19 Apr 2012

Symposium Programme

MSc Animation & Visualisation Mock Symposium

25th April 2012

Matthew Lecture Theatre 5013

DJCAD, University of Dundee

Programme


9.00

Welcome

9.10

Key Note Speech: Dr Chris Rowland

9.40

Session 1: Reflections on the Animated Story: Construction, Deconstruction and Reconstruction.

Innes Valente: From Past to Present: The Importance of Combining Technology, Nature and History in Animation

Lingfei Zhu: Heat Death: An Illustration Animation Approach Towards Literature

Lucy Teire: From Audience Member to Maker: A Journey of Discovery Regarding Storytelling Through Animation

11.00

Morning Break

11.20

Session 2: Reflections on Digital Feelings: Building Imagination, Light and Emotion.

Kareem Al Ali: Digital Lighting and Emotions

Sarah Dargie: Waverly: What Would Sant’Elia Do? A Reflection on An Attempt to Imagine the Futurist Train Station

Zihui Li: Exploring the Issues Around Combining Motion Graphics with Live Action

12.40

Lunch Break

1.40

Session 3: Reflections on Research into Animation Practice

Brian Lindsay: Edmund Mcmillen: Independent for the Right Reasons

Xiao Wu: How To Understand and Control Loop of Rhythm in Animal Animation

Hai Guo: The Position of Traditional Painting in Animaiton

Boyang Zhao: Animator as Actor: Acting in Animation

3.40

Afternoon Break

4.00

Session 4: Reflections on Studies in the Art of Data Visualisation

Kieran Baxter: Low Altitude Aerial Photography of Heritage: Capturing Context

Xiaoqian Wu: Cinderella’s Magic Mirror: An Experiment on Online Animated Data Visualisation

Mhairi Towler: The All Round View: C.H. Waddington Reconsidered

5.20

Closing Remarks – Sharon White, Module Leader and Dr John McGhee, Course Director


5 Apr 2012

Heat Death: an illustration animation approach towards literature by Lingfei Zhu

Question - How can an illustration technique applied to animation to enhance literature for

aesthetic and narrative purposes?

As the writer of 'Gravity's Rainbow', the most influential literature work in the second half of twentieth century, Thomas Pynchons undistinguished piece of post-modern literature work 'Entropy' has certain literal significance in my personal view. By introducing illustration aesthetic, commonly used in portraying words in still media, to the 3-D entertainment motion media of animation, popular to the wide audience, the aim is to visualize current academic discussion as well as to promote 'Entropy' and work with similar qualities.

Focusing on the production of a short adaptation, the final phase is to separate the animation for the design of an E-book in the post-production stage. This paper will demonstrate the new animation illustration media, and will reveal the importance of combining pop culture elements in publicizing a classical literature piece.

According to analysis up to the present, joining of science and literature is the most important characteristic in terms of its basic structure and concept, which needs comprehensive adaptation in the visualization process. While simple geometries with detailed decorative mechanical patterns and inorganic texture in 3-D software could show scientific quality, carefully mapped painted shading and dynamic movements under certain lighting could raise the organic feel needed for literature aspects.

Unifying these with narrative typography, the composition will be conducted with both cinematography and illustration composition principles applied. All is to ensure that the final visual achieve illustration-like unreal while maintaining digital 3-D real in the meantime -------- a fresh new visual to illustrate a post-modern literature as 'Entropy'.


See Felix's blog here

Animator as Actor: acting in animation by Boyang Zhao

Nowadays, as the market share of 3D animation in film industry is getting bigger and bigger, more and more people want to get into this business and become an “animator”. Therefore, more and more skilful professional educational services have founded and start to train people as animators. However, knowing the software does not mean knowing how to animate, just like getting the characters moving does not mean making the characters lifelike. The rapid development of 3D technique is blinding animators and taking them away from the essence of animation which, in my opinion is acting.

My project is about animating a character with different personalities, to see how the personality leads the way to the most appropriate reactions and movement. I believe that any practical work should be based on a theory, so in this article, I will explore and represent a way to act as an animator.

In my opinion, for being an animator, there are three levels of successful animation which is my main focus:

1. Basic software skills;

2. Understand acting and animating theory;

3. Explore the character’s personality.

For being an actor, there are two forces which blend into each other: inner force which is motivation and outer force which is physical principle; there are also two ways to express: Body language and facial expression.

I also will sum up all the motivations and the matched actions from my observation and experiences, it would be very helpful in future.


See Rudy's blog here

Cinderella’s Magic Mirror, an Experiment on Online Animated Data Visualization by Xiaoqian Wu

Every aspect of the modern society is filled with massive data. With the high development of technology, it’s now possible for people to catch and store these pieces of precious information. But most of the time, such large amount of data is hard to understand and analyze, that’s why we also need visual design to help the public to access to the content of data.

Data visualization is the study of how to communicate information in a clear and effective way by graphic methods(Fry+Oram, 2007). Traditional attempts do great jobs in visualizing the data through graph drawings. But as the fact that data is always with rapid change and many dimensions, these static display are not enough for people to take full advantage of data. We need dynamic and animated ways to effectively visualize data. Processing, which is the creation of Ben Fry, provides us the possibility to present data with its attributes of time and dimensions.

My project aims at creating an online animated data visualization system, which is based on female style preference and the story context of Cinderella. If the content is thought of as a story behind the data, animated visualization could tell the story freely with creativity and existent art styles. Online system encourage convenient accessing and real time renewing of the data. With this experimental project, I hope to find some interesting and efficient way to visualize the data, which also means to achieve better communication with information so that we could deeper discover the society and human life.

Reference:

Ben Fry and Andy Oram (ed.) (2007) Visualizing Data. United States of America, O'Reilly Media, Inc.

Matt Woolman (2002) Digital Information Graphics. London, Thames & Hudson Ltd.



See Cindy's blog here

How to understand and control loop of rhythm in short animal animation by Xiao Wu


Nowadays, action
design plays a significant role in the whole of animation. Of course, the developments of story, the character and scene design or emotional expression are also the important factors in animation.

In the Disney animation “Tangled”, the action of the horse is really vivid- the audience has empathy the horse because of its actions and facial expression. Inspired by this animation, I decided to make a short animation about an animal in my project.

Although the action is a complicated area in animation, it also includes some different elements, such as the rhythm. But the actions of animals are different from the actions of people, especially the loop of rhythm, like jumping, running. If the rhythm can’t be controlled well, the animal would look strange through the whole story.

In order to make sure the animated animal moves in a natural way, we need to analyze the difference between the actions of animal and the actions of people.

My research questions for this project are:

· How can I understand the rhythm of the action?

· How can I control the loop of a repeated action (like running)?

· How can I use the colour contrast better to show the animal standing out from background?

· How can I combine rhythm, loop and colour to produce an overall natural effect?

Therefore, I must have the rhythm respect to do a deeper research in animation. Through analyzing the characteristics and functions of rhythm and color expression in some outstanding animations, I hope to be able to answer my research questions in the future.


See Miely's blog here

FROM PAST TO PRESENT THE IMPORTANCE OF THE COMBINING TECHNOLOGY, NATURE AND HISTORY IN ANIMATION by Ines Valente


Throughout the last decades, Animation has become a true centre of attention, due to its potential for reaching a vast and diverse audience. Hence its power, since both adults and children can easily and deeply, connect with it. This enables the artist to transform one’s attitude and identity, through their work.

This paper will focus on how traditional Storytelling is being adapted to New Media and how combined with Animation it creates an important balance, bringing back certain values that the New Media itself, tends to erase. This becomes particularly relevant nowadays, when the sense of identity we used to apprehend from History and Nature, is becoming lost. Storytelling lives through a population’s imagination and memories, creating and preserving knowledge that would otherwise be quickly forgotten.

More than ever, we live at an unsustainable pace fed by technology, frequently dismissing what immediately surrounds us.

Nonetheless, our social, environmental, and historical contexts are a big part of who we are.

Can Storytelling and Animation effectively show the importance of finding a balance between Technology, Nature and History? Can it help people discover their place in the world?

How to create an animation that reflects these concerns, is this papers key question.

A collective memory must be preserved1, in order to reach a sustainable balance between Past and Present.

1 “…by opposition to the ever fierce proclamations of the most utterly recent novelty, a prudent return to our origins, to a historic perspective of our time, to an thorough interpretation of the age…”

_

Reference

Lipovestske, Gilles, 1983. A Era do Vazio, Relógio de Água, Lisboa.



See Ines' blog here

The All Round View: C.H.Waddington Reconsidered by Mhairi Towler

As a scientist turned artist I am exploring how animation can be adapted for scientific visualisation. My work aims to investigate different visual/digital methods to tell the story of biological processes. As the focus for this paper, I will describe the work I have carried out on my placement module with artist Dr. Paul Harrison at the Visual Research Centre at the University of Dundee, and discuss how this experience has influenced my own practice and development as an artist.

Dr. Harrison was invited to be part of a European network of excellence entitled ‘Epigenesys’. Epigenesys combines interdisciplinary research into epigenetics and systems biology, and work is required to visualise this research in both a specialist and public context. Dr. Harrisons project, ‘Epigenetic Landscapes’ will include exhibitions, workshops and publications – one of which will include a retrospective/reappraisal of the work of Conrad Hal Waddington, a leading geneticist from the 1930’s onwards, who first established the term ‘epigenetics’ (Slack, J.M.W., 2002). The brief for my placement was to work collaboratively with Dr. Harrison to explore the work of Waddington, and produce visual outcomes for the ‘epigenetic landscape’ concept that he conceived.

Throughout my placement I have been reflecting upon, and evaluating the way in which my creative/artistic practice is affected holistically. I hope this reflective process will give me a deeper insight into what can improve/hamper my practice. My findings from this experience, both practical and theoretical, will be discussed.

See Mhairi's blog here

From audience member to maker: a journey of discovery regarding storytelling through animation by Lucy Teire

People have told stories since time immemorial. This has taken many forms; from Neolithic cave paintings to Hollywood movies each storytelling medium has it’s own particular strengths. One of the fastest growing mediums is Computer Generated Animation: a technique that combines traditional design skills with cutting edge technology.

This research concerns my personal journey from viewer of CG Animation to maker. My connection to animation is through my work as a CGI producer. In an animation studio there is constant forward momentum: no matter how good a piece of work is, at the end of a project we always ask: “how can we do it better next time?” There are numerous answers to this question, from better procedural simulations through to better project organization. However, the thing that particularly intrigues me is how we can tell the stories better? Because, whilst technical aspects are important, the best skin-shader in the world isn’t going to make an audience care about the characters in the first place.

The research was based on the premise that the best way to gain insight into animated storytelling is through practical experience. As such I’ve set out to make a piece of narrative animation, and this research charts the insights gleaned through doing so. These come from a number of sources: through looking at theory, through reflective critique of existing work in the field and through personal reflective practice. Overall, the research charts how personal practice can lead to a better understanding of successful animated storytelling.

See Lucy's blog here

4 Apr 2012

Edmund Mcmillen: Independent for The Right Reasons by Brian Lindsay


Through playing specific 2D character driven indie games I have gathered a specific interest in animator and game designer Edmund Mcmillen. He has influenced me to try and expand my animation style to the maximum. Why has he influenced my studies and what makes him so interesting?

This proposal aims to explain how Edmund has inflicted his style into my own studies through the use of character development, 2D animation, 3D animation, music, ethnic issues and background design.

I aim to interrogate why this all looks so inspiring to me by explaining in depth: his influences, his workflow, his music, his ideas and his artwork from character design to backgrounds.

I will also explain how these styles are helping me reflect with my studies involving 2D animation and 3D character Design. By explaining the techniques involved within the process of my studies to indicate success or failure.

See Brian's blog here

Exploring the issues around combining motion graphics with live action by Zihui Li

Motion graphics, as a new form of graphic design was born in the 1950s. Since the 1960s, due to the advancements in digital technology, a huge change emerged in the industry of animation and film with the development of computer animation. The boom had also affected the field of motion graphics. It became possible for a Graphic Designer to change his or her role into a Motion Designer with the newly evolved tools of moving image.

A large number of excellent motion graphic works have emerged and the applications of motion graphics have become more widely used. In the era of which special effects and compositing technology become more and more advanced, the technique of combining animation and live action is already maturing, and has already been applied to a large number of film and advertising productions. In such a context, motion graphics, as a branch of animation, is also beginning to combine with live action.

This article focuses on discussion around the technique of combining motion graphics with live action. I will explore how to express emotion and narrate story by using the technique, and what kind of visual experiences it can bring to audiences. I will also analyze the difference between motion graphics and traditional animation by documenting the approaches and process of my own practice, which will be a music video, made using this technique. Moreover, I will ask questions for some unresolved issues at the end.

See Link's blog here

The position of traditional painting in animation by Hai Guo

Animation is a wonderful and interesting art form, the animation movies and the video games are very popular in today’s world, and it is playing a more and more important part in our leisure life, especially for the young generations. The constant developments in animation industry have brought us improved visual and spiritual enjoyments. While, either for the traditional hand-drawn animation or the latest high-technology animation, the ‘art’ elements remain the same and always play an import role. An animation project cannot be ‘great’ without the proper combination of unique shapes, great composition and beautiful colors. Whatever it is, a character, an animal, a background scene or other parts in the animation, it could not be anything good without good traditional painting skills, unfortunately, those skills are being neglected by many young animation practitioners.

At present, in China, almost all of the animation professionals are just “software operators” who are usually trained in continue education schools, where the educators used to educate the participants by simply teaching them to get familiarly with the mechanism and application of some certain animation design software, rather than help the participants to build their sense of aesthetics and their visual sensitivity. The inadequate training and education at professional levels caused the slow development of China’s animation industry in recent years, and of course, you could not expect a high quality animation works from those ‘software operators’.

In this essay I will explain: first, the role of animation; second, the workflow of animation production; and the principle elements of art: composition, shape and color. After then, I will give a general description of the Chinese animation industry. At the end, I will discuss the importance of the traditional painting skill in creating animation works.

See Hai's blog here

Waverley: What Would Sant’Elia Do? A Reflection on An Attempt to Imagine The Futurist Train Station by Sarah Dargie


One of the most exciting and perplexing aspects of the animation and visual effects industry is its potential to present an audience with a comprehensive reality based on the impossible, the unachievable, on what might have been and what could yet be. Yet in the realm of architectural visualisations, the potential of animation is often unrealised.

After comparing uninspiring architectural visualisations such as that of the Dundee Waterfront with architectural contexts in award winning animation films such as Roman's 'The Third and the Seventh', it is arguable that this frequent disappointment is due, not to constraints of available budget, time or talent, but to the mechanical approach taken by architects towards visualisations.

I am aiming to create a short film that combines CAD and live-action footage to portray the Futurist architect Sant’Elia’s vision at Waverley Station, Edinburgh. By doing so I am experimenting with narrative’s role in the commercial field of architectural visualisation, using the Futurist model as a framework for theoretical debate to illicit an emotional response from the audience. The narrative utilises site research and extensive 3D techniques, whilst drawing inspiration from the strong architectural elements in successful films such as ‘The Third and The Seventh’. This study also discusses the conflicts that arise when attempting to use a storytelling approach to re-establish creativity in a generally unimaginative environment. As Venturi argued: “Architecture is the most fragile of all the media – it has a practical application as well as an artistic application”[Venturi 1984: 121].


See Sarah's blog here



Low Altitude Aerial Photography of Heritage: Capturing Context by Kieran Baxter

While methods such as laser scanning offer unprecedented levels of detail and accuracy and go some way toward meeting a desire for objectivity in archaeological survey, this paper will tackle the documentation of other aspects surrounding heritage sites which remain subjective. Considerations such as atmosphere and context within a broader landscape have a prominent effect on the relationship which the modern day visitor may have with a site, and may also help us to associate with, and better understand the minds who built and used a site throughout it's history.

The symbolic and practical significance of spatial arrangements for example may only become apparent when the surrounding landscape is taken into consideration, such as where a location might have strategic advantage or where there are celestial or geological alignments. These often intuitive considerations are of particular importance in prehistoric sites where ritual spirituality and everyday practicality may have been closely integrated. As such we can consider that when documenting a historical site it is important not to separate our search for objective understanding with our emotional response and intuition but rather to integrate these where possible.

In order to generate a balanced and representative impression of a heritage site an approach should be developed which exploits a broad spectrum of documentation tools and methods which take into account and triangulate different aspects of the site. This paper will demonstrate the potential of low altitude aerial photography to form part of this toolkit for both documentation and interpretation.

See Kieran's blog here

Digital Lighting and Emotions by Kareem Al Ali

Lighting is an essential part in computer graphics pipeline; it is also one of the major elements in creating and designing a scene or an environment. Most people who do not work in the CGI (Computer Generated imagery) industry do not realize that and just take it forgranted.

Lately people started considering lighting in CGI as both a science and an art; a science because it needs tools and technology to apply it, and an art because of two main reasons. First it is a way to express the feeling of the lighting artist visually; and second, because of the audiences` reaction to light, it has been proven by psychologist that there is a clear relationship between human emotions and light.

My research project takes all of this into account, and aim to investigate how different lighting attributes can trigger different emotions in human beings. The main three light attributes I am investigating are intensity, color and shape. I will show in the project different environments created in 3D with different atmospheres and lights to show the importance of lighting applied on the same scene, and to touch the viewers` emotions while changing the three mentioned attributes.

Everything around us is created in steps, and after viewing my project I do not want the viewer to feel the importance of lighting alone as a stage in the CGI pipeline, but also I want the viewer to consider other elements and stages that are taken forgranted and to appreciate the importance of each creative process and how they add to the other steps so that we can finally have a great output that we like or use.

See Kareem's blog here


Key Note


The Key Note speaker has been confirmed as Dr Chris Rowland.

Abstracts

Abstracts for the symposium have been submitted, and can be viewed here.













Reflection on Practice Module

Reflection on Practice is a module within the MSc Animation and Visualisation course at the University of Dundee.

One of the outcomes of this module is for the students to present their work in a conference / symposium style environment. We are calling this event:
Animation & Visualisation: Reflection on Practice Mock Symposium
and it will be held on Wednesday 25th April at the University of Dundee.