Annotated bibliography summaries:
Summary of Stephen prince article :Through the looking glass: philosophical toys and digital visual effects
​
Filmmakers bring together art and science to create digital visual effects. The topic on perceptual realism states that art and science is brought together by rendering solids and gases. Filmmakers collaborate with scientists by sticking to physics laws. Water entering was made to look convincing as the Industrial Light Magic Company and Stanford University world together to achieve this effect. An orthodox assumption about visual effects is that film narrative stops so digital effects can be shown at length. For example, the scene where the Jurassic Park narrative stops and the music builds up the allowing the shots to be shown of reactions to the brachiosaur. Another orthodox assumption is that “The story becomes the display; and the display becomes the story” (Prince 2010). Film combines Realism and digital visual effects. In the film Benjamin Button Brad Pitts head was digitally replaced and motion tracking was used to deliver environmental realism. Within the digital visual effects world, the eye is seen as an optical instrument. This is because “Digital tools emulate properties of human vision as well as the camera’s customary way of seeing things” (Prince 2010). A device called the camera obscura was used in the early developments of researching vision. It was a small chamber that let light through it, so a reversed image can be seen on the flat surface. The camera obscura eventually had lenses applied to it to make it a better piece of equipment.
​
​
Prince, S. (2010) ‘Through The Looking Glass': Philosophical Toys and Digital Visual Effects, volume 4, (2). pp. 19-38
.jpg)
.jpg)
Summary of Lev Manovich article: What is digital cinema?
​
Digital cinema is making film like scenes by using 3-D computer animation. Live action footage is what first makes up digital cinema, which can be recorded on film or video. For example, in the film Apollo 13 digital artists scanned the film and changed it by adding grass to the launch pad and repainting the skies. Multimedia like music videos can be classed as digital cinema. Music videos often rely on film and video images, which are then processed and hand painted. The film a man with a movie camera has a man standing in a moving car cranking a camera handle. The camera is positioned along the train tracks so he can achieve a certain loop effect. In addition to this, a loop in a film can also be described as digital cinema as it can be built up by computer programming, by using codes such as "if/then" and "repeat/while.
​
Manovich, L. (2001) 'Cinema, the Art of the Index', The Language of New Media. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, pp. 293-296
The code on the use of fractals in computer graphics video summary:
​
The World is made from complex geometric shapes. An artist called Jackson Pollock splashed paint onto a canvas as an art form. His work was appealing because he used a pendulum to splash paint splashes look the same everywhere you looked on the canvas. This property is known as a fractal because the same level of complexity is kept with different scales, such as a cloud. Even though something may look very messy and complex it has a mathematical structure and code to it. Within computer graphics virtual worlds are made from the maths of fractals as triangles turn smoother to make a better background scene. An obsession with shapes exists in all cultures around the world, as Egyptians made the pyramids and the Greeks first had an obsession with shapes. The Greeks came up with the idea of geometry and believed the building blocks of nature was due to platonic solids. They figured out the code of shapes in nature as they had already formed the laws of geometry.
​
​
​
'The Code' ( 2011) 'Shapes',1,3,BBC 2 England, 3 August,21:00
First Article I chose myself:
Digital storytelling: the narrative power of visual effects in film McClean (2016): summary of chapter 7: it goes like this: the relationship between digital visual effects and genre:
​
Stories evolving from repetition eventually become genres. The way genres are determined by the reoccurrence of events and plot motifs that get repeated. It has been difficult to define genre.
This is because if science fiction films normally have spaceships in them, the question that arises is "what does that mean for science fiction films that do not have spaceships in them?" (MCclean, 2007, p.151).
Genres including horror and fantasy contain the use of digital visual effects in them. An argument of visual effects is that it is being relied on too much because "Some directors lack maturity and want to use every cool effect and iconic shot" (McClean, 2007,p. 152).
A Special effects industry journal called Cinefex, reveals that science fiction films focus on creating alien worlds, natural phenomena and outer space itself.
​
​
McClean, S.T. (2007) Digital storytelling: The Narrative power of visual effects. London: MIT press. pp. 150-161
Second article I chose : Summary of visual digital culture: surface play and spectacle in new media genres :
Computer graphics are very important when discussing the topic of digital visual genres. Engineers and computer scientists worked together to develop a sketchpad device in 1963. This allowed people to draw on a display with a special pen. This drawing device was made due to research goals those computer scientists and engineers had. For example, the drawing programme called paint now on computers is a follow up from the sketchpad. Within the 1980’s image manipulation was being frequently used. Sensation is an example of a media genre. The topic of sensation reveals that there are “similarities between buying and consuming objects. For example buying a console or a ticket and playing a computer game”. (Darley 2000) pp.11-197
​
Darley, A. (2000) visual digital culture: surface play and spectacle in new media genres London:Routledge pp.11-197
Summary of The uncanny valley article :
​
Affinity means the liking and understanding of something. As robots are becoming more human, due to our affinity being heightened and we eventually are left at a valley called the uncanny valley. As children seem to be attached to robots, seeing them as pets, they have a natural positive sense of affinity to them. This is because some robots are covered in skin so they have “a more human like appearance" (Mori, 2011, p. 98). An uncanny valley graph shows that a puppet is near the top of the graph because as it moves it's like a human so we understand the puppet more. An explanation of the uncanny valley leaves us with the question of why is an eerie sensation needed for us?. It can then be said that the uncanny valley is needed to protect us from certain dangers such as other species in society. Upon looking at figure 2 of the graph, Movement of robots, animals and humans further steepens the uncanny valley graph. This is because a zombie for example causes unease and scare in people so it is at the very bottom of the graph. A prosthetic hand also steepens the uncanny valley because when it is moved the hand may do a scary action like a fast punch so it pushes it down into the uncanny valley. A mask called the yase otoko mask represents a ghost forming from hell. Fright is associated with ghosts so this leaves the mask at the bottom of the affinity and movement graph.
Morri,M.,Macdorman, F and Kageki,N. ( 2012) IEEE robotics and automation magazine', The uncanny valley. Volume 4, (7) pp. 98-100
Breakdown of Vfx : Infinity war thanos creation
Video : https://youtu.be/d7pWHQX9QqA
Key term ref: http://www.rebelalliance.eu/visual-effects-glossary.html
​
​
why has this technique been used?
Camera on helmet- capture visual performance of character
Motion capture suits and facs booth - capture body movement/facial movements
Texturing/eye composition- detail to cgi character
Define the key terms you might associate with a breakdown
-
Composting - The manipulated combination of at least two source images to produce an integrated result.
-
Contouring - An artifact that results from not having enough color resolution to properly represent a color gradient
-
Cgi
-
Green screen -Identical in use and concept to a blue screen (only it is green).
-
Modelling
What is the mise en scene for the breakdown?
Walking on a river of blood near end of film to represent blood of his victims
How can you tell a narrative from breakdown, how does the breakdown shot tell us things?
Narrative is description/storytelling
Breakdown is the making of scenes
Breakdown shot tells us the detail gone into thanos face and how he interacts with his environment
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
12 principles of vfx : The illusion of life: Disney animation by Thomas, Frank; Johnston, Ollie.
​
Principle 1: Squash and stretch
Weight and volume is given to a character upon movement
​
Principle 2: Anticipation
When this is added to an object it allows preparation for the viewer to react. If anticipation wasn't added to a character there would be no life and meaning to it ,giving an unrealistic feel.
​
​
​
Principle 3: Staging
Staging is how the idea in the scene is presented. For example how the character is put in the frame or how the camera uses light and shadows.
Principle 4: Straight ahead action and pose to pose
Straight ahead action involves drawing frame-by-frame from start to finish.With the pose to pose technique, you draw the beginning frame, the end frame, and a few key frames in-between. Then you go back and complete the rest. This technique gives you a bit more control within the scene and allows you to increase the dramatic effect of the motion.
Principle 5: Follow through and overlapping action
When an object moves then comes to a stop, different parts of the object stop at different rates
Principle 6 : Slow in and Slow out
Principle 7: Arc
All animations follow a certain path , which is than of an arc, For example a ball follows an arc when its thrown into the air and comes back down
Principle 8: secondary action
Principle 9: Timing
Principle 10: Exaggeration
An action that supports the main action
In order to control the moods of characters correct timing has to be used, so objects shouldn't be moved too quickly or too slowly
Having a lot of realism in the scene makes it boring, but by adding exaggeration it makes it more interesting
Principle 11: Solid drawing
Drawing basics should be understood. For example, weight volume and anatomy in drawing.
Principle 12: Appeal
Characters and objects need to be appealing to the viewer
Assignment 2 essay planning
Essay choice: what is the uncanny valley ?(planning) - my powerpoint presentation
Paragraph1:
Paragraph 2:
Paragraph 3:
