off the ground before falling back down.
            ii. Po throws ninja stars at the wall and when they bounce off, they fall to the ground in a manner that indicates the gravity of our world.
            iii. When Po knocks over the Legendary Urn of Whispering Warriors, it falls and breaks on the floor due to gravity.

III. Larger objects have more mass, and weigh more than smaller objects with less mass.
     A. Po has a large mass and is heavy.
            i. When he attempts to get into the temple, the bamboo cannot spring back upwards with his weight on it.
            ii. Po has to struggle to hold his weight up when he's trying to peek through the hole in the wall of the temple.
     B. Viper has a small mass and is lighter.
            i. She can jump higher and further than heavier characters like Po, illustrated in scenes like the entrance of the Furious Five
            ii. Viper can move quickly because of her smaller mass.

IV. The force exerted on objects and characters during kung fu moves do not have an equal and opposite reaction.
     A. The Furious Five
            i. The entrance of the furious five has them falling from a ridiculous height, yet the landing on the ground does not kill them.
            ii. Tigress leaps from the temple atop the mountain and falls all the way down to the village houses and does not crash through the roof when she lands.
     B. Tai Lung's escape from prison
            i. Tai Lung's mass would not allow him to fly up as far as he does on each jump
            ii. In two instances during his escape, Tai Lung kicks or punches a rhino guard and they go flying much further than would be expected given the mass of the character and the gravity of the world in which they reside.
     C.  Fight scenes
            i. When the Furious Five face Tai Lung on the bridge, Tai Lung is able to kick Tigress back very far without much recoil at all.
            ii. During the final fight involving Tai Lung and Po, Tai Lung punches Po, who then flies back, hits a pole and is flung back towards Tai Lung.
            iii. When a metal wok is flung at Tai Lung's face, his head should recoil with hit, but it does not. Instead the impression of his face is indented into the wok.

V. There are scenes which contradict the rules on both mass and gravity throughout the movie.
     A. When Po ties a bunch of fireworks to a chair in an attempt to launch himself into the temple arena, despite his large mass, he is propelled into the air.
     B. In this same attempt, he is also launched much further into the air than would be expected, and he also hovers for a moment before beginning to fall back down to the ground.
     C. Mantis is able to hold up a long rope bridge in addition to the added weight of the rest of the Furious Five, and Tai Lung
     D. Tai Lung swings the rope bridge around, but there would be no way to gain enough momentum for him to leap all the way across the gap, even with the help of the rope.

VI. Conclusion
     A. Kung Fu Panda sets rules for gravity and mass, but bends those rules when it fits for the story, and to make it more entertaining.

Stop Motion Animation of Falling

Stop Motion Animation -- Bouncing Magnet

To create this animation, I used a round refridgerator magnet on the surface of the fridge. I plotted out the different positions, using the odd rule, and marked them lightly on the fridge. Then I took the pictures while having someone else move the magnet after each one, so that I would be taking each photo from the same position. It still turned out a bit jiggly, but not too bad.

Video Analysis of Path of Action

Screenshot of Path of Action Jump Test

Video Jump Test

Tracker Video Analysis of Falling

Analysis of Falling Strawberry Toy

Video Reference

Strawberry Toy Drop -- 30 fps

Mini Portfolio

Drapery Study

Scary Forest - Value Study

Leaf Drop (unedited)

I am an Animation/Illustration student, emphasis on the Illustration part. While I think I might enjoy animationg in a non-academic setting, for the most part, its just been a very horrible experience for me. On top of which, I can only stand traditional animating. Programs like Maya frustrate me to no end. So, I stick to illustrating, my true love anyway.

In the past, I've taken life drawing courses, traditional animation courses, learned about rendering, shadow, and design. I've mostly been taught to work with acrylic, but I actually hate that type of paint and prefer watercolour or oil. I'm a real art supply nerd and can spend hours just staring at or testing out all the paints, pastels, pencils, pens, markers and papers to be found in an art store.

As far as science goes, I tend to mostly stick to biology or earth science courses. I find chemistry interesting, but usually get stuck on the math aspect of it.

Currently, I'm taking a course on evolution, along with an acting class and the required 100W course, plus this class. This semester is the first I haven't taken any full on art classes since I started here. It feels a bit strange, but perhaps a welcome break to just work on whatever inspires me.

Once I finish school, to be quite honest, I have no idea what I'll do. I still haven't really settled on a career that I think I want, or might like. Anything that seems as if it would fit my skill set seems to have a major downside, but maybe I'll still find something as I finish up my classes.

First Post

My first post.. is not very interesting.