John Canemaker Extra Credit

At John Canemaker lecture!

Creating Stereoscopic 3D Images

Tower Hall / Cyan/Red

Po! Cyan/Red

Avocado Burgers! Cyan/Red

Visiting my favorite place - Humane Society Silicon Valley. Cyan/Red

Toby dozing in the morning sun. Cyan/Red

Maya extra credit. Cyan/Red

Recreating Cameras and Lights in Maya.

Original

Bonus Points: Lighting a Scene in Maya

Unlit

1 Point

  2 Point

3 Point

Outline for the Third Term Paper.

1. Special Effects of Fire
- Fire and explosions are a common special effect
- Crowd pleaser

2. Blade Runner (1982) by Ridley Scott
- http://douglastrumbull.com/key-fx-sequences-blade-runner-hades-landscape
- Flames and explosions from the city
- They filmed propane gas at night at 72-96 fps, 35mm.
- They recycled flames footage from a previous film Ridley Scott did
- Projected the films of the flame onto little screen, and placed it directly on the set where it should be coming out from
- Very successful, film is wildly acclaimed for its special effects for its time, well ahead of its counterparts

3. How To Train Your Dragon (2010) by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
- Each dragon breed has their own distinctive dragon fire, visually and scientifically (http://howtotrainyourdragon.wikia.com/wiki/Fire_Types)
- Monstruous Nightmare: kerosene gel, sticky burning liquid

- Night Fury: acetylene-oxygen flames

- Hideous Zippleback: one head produces green fog (Ammonium Nitrate mixed with Anhydrous Hydrazine). The other head lights a spark to produce an explosion.

- Deadly Nadder: Magnesium

- Fire was a huge part of the movie, helped make each dragon breed unique and interesting

4. Conclusion

- Live action vs animated

- Animated fire is scientifically accurate too and not just "fire"

Reverse Video Reference

Walk A

Walk B

Walk C

Walk D

Science Fact or Cinematic Fiction.

As much as we dream of flying, we all know that humans will never be able to naturally fly. Birds are able to fly because their wingspans are compatible with their body size and they have hollow bones and light bodies. Additionally, the difference between human size and strength is too great. An average male would need a wingspan of 21 feet to be able to fly and we are not strong enough to match our weight in flight.

Bernoulli's Principle can be used to explain the physics behind flying. Bernoulli's Principle is when a fluid, such as air or water, increases in speed and decreases in pressure. If airflow is faster over one side, such as a wing, then pressure difference occurs. Through this principle, planes and birds can produce aerodynamic lift from this pressure difference.

Although we know that we can not fly, this theme of flying is still a popular idea in entertainment, films, and literature. While it is great when films have accurate science behind it, it is not necessary to produce a great and enjoyable movie. For one, most of the general audience members are not experts in physics and films can easily embrace fantastical fictional ideas and notions, such as flying.

Firstly, one movie where flying physics is defied is in "Space Jam" (1996). In this film, Tweety is a bird with a very large head and feet with a tiny body and wings.

Tweety flies at 0:25 and 0:30 in the clip below.

From what we know about birds and humans and why and why they can not fly, Tweety should not be able to fly at all. His wingspan is far too small and cannot support his body size. His tiny wingspan and subsequent strength would not be able to produce the aerodynamic lift and pressure difference to allow him to fly.

But because the audience can tell that Tweety is a bird and also in a fictional world, these broken laws of physics can be pushed aside. It would be very strange if Bugs Bunny was flying despite being in this same fictional world, but because Tweety is obviously a bird, we can easily associate him with flying despite having incorrect body ratios.

Secondly, strange flying is also present in "Hero" (2002), a Chinese wuxia film. A wuxia film has elements of martial arts, sorcery, and chivalry.

The characters appear to fly gracefully in the air with no push off (0:52), even changing their direction of flight in mid-air at 1:13. At 1:32, the woman causes a whirlwind by unsheathing her sword, but this small force does not cause enough pressure and lift to cause a whirlwind of fallen leaves.

In most wuxia films, this strange flying is often present and often times can be seen as quite comical. But there is an entire genre of literature and films based on this theme of martial arts, sorcery, and chivalry, so this notion of strange flying and other impossible martial arts stunts are widely accepted.

Another animated film that shows improper flying is "Howl's Moving Castle" (2004) by Studio Ghibli.

From 5:10 to 5:40, Howl, while carrying Sophie, flies straight up after hitting a dead end in an alley. Howl and Sophie are too heavy to be able to produce aerodynamic lift. They float in the air and are able to "walk" in the sky but these movements would not be possible or helpful in maintaining pressure difference. Despite this scene being obviously impossible, the scene still evokes feelings of wonder and beauty.

Also, at 1:11:14, while Sophie is falling from the sky, she is sucked into the open doorway which seems to have its own gravitational force. This flying produces a strange arc.

These flying sequences do not make any sense, but the movie is fantastic and highly esteemed. Bad physics does not make a bad film.

Lastly, another Japanese animation that has ridiculous flying sequences is from a series called "Attack on Titan" (2013).

While they are not directly flying, they use a machine to help them travel quickly in the air. In this anime, the characters use "Three Dimensional Maneuver Gear" to allow humans greater mobility in killing human-eating naked giants. The gear includes grappling hooks shot by a gun and compressed gas tanks attached to their body.

Check out the first 45 seconds in the video below to see this gear in action.

The sudden acceleration the characters experience while using the 3D Maneuver gear would break their necks. This is similar to how Spiderman accidentally snapped Gwen Stacy's neck when he abruptly ends her fall. The characters should also have serious injuries when they land because of their speed and abrupt stops, but the characters only have minor injuries and are able to keep going unless they get attacked by the giants.

Putting the impossible physics part in this anime aside... the awesome animation and cool factor makes up for it.

The plot of this series might sound a bit strange, but this series did very well in Japan and internationally and has spawned multiple games, events, and even an upcoming live action film. Even if the physics does not make sense, it was still very well received nationally and internationally.

In conclusion, the theme of flying in entertainment and literature has always been an exciting experience for mankind. We will never be able to fly by our own means, so we create fascinating worlds where we are able to fly. In the examples shown above, the movement of flying does not necessarily adhere to the laws of physics and might even kill you, but the way the movement of flying is presented is alluring and fascinating and only possible through films and animation.

Thus, physics in animation and film does not need to be entirely accurate, but as long as they provoke the desired emotion and experience, it is successful. In the end, as long as the audience enjoys the experience in the world presented, the physics of flying can be accepted.

Walt Disney Family Museum Gaming Panel Extra Credit

Attended the gaming panel at the Walt Disney Museum on March 16.

Blurry photo because my friend doesn't know how to use a non-iPhone camera...

Outline for the Second Term Paper

1. Intro: Strange Flying

- Bernoulli's Principle & Aerodynamic lift


II. Space Jam - Tweety
- Tweety Bird has tiny wings, a big body and big head is constantly flying or floating in the air.
- One example is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5qLMuXylgU at 0:25


II. House of Flying Daggers
- https://youtu.be/E2yZcp9svws
- In the bamboo forest fight scene, the soldiers fly from bamboo to bamboo.
- At 1:10:15, the dagger thrown flies sporadically and somehow boomerangs around the bamboo cage. The arc is wrong.


III. How's Moving Castle
- https://youtu.be/EvjzH78cDVE
- 5:10-5:40 Howl (while carrying Sophie) flies straight up at 5:10 after hitting a dead end in an alley. They float in the air and able to "walk" in the sky.
- 1:11:14 While Sophie is falling from the sky, she is sucked into the open doorway.


IV. Attack On Titan
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af701bFjpJg
- The characters use "3D Manuever Gear". They are strapped to air cannisters and grapple hooks, which enables them to travel quickly over rooftops in their city.
- The acceleration the characters go through while using 3D Manuever gear would break their necks or have serious injury when they land because of the speed, but all of the characters are fine.
- Sasha can run vertically down a wall.

V. Conclusion
- It's all set in a fantasy world, so it's alright if they break physics. For example, in Attack on Titan, the characters should be dead instantly using their 3D manuever gear, but there's so much "cool" factor that we don't mind.
- Who doesn't want to fly and defy gravity?
- Different ways directors imagine flying. 

Stop Motion Animation of Falling

First I filmed a simple ball drop and played around with the paper airplane. Originally, I wanted to do something more with just the airplane, but I couldn't find the right angle to film it without it looking strange or manually editing out every single frame. So now the airplane just has a small part in my animation.

I edited some of the frames where the ball was just out of line in Photoshop, then brought all of the files in AfterEffects and timed it there.

The Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe

I chose to analyze "Wreck-It Ralph", a 2012 animated feature film by Walt Disney Animation Studios. In Wreck-It Ralph, the entire film is centered around game characters in a virtual environment. Games can be designed with an unique set of physics to enhance the game play and mood because it doesn't have to be based on realism.

I was curious to see how Wreck-It Ralph handled this virtual environment. I thought that the animation would be comically pushed in every way, but I found that the actions were actually quite authentic. In the movie, the laws of physics are mostly realistic with the animators paying close attention to the natural parabolas of arcs and differences in weight. Only a few characters break the laws of physics to highlight their game style or dramatize a reaction or action. 

First off, all of the characters and objects follow parabolic paths of arcs. For example, when Ralph's escape pod bursts through Sugar Rush and crashes on the candy land, the escape pod ejects both him and the Cy-bug into the air. Ralph is a heavier and larger character and faces more air resistance, and thus flies a shorter distance than the Cy-bug does.

Another example of believable arcs is when the citizens of Sugar Rush are speeding through the race track. As the characters are zooming up the ramp, Vanellope glitches in front of them, causing the other racers to panic and brake. As a result, Vanellope has more speed, and a higher arc and apex than the other racers and is able to reach the other ramp, while the other contenders fall short. The racers slow as they reach the apex, and increase in speed as they drop and follow the rule of Fourth Down at Half-Time.

Vanellope circled in red has a higher apex, which is also in the middle. 

During one part of the race track, gumballs fall from large gumball machines to impede the racers. These gumballs also follow the parabolic path of action and gravity as they fall and rise with momentum. See the gumballs begin to drop and roll at 1:15 in the video below.

Another clear example is when the racers of Sugar Rush are throwing their coins into the machine to be entered in the race. The coins clearly follow the parabolic path of action as they bounce into the cup.

There is also realistic weight and bounce in this film that is appropriate for the characters. When the race cars are speeding over bumps and hills in the course, their carts lift off the ground appropriately with their velocity.

Ralph, a large and heavy character, and Vanellope, a tiny and bouncy character, have different weights. This is accurately shown when they both step on the same gumdrops in a mint flavored pond. Ralph nearly submerges the gumdrop just by stepping on it. In contrast, Vanellope hardly budges the gumdrop even though she jumps down onto it from the height of the candy cane tree.

Wreck-It Ralph features a variety of characters from dozens of games. To help categorize each character with their game, each game follows their own set of physics. Only a few characters break the laws of physics.

For characters in Fix-It Felix Jr., these characters are more cartoony and can break the laws of physics. When Felix accidentally dies in his game, he teleports straight up and revives back onto his feet (11:40). It is impossible for anyone to magically jump up while laying down and spin in the air like that. After hugging Ralph, he also floats in the air and hovers before gently landing on the ground (1:14:10). But because the game that Felix is from is so cartoony, it doesn't confuse the audience when these strange actions happen. Felix has other cases where he jumps from impossible situations, such as when he jumps impossibly high from a stand still onto Calhoun's floating vehicle.
  

And when he tries to avoid the flurry of bullets from Calhoun and her troops, he practically flies around the carrier and lands perfectly on his feet at the end.

While Felix breaks the laws of physics the most, the other citizens of the game can stay longer in the air than normal, but it works because of the way they are animated so the audience is not distracted by the break of physics (13:50).

In Sugar Rush, the most obvious breaking of physics is Vanellope's glitching, which causes her to teleport from one location to another randomly. This example is shown during her race at 1:18:32 and 1:29:20. Other characters, such as King Candy and Taffyta, can stay in the air longer than normal but this only happens to dramatize a reaction (33:48, 34:57, 38:20, 42:19).

In Hero's Duty, as Felix says, "Look at that high definition!", these characters and their environment are more realistic. The main character from Hero's Duty, Calhoun, never breaks the realism from her game even if she is another environment. This contrast versus the more cartoony games helps enforce the laws of physics for each game. The only time physics is broken in Hero's Duty is by an inanimate object, the medal at the completion of defeating the game. It floats in the air among spinning plates, and slowly floats onto Ralph's neck. 

In conclusion, the physics in Wreck-It Ralph were quite believable and consistent throughout the movie. All of the characters and environments followed correct arcs and weight comparisons. Cartoony characters, such as those from Sugar Rush and Fix-It Felix Jr. could break the laws of physics, but it was believable because of the game they were from. Felix Jr. breaks physics the most in the movie, but most of the time it was done for comical effect and helped the plot and story. Side characters such as King Candy and Taffyta floating in the air for an extra time weren't distracting and only helped highlight the reaction they were showing.

Wreck-It Ralph was an enjoyable movie and definitely well animated with a comical and heartwarming story. The animators paid attention to the natural laws of physics and didn't push it as much as I thought they would for an animated film. Only some parts were pushed or broken, but it was never distracting and made sense in their virtual environment.

The Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe Outline

I. Introduction

A: Wreck-It Ralph (2010)

B. Thesis: In Wreck-It Ralph, the movie's physics are mostly realistic, with a few characters breaking physics to highlight their characteristics or dramatize an action.

II. Characters and objects follow realistic arcs

- When Ralph's escape pod flies through Sugar Rush and crashes (27:10)

- When the Sugar Rush racecars are racing through the course (29:05, 1:17:10, 1:18:45)

- During the race course, gumballs and candy fall and follow arcs (36:30)

-When Q*bert jumps out of the cart (23:15)

II. Certain characters break physics

- When Felix Jr. dies, he teleports straight up and flips back onto his feet. (11:40)

- Felix Jr. jumps impossibly high from a stand still. (33:06)

- The citizens of Wreck-It Ralph can stay in the air longer than normal (13:30, 42:19, 1:14:10)

- Vanellope's glitching and teleportation (1:29:20)

- King Candy and Taffyta freeze in mid-air to dramatize the reaction (33:48, 33:57)

- More realistic characters, such as Calhoun, never breaks physics. Only the cartoony characters.

III. Realistic weight and bounce

- When the racecars are going over bumps/hills in the course, their carts lift off the ground

- Ralph jumping on gumballs in chocolate (27:30)

- Medal and coins bouncing (34:50)

IV. Conclusion

The laws of physics are realistic for the most part, and are only broken to highlight a reaction or help show a character's particular game characteristic and style.

Video Analysis of Path of Action

Tracker Video Analysis of Falling

Shooting Video Reference

Mini-Portfolio

Hello!

My name is Annie Hsu and I am a fourth year Animation/Illustration major. I recently changed my focus from visual development to modeling. After I graduate from the A/I program, I want to work at a studio working on games or film. In my free time, I enjoy volunteering at the humane society and reading.

A video that makes me laugh every time:

The First Post

Hello! This is the first post of my Physics 123 blog.