Creating Stereoscopic 3D Images

I made the images in photoshop.

In the infamous room 218 of the art building

Red/Cyan

My still life for my painting homework

Red/Cyan

My Tillandsia Plant (Air Plant)

Green/Magenta

Maya Scenes

Red/Cyan

Extra Credit

Tyrus Wong Exhibit at the Disney Museum:

If this is not counted I understand.

I forgot to take a picture while at the museum.

Here is my reflection in a picture that I took of one Tyrus Wong's works.

Here are some more photos from the museum.

Cinequest:

The SF Film Festival

Signed Poster by the directors of The Dam Keeper that I got at the event

(I apologize for not having a photo of me at the actual event.)

The Tech Museum:

Extra Credit Lighting a Scene in Maya

Without Lighting

One-Point Lighting

Two-Point Lighting

Three-Point Lighting

Building a Scene in Maya

Special Effects in Animation and Live-Action

My first two term paper scores were 90 and 90; I will not be writing a third term paper.

Outline of the Third Term Paper

Snow effects in Frozen (2013) and The Dark Knight (2008)

I. Frozen
            -Program called Matterhorn was used

            -Uses a method “utilizing a usercontrollable elasto-plastic constitutive model integrated with a hybrid Eulerian/Lagrangian Material Point Method.”

            -Believable qualities of snow such as frostiness and snow flurries

            -Replicates both the solid and fluid like properties of snow

            -Realistic handling such as it when it is being thrown or dropped

            -Lighting is nice

            -Exaggerated at times because the snow is linked to the character Elsa and how she is feeling; it is an extension of her emotions

            

II. The Dark Knight Rises

            -Fake snow is used because it was filmed during 100 degree weather
            -All the actors wear snow related attire to create the feeling of coldness

            -Steam is used to create coldness

            -Lighting is used to enhance feeling of cold and iciness

            -There was dress snow for small scenes; it was like a lightweight dusting

            -Bigger scenes had to use extensive fake snow

            -Successful, but not noticeable
            -Snow is only a background element

        

III. Conclusion

            -Both films had believable snow effects. Frozen’s effects were more impressive. More effort and time was put into the Frozen, and also computer programs were used. The Dark Knight Rises uses traditional snow affects that are used for live action movies. The effects are not that impressive, but also because it is not an integral part of the story. Both movies feel cold and icy. The snow effects of each movie fit the story they are in and how they are used. 

Websites:
http://collider.com/chris-corbould-the-dark-knight-rises-interview/
http://www.cgmeetup.net/home/making-of-disneys-frozen-snow-simulation/

Character Animation

Peabuddies

For the stop-motion animation, I collaborated with Edward Clark and Chi-an Yang. I came up with the idea while I was looking around my room. I saw the peas, and thought they would be fun to animate. After, I saw my portable fan and decided the peas would fight the fan.  Eddy and Chi-an approached me and I shared my idea with them. They liked the concept, so we decided to go with it. 

We set up a table in the art building and used two light sources plus the overhead lighting. We used a simple set up for the backdrop, a white sheet. I used my DSLR to take the photos. We didn't have a tripod so I had to be creative with the set up. We planned out the whole thing first using storyboards, and followed them pretty closely. I was in charge of photography for the most part, and monitoring everything overall. Eddy was responsible for animating the peas. However, we each had an equal say for everything. We used photoshop to edit the photos. Editing was a bit tedious at times, because there were some shots where three hands had to be edited out. In the last frame, I left Eddy's hand for fun. Chi-an was in charge of that area. I put the photos together and edited everything in After Effects. Overall, it was a fun project, and it was cool to see the outcome. 

TERM PAPER: Science Fact or Cinematic Fiction?

Film is always filled with fantasy and illusion. Not only do movies push the boundaries of science, but TV shows as well. But why do directors allow for this? The laws of science are pushed often for comedic effect or to create action. The motivation to stretch science is always rooted in the story of the film or TV show. When we think of certain areas of science that are routinely pushing the limits, people may think of scientific fallacies concerning action packed explosions, or superhero problems. However, there are many other areas of physics that are exaggerated though they may be more subtle compared to other fallacies. Balance in objects or people or animals, is important and allows for characters to be grounded physically and maybe even mentally and these are exaggerated often. In movies, the character’s base of support should be in alignment with the center of pressure. However, it has been skewed in media such as How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Aladdin, and the movie A Series of Unfortunate Events. However, they are done in a believable manner that supports the story and characters.

In How the Grinch Stole Christmas, there is an instance where the Grinch is using a toy fire truck’s ladder to obtain the star on top of a Christmas tree. Visually it is very amusing and unexpected, but is it realistic? At first glance, it looks stable. The center of gravity from where the Grinch is position runs straight down to the fire truck right beneath him. However, it still looks impossible. It could also be the fact that no fire truck toy has a ladder that long, let alone could support the weight of an “adult.” However, by evaluating the scene more thoroughly one would realize that Grinch’s weight is the main factor it looks unrealistic. When you lower the center of gravity in an object, it becomes more stable. Conversely, if you raise it becomes unstable. In this instance, the Grinch is high up, making his the whole scene impossible. He would fall down even if did manage to somehow climb that ladder.

Another example comes from Aladdin. The movie has a famous scene where, Aladdin is introduced as Prince Ali to the king, while the Genie sings the beloved Prince Ali song. There are several moments within the segment that push at the laws of physics concerning balance. There is an instance where Aladdin is balancing 6 men. However the scene in question is when the Genie is trying to rally up the people in the bazaar. He gets one guy and pushes him around like a wheelbarrow and picks up at least a dozen other guys. Somehow they form a tower that curves over Aladdin and he shakes a couple of their hands as they balance over them. The way the column is stacked almost looks like a backwards question mark. The main reason this would be impossible to achieve is that the center of pressure is not in the base of support and which also means that center of gravity is not in alignment either. Also, it unlikely that any human would be able to support all that weight, and balance so many people in a tower.

The last example of balance being violated comes from the movie A Series of Unfortunate Events.  There are many movies that take advantage of fantastical architecture to help take the viewer to another world. This movie is no exception. There is a character named Aunt Josephine and her house is balanced on stilts over the side of a cliff. In the movie, the characters even question the structure.  The structure of the house defies science to a great extent. Extensive special effects and green screens were used to capture the effect of the house sitting precariously on the cliff. First, the structure is too top heavy, the same problem of the center of gravity being too high. In addition to this, its foundation is not sound. Lastly, the center of pressure is not within the base of support, thus making it unbalanced.

The creators of these shows did not just decided to push science to its limit. In each example, there is a clear reason why such science was turned on its head. In How the Grinch Stole Christmas, he stands on the ladder for comedy effect from both adults and children. Secondly, he is being sneaky and going under cover of darkness so he has to make due with what he has. Lastly, it plays into his character; it is unexpected but makes sense for the Grinch. In Aladdin, the scene with the song Prince Ali was a very vibrant excessive scene. The reason it is there is for audiences to see how lavish Aladdin was and went with his fake Identity as a prince to gain Jasmine’s affection. So he shakes the hands of several men in a ridiculous manner, this also allows for the audience to see that everyone likes them.  Lastly is Aunt Josephine’s house, the house is an extension of her personality and how its unwieldy and precarious just like her personality. All of these movies had a clear reason for going out of their way to push the boundaries of science.

Movies often play off of science for comedic reasons, but in these examples they were more than just laughs. Both a Series of Unfortunate and The Grinch have aspects where science is questioned, but these are done to deepen what the main character already is.  Aunt Josephine is afraid of everything, so her house is situated on stilts to represent her fragile personality. The Grinch is sneaky but not the smartest.  Seeing him on the fire truck ladder is unexpected but matches his character. Aladdin on the other hand, the tower of men was done purely as a visual element. Regardless of how the relationship between the center of gravity and  base of support, physics can be pushed either to make characters more fuller and believable, or capitalize on a already humorous moment.

Outline of the Second Term Paper

Introduction

A.     There are many examples in films where the center of pressure is not in the base of support.

B.     This is often done for comedic effect or to create a specific mood in a movie.

C.     How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Aladdin

Body

A.     How the Grinch Stole Christmas

a.     The Grinch is taking the star off the top of a tree and is balancing on the ladder of a toy fire truck.

b.     He should fall, and the ladder should not be able to support his weight.

B.     A Series of Unfortunate of Events

a.     Aunt Josephine’s house should fall, because of the center of pressure is not within the base of support.

b.     The house should topple over.

C.     Aladdin

a.     During the Prince Ali song, several characters balance on each other, but they curve over Aladdin.

b.     This is impossible and they shouldn’t be able to support each other.

Conclusion