Super Zombie Killer: animations and thoughts from the Crypt

Virtual Camera and Cinematic Reality

2010-05-04T03:18:00.001-07:00

Even though freedom of camera movement is now possible, in both animation and cinema, the productions are still following the same cinematic grammar that was set long before the possibilities of a free roaming camera. What we have seen in this research is that the cinematic language is not up for any revolutionary change just merely as a result of new technology or camera invention.

It seems that the cinematic narrative grammar and the cinematographic conventions have set the standard for what is “reality” on film. So when working with digitally constructed space recorded by a virtual camera, the directors are compensating by making the manufactured image look like it was filmed with an analogue camera. By applying all the conventions, limitations, properties and artifacts of the analogue camera to the virtual camera, it records more “believable” images (Desowitz, 2). Whenever the directors take advantage of the limitlessness of virtual camera movements and properties, they do so showing something “magical” or something out of this world, but quickly return to “cinema reality” when they want to show something earthly, like human emotion or conversation between people.

So even though the virtual camera is available to speak with new narrative grammars, it has to adopt its language from the cinema to be understood and read correctly, as the narrative camera of traditional cinema adopted its language from the theater.

Cross Pollination of Narrative Grammars

2010-05-04T03:17:00.002-07:00

While studying Roland Emmerich’s “10,000 BC” (Roland Emmerich, 2008), I came across other examples of cross pollination of grammars between the real and the virtual, like in the “evil bird” scene from “Popeye the Sailor meets Sindbad the Sailor”. In two of the scenes that are heavily dependent on its use of computer generated effects, they use slow motion with a low frame rate, as we know from action replays from sports on television. But in the battle scenes where the protagonist is focus, where there is no obvious use of computer generated effects to hide, the use a smooth slow motion to emphasize the emotions of the protagonist.

This shows that there is a constant borrowing of grammars between the real and the virtual, both in current and past productions, and that this has more to do with narrative functions than technological innovations.

Virtual Camera in Modern Animation

2010-05-04T03:17:00.001-07:00

“Tarzan” (Chris Buck and Kevin Lima, 1999) featured a new technology for projection painting for its time that allows dynamic camera movements without compromising on the classic visual style. Especially invented for “Tarzan”, the purpose of “Deep Canvas” is to create a painted image with depth perception which allowed the virtual camera to move into and turn around inside the painted backgrounds. What really distinguish the use of “Deep Canvas” contra the use of plain 3D backgrounds for the 2D animation, like those found in the demo of “Where the Wild Things Are”, is that they try to keep the feel and illusion that it’s all hand-drawn and painted even though it’s all computer generated. In short, they try to blend together a 3D virtual camera with the hand painted style of traditional Disney animations.

The story of “Tarzan” (Conan Doyle, 1912) was first printed in a magazine in 1912 and has since then been a target for many film adaptations. Disney’s version distinguishes itself by using the limitlessness of animation together with a liberated virtual camera moving through 3D space, to show Tarzan as an athlete and a superhuman adapted to life in the jungle as described in the original publication. This shows that the freedom of virtual camera opens up new narrative possibilities in storytelling, and that it can contribute to new cinematic grammars beyond working as a special effect tool.

Like “The Matrix”, “Tarzan” suggests new cinematic grammars for the virtual camera through “Deep Canvas”. But as with “The Matrix” it does not use the free roaming behavior of the virtual camera as a part of the generic narrative in the film, but more for helping to show off the acrobatic moves of the protagonist in the action sequences. Most notably in the scenes where Tarzan swings and slides through the jungle. “Deep Canvas” is also used to give an extra dramatic impact on certain scenes, like in the scene with the elephant stampede when the gorillas comes moving against the camera at the same time as the virtual camera is moving the camera backwards.

Like “Tarzan”, “The Matrix” uses the extraordinary camera behavior to emphasize the superhuman actions of the characters in the movie, but in “The Matrix” they also use it as a part of the narrative to tell the audience that what we see on screen is a virtual reality as well. They want us to know that the virtual camera is a virtual camera, because what we see is a virtual reality. But in “Tarzan” the goal was to not let the movements of the 3D virtual camera stand out from the rest of the movie, but rather to blend in with the rest of the narrative.

What is common with “Tarzan” and “The Matrix” is that they both use computer technology to open up the opportunities of playing with spatial dimensions in their respective traditional mediums. They both use virtual camera to emphasize space and movement. This shows that the unique narrative quality of a digitally constructed space is that it liberates the camera to do movements that that would be impossible to replicate in traditional mediums.

Old technology that simulates new technology and new technology that simulates old technology

2010-05-04T03:16:00.000-07:00

“The Matrix” (Larry and Andy Wachowski, 1999) is a science fiction movie that in its storyline depicts a virtual world and a real world co-existing side by side. Since its storyline allowed for manipulation of the perceived reality inside the virtual world, it made a fabulous
testing ground for the use of new virtual camera techniques, without breaking with the cinematic grammar in the movie as a whole. Purposely breaking with traditional cinematic conventions in terms of camera behavior is done deliberately as an effect. What we see on-screen isn’t suppose to be a depiction of reality, but a virtual reality as in a computer game, where the traditions for camera behavior is different.

The virtual camera shots in “The Matrix” is done by using a set of still cameras placed in a circle around the actors on green screen. Each camera shoots a frame each. They then composite that with a digitally 3D modeled background, and when put together you get the illusion of a free roaming camera liberated in space and time. Since it is able to give the illusion of slowing down time so much that it is able to record (computer generated) gun bullets flying through the air, this virtual camera technique is referred to as “Bullet Time”.

While the virtual camera of “WALL-E” simulates old technology, the old technology of “The Matrix” simulates the possibilities of a free roaming virtual camera like the one they try to camouflage in “WALL-E”. It is interesting how cinema bends towards the freedoms of animation to become more interesting among the audience, while animation bends towards the restrictions of cinema to become more believable among the audience. The similarities are that they both use the camera narrative give the audience more information on-screen.

Virtual Cinematography in 3D animation

2010-05-04T03:15:00.000-07:00

Since ILM made technological inventions to liberate the analogue camera in terms of spatial movements in the 1970s, one would expect that Pixar would take advantage of the limitless freedom of the digital 3D virtual camera in the 1990s. But what I discover when studying the first fully digital 3D animated feature film, “Toy Story” (John Lasseter, 1995), is that it does little to explore the narrative possibilities of a truly virtual camera with its full spatial freedom.
With its cinematic cutting and marginal camera movements, it does nothing to expand upon the current cinematic grammar, as the classic cartoons did. Even though they had possibilities of full freedom of camera movement with no technical limitations holding them back, they still kept to the codes of the traditional cinema.

As a contrast, Disney’s animated test from the early 1980s by the same director, “Where the Wild Things Are” (John Lasseter, 1983), explores the possibilities of a virtual 3D space and the freedom of a virtual camera. “Where the Wild Things Are” is using digital 3D modeled backgrounds with digital 2D characters drawn on top of the final render. They utilize this to show off camera movements that would be practically impossible to do in traditional animation and cinema, using swooping camera movements like dolly and crane moves, pans and two 180 degree tilts in the opening shot. By doing these movements seamlessly in a long take, it introduces new grammars for a new medium. It show that what 3D graphics brings to the movies is the ability of freedom of movement and positioning in space (“Vanishing Point: Spatial Composition and the Virtual Camera”, Mike Jones, 2007).

Another animated short that is playing with the freedom of a virtual camera, is “Jumping” (Tezuka Osamu, 1983). Even though “Jumping” does not apply computer technology like “Toy Story”, it does demonstrate the possibilities of a camera free from the physical limits. The story is told through the eyes of the protagonist (first-person point of view) and it is all one seamless shot, where the protagonist starts by walking, and by each step he elevates a bit higher from the ground till the extremes where he starts from jumping over trees to jumping to different continents. The camera also does an 810 degree turn midair over a cityscape.

Although these two examples show an unbridled use of the possibilities of the animated or the virtual camera, these examples are few and far between. Cinematic grammars dominate and proscribe the actions of the virtual camera, even as it is free to explore any combination of motions. While animation is often the first to experiment with novel camerawork and spaces, it is nevertheless mostly constructed using traditional grammars.

By examine the production process of “WALL-E” (Andrew Stanton, 2008), I discover that Pixar took its conservative approach on the virtual camera even further. By hiring experienced cinematographers, they did an effort in simulating the trademarks, and weaknesses, of an analogue camera being operated by a camera man. They wanted to do this in order to make what is happening in the virtual world on-screen more convincing, or more authentic, for the audience. “I want to make you feel that you really was there!” comments the director Andrew Stanton (“WALL-E: Pixar Goes Space Age”, Pixar, 2008). What he suggests is that if you want to make the audience feel like they are present in the virtual cinematic space, just must communicate with them in with a traditional cinematic language, and through the lens of a 35 mm camera.

A good example of this approach is the scene where EVE is in the foreground searching for a plant, and WALL-E comes in to the picture, crashing with a lot of shopping carts in the background. The camera is initially focused on EVE, but when trying to get WALL-E into focus the virtual cameraman adjusts the lens too much making the picture blurry, and has to re-adjust. Another example is in the scene when EVE and WALL-E floats around in space, the camera acts like it is being controlled by a cameraman floating around with them. This approach pushes the use of the virtual camera forward in terms of “cinematic realism”, which is based on old cinematic grammars made for a different medium. Rather than creating a new language for a new medium, they are using the technical properties of a real camera as a part of the virtual camera narrative.

Expanding the Cinematic Language through the invention of the Motion Controlled Camera

2010-05-04T03:14:00.000-07:00

1977 marks a change for the cinema as “Star Wars: A New Hope” (George Lucas, 1977) takes the advantage of using a motion controlled camera invented by Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), called the Dykstraflex, which allowed programmable camera movements which were flexible, precise and for the first time repeatable. The Dystraflex allowed for different movements like roll, pan, tilt, swing, boom, traverse, track, and its had a programmable motor drive, and opened up the possibilities of more freedom in general camera movement, but most importantly it allowed them to animate huge miniatures (by moving the camera instead of moving the miniature) and because it was precise and repeatable it allowed several elements like miniatures and matte paintings to be filmed separately through a preprogrammed camera movement, allowing them the possibility to build up complex virtual scenes through compositing. This was a big step in bringing the virtual camera to the cinema, as its use of elaborate compositing opened up the doors for including animation in live action movies, thus expanding upon the cinematic language.

Virtual Camera in Classic Animation

2010-05-04T03:11:00.000-07:00

“The Old Mill” (Wilfred Jackson, 1937) is a milestone in camera simulation in 2D animation as it is the first to take the use of a multi-plane setup that allows refined camera movements. This setup consists of up to seven glass layers of artwork and a moveable camera, this setup made it possible for a more versatile use than the Fleischer’s setup, as it was able to simulate that the camera was moving into and through the painted background. As in the Popeye short, “The Old Mill” is also using backgrounds that are painted with warped perspective to simulate turning or tilting. But it does it less subtle and more as an active part of the narrative, as with the crane shots from “Love Me Tonight”.

Right from the opening scene they show us the both potentials and limitations of the multi-plane cameras. While the virtual camera dollies in to the picture through the landscape and over the water, a shot that would be hard to duplicate in traditional cinema at that time, it still has to jump cut forward in motion four times to come to the end of the camera motion in to the picture, this could be seen as an artistic choice, but it had to be made because of the physical limitations of the multi-plane camera setup (as the physical camera cannot move through the glass plates that makes up the layers). Probably in an effort to enhance the feeling of depth and 3D space, elements in the scene comes out of focus as it gets close to the camera. This helps the audience to except the reality they see on screen, as it reminds them of how reality is depicted through a conventional camera.

Most notable is the third scene in the movie, where the virtual camera moves around inside the old mill. At first it’s tilted down moving upwards, and then it tilts up and dollies forward through the beams, before moving and tilting upwards. Some of the animals in this scene are responding and somewhat aware of the virtual camera and reacts to its presence. An interesting discovery is that although the movements of virtual camera in theory could be more floating, they are not, but they rather mimicked the style of the rigid movements the camera in traditional cinema at the time (tilting, turning, dollying and paning as separate movements). A possibly to reasons for this is that most of these movements were illusions in 2D space, and by not separate the camera movements to something the audience is already familiar with from cinema, the camera movements could be interpreted as confusing or in worst case not interpreted at all.

Virtual Cinematography in 2D animation

2010-05-04T03:09:00.000-07:00

“Popeye the Sailor meets Sinbad the Sailor” was one of the animated shorts that used the Fleischer’s patented “Rotograph” camera setup. It used a horizontal multiplane camera setup, where the background (as well as middleground and forground) for the cartoon is actually modeled 3D miniatures in the same scale as the drawn cartoons. This gives a real stereoscopic depth of field when panning, also known as “parallax”.

It is clear that the cinematic narrative as found “Love Me Tonight” is evident in “Popeye the Sailor meets Sindbad the Sailor”, but the animated short adds further dynamic to the camera movements as it is not restricted to constructions such as a crane or a dolly to move the viewpoint in space.

In 2D animation, camera tilts and turns are done by using warped perspective in the background paintings, so when they are moved under the physical camera, you get a simulated tilt or turn. Such as in the opening scene of this animated short, where we are first introduced to island of Sindbad.

In the second shot of the first scene, we are presented with a camera tilt up from the “welcome sign” on the island, but the virtual camera is also moving in to the picture as it is tilting. Both physically by moving the real camera closer to the cels, and virtually by panning over the warped perspective on the painted background. The camera is following the winding road up to the castle for the first ten seconds of the scene, before slowing down its movement in depth and only continues tilting up to show the castle on the mountain top.

We are then presented with a long shot of the castle, a similar shot as to the long shot of Nosferatu’s castle in “Nosferatu” (F.W. Murnau, 1922). Then a medium shot from the same angle followed up by a close shot where the perspective is slightly different, as the angle of the viewpoint has slightly changed. A minor detail that enhance the illusion of a three dimensional world. In the following scene the camera follows Sindbad (the antagonist) as he walks across his island. Since the backgrounds are miniature models, the camera movement gives us a stereo-optical effect with a deep sense of depth and parallax, further enhancing the illusion of a three dimensional “reality”.

In the scene where Sindbad discovers Olive Oyl through his scope, we see the iris focusing in on Olive. It has a clear resemblance to the iris focus technique used in one of the romantic scenes in “Birth of a Nation” (D.W. Griffith, 1915).

The third time we see the evil bird fly in the sky, 6 minutes and 30 seconds into the movie, we see an interesting use of simulated camera. It is a mid shot of Sindbad’s evil bird who is flying in a circle up in the air screeching at Popeye’s ship (that is out of sight in this shot), while the camera is stationary it tilts and turns following the flight pattern of the bird. But the camera does not do so perfectly, it lags behind as if it is a filming of a real bird filmed by a cameraman who is a bit uncertain about the pace and direction the bird is flying, emulating the style of a shot from a nature documentary. By simulating the weaknesses of a real camera man in the movements of the virtual camera, it adds a layer of reality to the shot making it more believable as it fit with conventions the audience already know from the “reality” of nature documentaries in cinema.

These examples shows that the directors of traditional animation where mimicking the cinematography of different genres from cinema. By using a cross pollination of different from different genres in a production, they can play on conventions and grammar that the audience already know, and recall their associations to them in different shots as they see fitting by the narrative of the animation. By playing on conventions that are already being accepted as cinematic reality, they increase the believability of the constructed world.

Since the basic nature of the 2D animation in lacks real depth, I discovered that the animators compensate by using different techniques to give the constructed world a sense of three-dimensionality. Examples of these techniques are changing the angle of the viewpoint between shots, creating a parallaxing effect when panning, let action take place along the Z-axis of the viewpoint and building up a scene by positioning the action in the middleground while constructing the scene around it (in the foreground and background).

Liberated Camera View in Classic Cinema

2010-05-04T03:08:00.000-07:00

Being made the same year as the invention of the zoom lens, “Love Me Tonight” contains the first zoom shot in a feature film. In the opening scene, when establishing the early in the morning in Paris, the camera zooms in on a couple of chimneys. At the end of the zoom, the chimneys let out smoke, before the movie proceeds to the next shot of the scene.

“Love Me Tonight” is using the crane to liberate the camera into movements in space. In the scene where we are introduced to the protagonist, the camera floats mid-air through his window into his bedroom. It is as possesses a life on its own, it is an active part of the narrative. This effect is used through the movie as the camera rather tilts and turns from a situation to the next. Most notable is this effect in the scene at the chateau, where the camera floats through the bedroom and then tilts down the sleeping protagonist, as through the eyes of a person moving through the room.

What these examples shows is that in classic cinema the films took advantage of new technical solutions as they got available to them, and used them to explore the camera narrative as well as to liberate the camera in terms of spatial movements. This shows that the idea of a free roaming camera existed in the 1930s’ cinema.

“Love Me Tonight” also employs effects such as slow- and fast-motion shots. Fast-motion is used to increase the feeling of intensity of when the princess is riding her horse to catch the train. Slow-motion is used in the scene when all the horse riders are on their way to ride offscreen, to enhance the dramatic shot of all the galloping horses and to give the viewer time to read what is happening onscreen.

This shows that it was a clear distinction between a special effect shot and regular shot also in classic cinema.

Historical Antecedents of the Animated Camera

2010-05-04T03:07:00.000-07:00

“Gertie the Dinosaur” follows the style of the early cinema (also known as primitive cinema), which had a static camera where all the actions is played out in a very frontal style (“Frankenstein”, J. Searle Dawley, 1909), not unlike traditional theatre. An interesting point is that since McCay didn’t use cels in this short, and therefore had to redraw everything on screen on each frame, he had no restraints keeping him from creating a simulated camera movement, but he kept to the presentational style of primitive cinema. It is also interesting that the world he constructed is three dimensional many of the actions taking place along the Z-axis (in the depth of field). As with silent movies of that time, McCay uses black slides with white text as intertitles, to do the dialogue.

While “Gertie the Dinosaur” follows the style of early cinema, “The Sinking of Lusitania” is stylized as a documentary, and it is using intertitles in between the animated sequences as a narration to what is happening. It is an early example of virtual cinematography. McCay uses animation as a medium to recreate a historic event where a German submarine attacks an American ship. The animated short places a virtual camera in positions where it would be impossible for real camera to be. Most notably is the scene where the virtual camera is looking out from a window of the ship while it “records” the torpedo coming towards it, but also in more subtitle ways like when the submarine is passing underneath it.

Both these examples shows that animation from its early days has been used as a medium to construct “reality”, that is was used to depict elements, actions and effects that cinema could not. Noteworthy is that they are both following the narrative style of their live-action counterparts.

Virtual Camera and its narrative functions in animation and cinema

2010-05-04T02:26:00.000-07:00

With the introduction of digital 3D animation in cinema and animation, there are no longer any limits to the freedom of camera movements and behaviors available to the director. Still constraints exist that keep the animated camera, with its possibilities to explore and construct any space and time, grounded to mimic the properties of its mechanical cousin.

This research is an attempt to examine how virtual cinematography is being used in animation and cinema in order to show its potential. I will do so by studying technological innovation and achievements in the use of narrative camera in both animation and cinema.

In “The Language of New Media” (Lev Manovich, 2001), Lev Manovich claims that “we do expect computer narratives to showcase new aesthetic possibilities that did not exist before digital computers” (Manovich, 237). He also claims that the directors refuse to give up the unique “cinema-effect” (Manovich, 310), an effect which according to Manovich depends upon three factors: the narrative form, the “reality” effect and the cinema’s architectural arrangement all working together.

This research will follow Manovich’s lead and discuss what role camera and constructed space plays in classic animation compared to modern animation and digital cinema.

Background

Lev Manovich, a professor at the Visual Arts Department at UCSD, gives us a critical insight into animation, cinema and compositing in his work “What is Digital Cinema?” (Lev Manovich, 1995), “Cinema and Digital Media” (Lev Manovich, 1996), “Assembling Reality: Myth of Computer Graphics” (Lev Manovich, 1999) and “The Language of New Media” (Lev Manovich, 2001).

In this research I am going to examine behavior of virtual camera in its relationship with the cinematic camera and constructed space. The term “virtual camera” is commonly used when describing the viewport of a computer generated 3D virtual space (“What is Digital Cinema?”, Lev Manovich,1995) and is used in related research papers when addressing topics surrounding simulated camera in computer animation (“Vanishing Point: Spatial Composition and the Virtual Camera”, Mike Jones, 2007).

“Virtual” is a term that is a reference to things that mimic their "real" equivalents, in this case a camera. So for the sake of this discussion I will use the term “virtual camera” as a broader definition than in those examples mentioned above, as this research will focus on simulated camera behavior and movement in constructed space in traditional 2D and digital 3D animation, as well as by motion control rigs and photo camera arrays. The similarity between these four different mediums is that they all simulate the functions of a cinematic camera, but in a constructed space.

I do not define the virtual camera as a thing by itself, but rather as the simulation of the properties of a real camera, in its relationship to its constructed environment. This phenomenon arises for examples when mimicking cinematic camera conventions through the viewport of a 3D renderer or when 160 photo cameras simulate one cinematic camera.

With the term “digital cinema” I refer to Lev Manovich’s definition. Manovich defines it as a cinematic production that has been digitally composited, where live-action material is composited with digital image processing, painting and animation.

Design of Work

In this research I will examine the specific grammars of virtual cinematography by studying technological innovation and achievements in the use of camera movements in both animation and cinema.

I will use the articles “What is Digital Cinema?” (Lev Manovich, 1991) and the book “The Language of New Media” (Lev Manovich, 2001) as primary sources for arguments about narrative grammars and cinematic reality. Both discuss the emergence of digital cinema and new media and their relationship with traditional mediums. Specifically I will take up Manovich’s discussion on the part virtual camera plays in this emergent context. I will also use “The Mouse Machine” (J.P. Telotte, 2008) as a secondary source in order to examine the history of animated cinema in order to find instances of the emergence of a virtual camera.

In order to examine the relationship between technical innovation and its relationship to changes in narrative grammar, I will look at the productions that introduced new narrative or technological innovation. I will attempt to use my findings to discuss how and where virtual cinematography is being used and how its properties are being explored, in order to show the differences and similarities between grammar of animated, virtual and cinematic camera.

Specifically I will examine the animated works “Gertie the Dinosaur” (Winsor McCay, 1914), “The Sinking of the Lusitania” (Winsor McCay, 1918), “Popeye the Sailor meets Sinbad the Sailor” (David Fleischer, 1936), “The Old Mill” (Wilfred Jackson, 1937), “Toy Story” (John Lassenter, 1995), “Tarzan” (Kevin Lima and Chris Buck, 1999) and “WALL-E” (Andrew Stanton, 2008). And I will be examine the cinematic productions “Love Me Tonight” (Rouben Mamoulian, 1932), “Star Wars: A New Hope” (George Lucas, 1977), “The Matrix” (Larry and Andy Wachowski, 1999) and “10,000 BC” (Roland Emmerich, 2008).

I will follow Lev Manovich’s lead and ask: What role does camera and constructed space play in classic animation compared to modern animation? How does the virtual camera in digital cinema represent a shift in the narrative grammar? In what ways has cinema introduced virtual spaces into its grammar?

Results

Cinema has always been about creating illusions, but at the same time they have hidden the illusions and special effects behind an accepted “reality” associated with traditional cinematic grammar.

In a way, little has changed since the 1930s. Unorthodox camera behaviors are being reserved for “special effects” shots, constructed virtual space is reserved for the “fantastical” and high-budget animated productions are still working hard to mimic the conventions of live-action cinema. This is because productions today still follow the same cinematic grammar as then.

Virtual camera as a part of cinema, still obeys these conventions. Where camera movements are liberated in space, which is the unique quality virtual camera contributes to cinema, it is used to promote an “out-of-this-world”-feel (“The Matrix) or a depiction of something “fantastical” (“Star Wars: A New Hope”).

Discussion

It is no longer the mechanical constructions available to the cinematographers, but the creativity and visions of the directors that set the boundaries of what is possible to depict in cinema. Pixar-director Andrew Stanton claims that since “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (Peter Jackson, 2001), it is no longer any technical obstacles when it comes to creating photo realistic virtual worlds. But the cinematic language does not change in pace with the technological inventions. Digital cinema still depends on the “reality effect” the use of the traditional cinematic grammars brings to the screen.

Virtual cinematography as a part of digital cinema is superset to traditional cinematography in that aspect as with digital cinema, the directors have full artistic freedom to compose (and recompose) a scene. And as upcoming movies like “Avatar” (James Cameron, 2009) are using virtual camera to diffuse the borders between animation and live-action, I am certain that the use of the freedom of virtual camera in cinema and animation will broaden beyond the use as a special effect, and with that the grammars for what is accepted as screen reality will change.

Conclusion

With the introduction of digital 3D animation, there are no longer any limits to the freedom of virtual camera in digital cinema. But cinematic grammar keeps the virtual camera grounded to mimic the properties of its mechanical cousin, or to stand out proposing an “out-of-this-world”-feel. If current cinematic grammar is going to change drastically, cinema narrative has to be influenced by the narrative grammar of computer games, and thus introducing the spatial limitlessness of virtual camera as part of the convention for cinematic reality.

It will be interesting to see how virtual camera’s shift from post-production to the real-time recording in upcoming productions like “Avatar”, will contribute to create new narrative grammar specific for virtual camera in cinema and animation. As generations now grow up understanding and accepting new media languages, the virtual and computer generated will be more accepted as “reality”, without the need to hide behind old cinematic conventions to make them believable.

A further way to improve on this research will be to take the inclusion of music videos, anime, comic books and 3D cinema into to the study. It would also be interesting to compare the history camera narrative in computer games to the camera narrative in cinema and animation. A free roaming virtual camera is a natural part of the computer game narrative, so we have to look at current computer games to get a glimpse at the possibilities of future cinematic conventions for the virtual camera.

”Disney's Tarzan” in relation to the Mythic Circle

2010-04-26T23:59:00.000-07:00

Disney's Tarzan describes the adventure of an orphaned infant raised by gorillas. A quite different story than The Lord of The Rings with a much more limited gallery of characters. The real events in the movie are few but major, which makes it hard to separate them into a specific stage in the Mythic Circle.

1. The Ordinary World

”The hero is introduced, the audience is obliged to ask themselves the question - “Who do I identify with?”. The hero is commonly restless and not fitting into the background against which they are placed. ”

Tarzan, still just an infant, gets his parents killed by a leopard and is being saved, adopted and raised by the female gorilla, Kala. Tarzan befriends the other animals, most noteably the gorilla Terk and the elephant Tantor. Tarzan takes a lot of effort in selfimprovement as he struggles to keep up with them.

2. Call to Adventure

”Something big is about to happen, a herald appears to summon our Hero forth. The audience ask themselves - “Who/what is this?” “What will now change?”.”

The life in the jungle is about to change as a group of explorers arrives. Professor Porter and his daughter Jane, is accompanied by the triggerhappy Clayton. Jane gets lost and Tarzan saves her from a gang of baboons. Through her he’s being exposed to the world and existence of humans.

3. Refuse the Call to Adventure

”The audience is given a list of reasons why it’s not possible to follow the call, they signal to the audience that the quest is challenging and may bring fear and danger.”

Kerchak warns Tarzan and tell him to stay away from the humans, as they may be a major threat to the safety of gorillas.

4. Enter the Mentor

”This entity acts as a guide to help the hero through their ordeal.”

Through Jane and Porter, Tarzan learns about world according to the western society as well as how to speak English. But his real guide giving him advise is Kala, his gorilla mother, telling him to follow his heart and is the one to introduce him to his past.

5. Crossing the Threshold

”The crossing may be voluntary or involuntary. Perhaps the mentor provides the impetus, or the villain pushes the hero into action with another dastardly act. The hero up until now may have resisted, but this is the final straw.”

When the ship arrives to pick up Jane, Porter and Clayton, bringing them back to England, Clayton (villain) convinces Tarzan (hero) that if he leads them to the gorillas, Jane will stay with him. Tarzan agrees and lead the humans to the gorillas. Meanwhile, Tarzan’s animal friends is tricking Kerchak (threshold) away from the other gorillas.

6. Tests/Allies/Enemies + 7. The Approach

” In giving a brief glimpse of their colours the audiences is able to fleetingly see what the hero’s capabilities are. Now that we’re in the New World we see its different values, currency, locations, rules and characters. The audience (and the hero) have to determine who can be trusted/not trusted.”
”The hero approaches the central ordeal, and the flow of the story pauses. The hero (and the audience) are asked - “Are we really committed, do we really want to go on with the journey?” This is the planning and reconaissance stage where bonding/intimacy/humor may occur. The masks characters have been wearing will shift or change and the audience is able to appreciate other aspects ?deeper character attributes.”

As the humans mingle with the gorillas, a furrious Kerchak returns. This event tests the alliance and personality of both Tarzan and Kerchak. Tarzan uses force to hold down Kerchak to protect the humans while they are running of. This action alienates Tarzan from the rest of the gorillas, as he is using offensive force against their previously common leader. Having nothing to lose, Kala shows Tarzan the house where his parents lived, and as a mentor encourage him to leave with Jane and Porter.

8. Death and Rebirth

”The hero (usually goes somewhere) and confronts death, and may appear to die. • Others of the hero’s team/band lament thinking that the hero is now lost to the. ”

Arriving at the ship, the humans led by Tarzan is ambushed and captured by Clayton and his pirates, who plans to capture and sell the gorillas. His animal friends hear Tarzan’s cries for help, but Turk still upset about Tarzan’s interaction with the humans is about to leave Tarzan trapped, when Tantor pushes them both in the water to break Tarzan, Jane and Porter free.

9. Reward/Payoff for having survived death

”The cause for celebration, a chance for ego inflation and to assume “immortality status”. The hero gains more power, there is the opportunity for intimacy/comedy - a reaction or contrast to stage 8.”

Tarzan and the others all rush back into the jungle, back to the gorillas. Kerchak and Tarzan for the first time join forces and together battle Clayton.

10. The Road Back

”Reassertion of why the journey was undertaken, which may come from whatever force was stirred up initially. The opportunity for a counter-punch. Typically this stage involves chase scenes.”

Clayton shoots Kerchak and chases Tarzan into a dense part of the jungle, where Clayton accidently gets a vine wrapped around his neck and hangs himself. Rushing back, Kerchak announces Tarzan as the new leader for the gorillas before he dies.

11. Resurrection

”The “Going out from the Hunt and Returning Stage”. Typically the hero(s) are set apart and may then go through another death and rebirth ordeal which further reinforces their separateness. There is commonly an element of judgement at this stage.”

As Jane and her father is preparing to leave the jungle on the ship, Tarzan tells them he will be staying in the jungle with the gorillas. But as the ship leaves Jane and Porter jumps overboard and swim back to land.

12. Return with the Elixir

”Will typically involve - a reward for the ordeal, distribution of gifts/prizes, returning something unselfishly to the group, a time for farewells and perhaps reacquaintance with the trajic hero who is doomed to repeat the adventure, if for instance they refused the initial call. It is also a chance for the audience and the hero to take stock, to say “we’ve been somewhere and we can compare our world to there”.”

The two new humans are accepted among the gorillas and Tarzan gets his girl and his new role as king of the jungle.

A little experiment

What happens to the story of Tarzan if we remove a character from the plot? If we remove the antagonist, Clayton, Tarzan would than not end up as the leader of the group of gorillas as Kerchak would still be alive. Without Clayton convincing Tarzan, Jane and the professor would not have the chance to be introduced to them either. So they would head back to London instead of be staying in the jungle. As he would already be alienated from the gorillas by his recent actions, Tarzan would be likely to follow Jane back to civilisation.

”The Lord of the Rings” in relation to the Mythic Circle

2010-04-20T06:45:00.000-07:00

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is three feature films based on the book with the same name that describes a quest to destroy a powerful and corruptous ring, making the wearer invisible. We wil try to split up the plot in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and relate it to the 12 stages of the Mythic Circle, as propounded by Joseph Campbell. As we will see, it easily conforms to the Mythic Circle approach even though some stages might be a bit overlapping. Sometimes maybe because of the strong character gallery in The Lord of The Rings. We could do a Mythic Circle approach for each major character as many of them have their own goals and journey in the story.

1. The Ordinary World

”The hero is introduced, the audience is obliged to ask themselves the question - “Who do I identify with?”. The hero is commonly restless and not fitting into the background against which they are placed. ”

The protagonist Frodo lost both his parents at a young age and was adopted by his uncle Bilbo, an excentric outsider in the hobbit community of the Shire.

2. Call to Adventure

”Something big is about to happen, a herald appears to summon our Hero forth. The audience ask themselves - “Who/what is this?” “What will now change?”.”

During Bilbo’s birthday party, he hands over the ring to Frodo, in a suspiciously reluctant manner, which inspires Gandalf to search for the true nature behind the ring. Gandalf returns to the Shire to tell Frodo that it was infact the ring made by Sauron (the antagonist), who wants his ring back to become powerful again and conquer Middle-earth. Frodo decides to leave and take the ring to Rivendell, home of a mighty elf lord. Frodo leaves with some of his friends, most importantly Sam.

3. Refuse the Call to Adventure

”The audience is given a list of reasons why it’s not possible to follow the call, they signal to the audience that the quest is challenging and may bring fear and danger.”

The nine Riders, Sauron's undead and most powerful servants, are sent out in the quest to find the ring. Frodo escapes just in time and is nearly intercepted. But knowing that the Riders have reached the Shire, their hometown is no longer safe and there is no way back without finishing of the mission they have started.

4. Enter the Mentor

”This entity acts as a guide to help the hero through their ordeal.”

In the village of Bree, Frodo meets Aragorn. He saves the hobbits from an attack by the Riders, and becomes their guide and protector on the remaining journey towards Rivendell.

5. Crossing the Threshold

”The crossing may be voluntary or involuntary. Perhaps the mentor provides the impetus, or the villain pushes the hero into action with another dastardly act. The hero up until now may have resisted, but this is the final straw.”

While camping they are attacked by the Riders and Frodo uses the corruptous ring before being stabbed by an magic blade, that will turn him into a evil wraith if not healed. Once again, Aragorn helps them to.

6. Tests/Allies/Enemies

” In giving a brief glimpse of their colours the audiences is able to fleetingly see what the hero’s capabilities are. Now that we’re in the New World we see its different values, currency, locations, rules and characters. The audience (and the hero) have to determine who can be trusted/not trusted.”

In Rivendell, the council decides that the ring needs to be thrown into a volcano located in Mordor, the realm of Sauron. Frodo realizes that he is destined for this task. He is accompanied by nine companions to guide and protect him and together they set out from Rivendell.

Gandalf sacrifice himself while battling a monster, allowing the fellowship to flee, and Boromir tries to steal the ring from Frodo, which leads Frodo to run off in an attempt to continue the quest alone. He is soon joined by Sam, at this seemingly impossible journey to Mordor.

7. The Approach

”The hero approaches the central ordeal, and the flow of the story pauses. The hero (and the audience) are asked - “Are we really committed, do we really want to go on with the journey?” This is the planning and reconaissance stage where bonding/intimacy/humor may occur. The masks characters have been wearing will shift or change and the audience is able to appreciate other aspects ?deeper character attributes.”

Stage 6, 7 and 8 in ”The Lord of the Rings” is very much overlapping each other as the characters are continuously put to test and as a result shows off different masks.

As Frodo and Sam makes their way towards Mordor, they are attacked by Gollum. Overcoming the confrontation, Frodo takes pity on him, and makes the decision to spare his life. Gollum changes from being their enemy to become their guide, mentor and ally to Sam's objections. After entering wood elf territory, Frodo allowes Gollum to be captured in an act too prevent Gollum from being killed. But this leaves Gollum feeling betrayed. The wood elves let them go, but warns Frodo about Gollum's treacherous nature.

8. Death and Rebirth

”The hero (usually goes somewhere) and confronts death, and may appear to die. • Others of the hero’s team/band lament thinking that the hero is now lost to the. ”

Frodo gets stung by a giant spider, sedating him, and after unsuccesfully trying to wake him up, Sam believes Frodo is dead. Some orcs found the paralyzed body, knowing he was not dead, they took him back to their tower where Frodo wakes up. Sam rescues Frodo from the tower.

9. Reward/Payoff for having survived death

”The cause for celebration, a chance for ego inflation and to assume “immortality status”. The hero gains more power, there is the opportunity for intimacy/comedy - a reaction or contrast to stage 8.”

Sam rescues Frodo, an intimate moment. Dressed up in orc-armour, a comedic moment, they escape.

10. The Road Back

”Reassertion of why the journey was undertaken, which may come from whatever force was stirred up initially. The opportunity for a counter-punch. Typically this stage involves chase scenes.”

As they are getting closer to the volcano, Frodo became progressively weaker from the ring and they run out of water. When they finally reach the volcano, Gollum reappear and attacks.

11. Resurrection

”The “Going out from the Hunt and Returning Stage”. Typically the hero(s) are set apart and may then go through another death and rebirth ordeal which further reinforces their separateness. There is commonly an element of judgement at this stage.”

As Sam continous to fight Gollum, Frodo continous towards the volcano. But he finds himself unable to destroy the ring, but instead claiming it for himself. Gollum gets past Sam, attacks Frodo, gets the ring but falls down into the lava with it. The hobbits are then saved by some giant eagles just before the volcano errupts.

12. Return with the Elixir

”Will typically involve - a reward for the ordeal, distribution of gifts/prizes, returning something unselfishly to the group, a time for farewells and perhaps reacquaintance with the trajic hero who is doomed to repeat the adventure, if for instance they refused the initial call. It is also a chance for the audience and the hero to take stock, to say “we’ve been somewhere and we can compare our world to there”.”

Aragorn is crowned king. The hobbits return home to the Shire, where Sam marries Rosie. Frodo leaves Middle-Earth for the elven kingdom with Gandalf and Bilbo, leaving all his property with Sam who stays in the Shire.

Who is Kat Mew?

2010-04-19T22:20:00.000-07:00

After leaving her home town of Bendigo, Kat Mew studied at Swinburn School of Design where she completed her undergraduate in Graphic Design. Continuing her studies Kat took part in the AIM postgraduate masters program here at RMIT.
Kat kick started her professional career in the era of the dotcom boom. Working on a variety of commercial web design projects Kat continued to refine her skills until the web bubble finally burst.

After a brief stint in the Advertising industry Kat secured a job with ACMI as an Interactive Designer. She has since worked her way up the ranks at ACMI and currently holds the title Head of Design.

Over her career as a artist and designer Kat has produced work in a variety of forms including short film, interactive web, music video and live video performance. Kat was part of a VJ group The Sex Pixels. The Sex Pixels were a Melbourne-based video performance crew knowned for their unique ephemeral style. They mixed their self-made animation and video footage with live video feeds to make engaging and dynamic performance artwork.

katmew.com

Inspirational pictures

2010-04-09T03:35:00.000-07:00

http://theroxor.com/2009/11/19/40-quality-space-wallpapers/
http://theroxor.com/2009/12/14/30-great-examples-of-data-visualisation/
http://theroxor.com/2010/01/12/30-breathtaking-long-exposure-photos-with-water/
http://theroxor.com/2010/02/01/15-quality-apple-wallpapers/
http://theroxor.com/2010/03/30/15-gorgeous-abstract-nature-wallpapers/
http://theroxor.com/2009/07/17/30-awesome-abstract-wallpapers/
http://theroxor.com/2009/11/30/15-awesome-and-inspiring-offices/

http://www.pxleyes.com/ext-tutorial/photoshop/6871/Creating-an-Awesome-Retro-Collage-.html

unity. tutorials. fashion. videos with style.

2010-03-23T02:18:00.000-07:00

fashion
http://stores.ebay.com/JWY-FASHION
http://cgi.ebay.com/Vampire-Teeth-Stainless-Steel-316L-Ring-Goth-Punk-ve008_W0QQitemZ350329916011QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGemstone_Rings?hash=item51914a4a6b
http://cgi.ebay.com/Crown-316L-Stainless-Steel-Ring-Gothic-Punk-ve060_W0QQitemZ180482308273QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGemstone_Rings?hash=item2a059578b1

videos with style
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=292&t=789957
http://darksorasan.deviantart.com/art/Sentry-147026482
http://unreconstructed.deviantart.com/art/OH-BRAVE-NEW-WORLD-63473617
http://kruddman.deviantart.com/art/Heroes-of-the-Cold-War-Trailer-79818175

character creator
http://gen8hedgehog.deviantart.com/art/Anime-Face-Maker-v1-0-75897890
http://foxrichards.deviantart.com/art/FaceMaker-52755515

unity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm5vEzzv1wY&NR=1
http://infiniteammo.ca/blog/impromptu-unity3d-intro-tutorial/
http://unity3d.com/support/resources/tutorials/
http://unitytutorials.com/tutoriallist.html
http://learnunity3d.com/category/tutorials
http://www.unifycommunity.com/wiki/index.php?title=Tutorials

unity. treatment. logo. energy.

2010-03-22T02:13:00.000-07:00

todo
. do a treatment of LOTR and Lion King
. create draft for room in unity
. write synopsis
. do a colorscript

text
http://fiftywordstories.com/category/mere-50-words/
http://aim.adc.rmit.edu.au/kcawley/Scr_chrctr.html

colorscript
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qkBN7bBq3e0/R52CvA8XoCI/AAAAAAAACCo/Rs232wcKlPE/s1600-h/Colorscript-Assembly.png
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skb2gKR7rOk

for my blog
http://www.steelfrog.com/photoshop-tutorial-trendy-girly-web-20-header/
http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/50-great-photoshop-text-effect-tutorials-part-ii/

maya
http://cavalars.deviantart.com/art/3d-low-character-tutorial-55315601
http://www.creativecrash.com/maya/tutorials/character/c/real-time-character-modeling-tutorial
http://www.instantshift.com/2009/03/06/45-incredible-maya-tutorials-around/

---

doing masquerade pic
http://www.steelfrog.com/good-and-evil/

do Trouble Circus logo
http://www.vecteezy.com/
http://vector.tutsplus.com/tutorials/designing/creating-a-rockstar-brand-logo-styleguide-in-illustrator/
http://www.jimmyshelter.nl/blog-88-Resources-for-creating-a-great-band-logo.html

fiks vokal
http://audio.tutsplus.com/articles/general/5-great-vocal-effect-tips-audio-plus/

loops
http://www.bandmateloops.com/category/141/MiniPacks

---

blogs
http://www.kirstihonningsoy.blogspot.com/
http://upp-ner.blogspot.com/

---

tips
http://www.wikihow.com/Have-More-Energy
http://au.askmen.com/top_10/entertainment/top-10-things-bosses-love-to-hear.html

need to know?

2010-03-16T23:53:00.000-07:00

need blog themes?

http://blogger-templates.blogspot.com/
http://www.finalsense.com/services/blog_templates/index.htm
http://stitchestm.blogspot.com/2007/12/free-blogger-template-directory.html

need inspiration for your the design of your blog?

http://blog.noaesthetic.com/
http://dev.freevlog.org/
http://sfdailyphotos.blogspot.com/

need a new phone?

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/0,39030108,49303190,00.htm

need to touch up that profile picture?

http://apps.facebook.com/picnik/

need to know what I love?

http://welovetypography.com/5/tag/movie/

need to know one should animate in Flash?

http://chluaid.newgrounds.com/

200 drawings

2010-03-14T01:35:00.001-08:00

New Life

2010-03-14T01:29:00.000-08:00

First blog post from Australia! Here are some nice sites I've been discovering lately:

http://www.jonathankim.tv/
Awesome dude who does a lot of awesome stuff!

http://abduzeedo.com/awesome-digital-bokeh-effect-photoshop
Whooo.. Nice effect! Could be useful..

http://durian.blender.org/about/
Interesting project!

my life as a vampire

2008-03-19T13:48:00.001-07:00

Okstadøy Grendalag

2008-01-22T10:19:00.000-08:00

2007-12-18T13:28:00.000-08:00

Audireklamekonseptbilde :)

2007-12-11T12:59:00.001-08:00

Muse setlist 4.10.07

[via FoxyTunes / Muse]

Muse (2)

[via FoxyTunes / Muse]

kjør hardt! kjør stil!

2007-12-04T09:03:00.000-08:00

The Real Ghostbusters Cartoon

2007-11-01T10:05:00.001-07:00

Animasjon

2007-10-02T09:45:00.000-07:00

Reklame laget av meg og gruppen.

Fantasia

2007-10-02T09:21:00.001-07:00

Plakat laget av meg.

V:28 - Shut It Down

2007-09-22T09:58:00.001-07:00

Musikkvideo laget på oppdrag for V:28 i forbindelse med hovedfagsoppgave. Laget av meg, Kim Helge Frimanslund og Bjarte Tjeldflåt.

Y.A.P.

2007-09-13T04:43:00.000-07:00

Tiden flyr

2007-08-13T07:23:00.000-07:00

Nå har det godt to måneder siden sist. Hva har egentlig skjedd? Vel. Masse. Men hvorfor skal jeg gidde å skrive om det her egentlig?

Statement of Audience

2007-06-17T14:33:00.000-07:00

I realize that nothing I say matters to anyone else on the entire planet. My opinions are useless and unfocused. I am an expert in nothing. I know nothing. I am confused about almost everything. I cannot, as an individual, ever possibly know everything, or even enough to make editorial commentary on the vast vast majority of things that exist in my world. This is a stupid document; it is meaningless drivel that I do not expect any of the several billion people on my planet to actually read. People who do read my rambling, incoherent dumbfuckery are probably just as confused as I am, if not moreso, as they are looking to my sorry ass for an opinion when they should be outside playing Frisbee with their dog or screwing their life partner or getting a dog or getting a life partner. Anyone who actually takes the time to read my bullshit probably deserves to ingest my fucked up and obviously mistaken opinions on whatever it is that I have written about.

Inger Beate og sånn

2007-06-02T07:24:00.000-07:00

Enda mer? ja!

2007-06-02T07:16:00.000-07:00

Jeg laster disse bildene opp på skolen, så jeg kan laste dem ned på pcn hjemme. Morro!

Hohoho :D morro!!

2007-06-02T07:14:00.001-07:00

Spam av merkelige bilder er morro!

MegaMan

2007-06-02T07:11:00.000-07:00

Glemte bilder

2007-06-02T07:08:00.000-07:00

Dette er helt usakelig, men jeg fant en del gamle bilder som lå på pc-kontoen min på skolen.

avid xpress pro hd

2007-05-31T10:20:00.000-07:00

sa noen layers?

under klipping av musikkvideoen tror jeg vi satt rekord i antall video-layers i redigeringen. dette er bare et utsnitt. totalt er det 24 layers.

utsettelse

2007-05-31T08:25:00.000-07:00

fristen er utsatt til mandag. jeg er sliten og lei. yay.

rock'n'klipp

2007-05-25T06:09:00.000-07:00

Sånn ser det ut når jeg jobber.. :P

Videoklippingz

2007-05-24T09:53:00.000-07:00

Har kommet veldig godt i gang med klippingen av film-materialet. En del av animasjonen er også fikset ferdig og rendret ut. Vi er inni i siste uke nå, og arbeidspresset er rimelig stort! Skal nok, med litt kløkt og sjarme, klare å dra videoen og rapporten i havn sånn noen par timer før innlevering ;)

batch

2007-05-20T11:33:00.000-07:00

Idag har jeg drevet å stanget hodet i veggen. Jeg fant ut at animasjonen med forfattern ikke ble animert når jeg la på bildeeffekt i Flash. Det jeg da måtte gjøre var å først eksportere animasjonen i bilder ut av Flash, for å så legge på ønsket effekt i Photoshop ved hjelp av å lage en Action for handlingen også legge dem på alle bildene (320 bilder) ved hjelp av Photoshops Batch-funksjon.

Mye irriterende dilldall med andre ord.

Og jeg som bare vil redigere video!

deconstruction

2007-05-17T15:11:00.000-07:00

dagen idag har gått fort. har klippet vingene av generalen. synkronisert video fra filmingen igår. fikset forfattern tilpasset 25 fps. og.. vel det vel det.. :)

Wings of HATE

2007-05-11T09:38:00.000-07:00

idag har jeg jobbet med herr General (se bildet). Han har fått bevegelige vinger som han streker ut når han blir kåt av dekonstruksjon! Ellers så har vi vært på skolen og fått konnestad til å bestille ram-brikker for oss som vi kan bruke til et par arbeidsmaskiner på skolen for å få gjort ferdig byen. vi har mast masse, sammen med mossgren, så en kraftig render-maskin vil bli satt opp, så vi slipper forhåpentligvis å stresse mer med rendering-problematikken.

har prøvd å få kontakt med vaktmestern, uten hell. men vi har utstyr til å lage bra musikkvideo uten, hadde bar vært flott med ekstra lys evt monitor.

og jeg må huske å hente ut forsterkern min. må masse på kristoffer for nøkkel!

har også lagt med en wallpaper som passer perfekt til alles vakre skrivebordsbakgrunn! :D

effektiv

2007-05-10T14:10:00.000-07:00

Har fått gjort et greit stykke arbeid idag. Itillegg til å ha vært på møte med veilederne. Har tegnet ferdig generalen, tegnet en boms (statist), tegnet og animert en skjelvende fyr som skal sitte i et rom og tegnet en fyr som sager av seg armen (på tull).

SUPER

2007-05-10T07:49:00.000-07:00

Igår har vi testet ut kamera og lys i tunnelen. Det funket tilfredstillende :) Har også løst problemet med jaggies på 2D-figurene som ble kastet inn i 3D-verdenen. Det gjorde vi ved å ta på Super Sampling. Herlig! Har også tegnet opp Herr General, som skal brukes som en skikkelse som dukker litt opp på skjermen. Må fikse litt på soldatene og rundt omkring. Blir sikkert gildt. Filming foregår på onsdag! :)

Frustrasjon

2007-05-04T04:49:00.000-07:00

Dette skriver jeg på min gamle nye k800i som jeg hentet på posten idag. Den er defekt. Dvs den funker til alt uten å ringe med! Hurra. Så nå har jeg 4 defekte sony-ericsson! Haha :-) livet er herlig dere! Ikke nok med det. Denne dagen blir okkupert med å hjelpe pappa å flytte. Drittkjedelig! Noen gi meg styrke. Eller er pistol.

Flash-Gordon! (trønderlag og zoldathen)

2007-05-02T04:17:00.000-07:00

Dette har jeg fått gjort:
- funnet ut hvordan man kan gjøre ytterkantene på 2D-figurene blur'ete som Bjarte ønsket. (ved å bruke movie clips og legge på sort 'glow')
- tegnet ferdig forfattern forfra.
- tegnet ferdig forfattern sett fra hans øyne (hånden og blokken).
- tegnet ferdig damen med barnet. storyboardet er det kvinnen som tar av seg masken, men jeg fant ut at det ville bli en logisk brist i og med at hun faktisk holder en unge i armene. jeg gjorde det derfor om til at hun tar masken av ungen.
- tegnet siluett av dinglende lik som skal henge fra taket i tv-rommet.

Dette skal jeg gjøre iløpet av denne dagen:
- animere damen.
- lage flere lik?
- skrive til rapporten?

Status er iallefall at mesteparten av tegningen er ferdig (i grove trekk), og fokus blir da å få teksturert byen fort som fy og få filmet ferdig bandet.

Soldatene må også kanskje gjøres litt om på. Skal de av-nazistifiseres? Kåre Mosgren mente at det kunne være en idé, men andre sier at de er bra som de er. Jeg mener at man uansett vil tenke på nazister så lenge man ser soldater marsjerer i en europeisk by i den tidsalderen. Det hjelper såklart ikke på at våre soldater har tyske hjelmer, armbånd og våpen. (Armbåndene vurderer jeg å fjerne.) Dette var til en hvis grad et bevist valg. For det første er det gjerne lettere å finne bra referansemateriale til tysk utstyr. Søker man på "World War rifle" på Google er det bilder av Mauser og Springfield man finner (sistnevnte ligner på Mauser i mine øyne, til tross for at det er amerikansk). Søker man på "ww 2 helmet" er første treff "The Online Guide to World War II German Helmets". Det er den ene grunnen. Den andre årsaken er at tyske uniformer og utstyr er langt mer estetisk flott enn amerikansk og russisk. Hadde soldatene vært kledd i amerikansk uniformer kunne også musikkvideoen bli tolket som en nazistisk (som en sarkastisk kritikk av amerikanernes okkupasjon av Tyskland under Andre Verdenskrig f.eks.) eller som en anti-amerikansk video av amerikanere, som vil være en betydelig del av målgruppen for musikkvideoen vår.

Det ER en klisjé med tysk-inspirerte soldater som representerer det Onde, men klisjeer gjør plot enklere for folk å forstå. Dette er ikke en spillefilm, vi har ganske kort tid til å introdusere folk til vårt univers, og derfor kan det være lurt å delvis spille på klisjeer, folks fordommer og vår er egen historie.

OM "SHUT IT DOWN"'s UNIVERS:

Universet musikkvideon utspiller seg i er en slags retro scifi-verden, med byggninger fra forskjellige tidsepoker og steder (noe jugend, noe amerikansk). Vi har hentet inspirasjon fra kunst, tresnitt og fotografier fra første og andre verdenskrig, samt filmen Dark City og ikke minst teksten og lydbilde i selve låten "Shut it Down". Dette har vi prøvd å kombinerer til en maskinell post-apokalyptisk verden som fremstiller menneskene forfalt og underlagt en mystisk overmakt, kalt Maskinen. Maskinene styrer de mekaniske soldatene og sprer seg som røtter til et tre utover byen og suger liv og næring ut av den og de fortapte menneskene som bor der.

PINGAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaa.. (det var godt!)

Klokken natt

2007-04-26T18:04:00.000-07:00

Idag var vi på møte med Mosgren & Co. Han foreslo at vi satte opp gant-diagram for gruppen for den siste tiden.

Jeg har tegnet ferdig forfatterns hode (som kan se rett fram, og ned i papirene) og begynt å tegne kroppen. Drev også å lagde murstein-tekstur (lærte meg å bruke offset-funksjonen), men den ser ut til å ikke blir brukt. Jaja. Nå er det fem og en halv time til bussen min til Oslo går. Det blir stas. Håper jeg får gjort en del der oppe også :)

Det er søndag! Det er arbeidsdag!

2007-04-22T08:37:00.000-07:00

For å få unna en del arbeid arbeider vi timesvis med hovedfagsoppgaven også i helgene. Jeg driver for tiden å animerer soldaten marsjere mot kamera. Det er utrolig vanskelig å få bra til, og til ettertanke er det kanskje uten dette sjelden brukes/vises i animasjonsfilmer. Forkortninger, endringer av linjer, perspektiv, bevegelsene..

THE FLASH ODDITY:
En oppdagelse jeg har gjort med programmet Macromedia Flash er at hva resultatet blir av dine handlinger i programmet (feks ved bruker av "malespannet") varierer etter hvor stort/hvor mye zoomet inn/hvor mye av detaljen du jobber med som dekker skjermen. Zoomer man inn får man (av programmet) større detalj-kontroll enn om man er zoomet ut (på arbeidsområdet). Dette er greit når man jobber røft, men det kan være frustrende og tidkrevene å måtte zoome inn og ut for å gjøre små endringer. En annen sær ting er at man ikke kan gjøre noe som påvirker punkter utenfor synsfeltet/arbeidsrommet når man er zoomet inn. Feks om man vil bruke malespannet til å fylle et område inngjerdet av punkter/linjer så må man gjerne zoome ut så man ser punktene før programmet er villig til å fylle området. Dette kan dog kanskje ha en sammenheng med den beskrevet tidligere.

Ikke nærheten samme kontroll som man har i Photoshop, feks.

Akk og ve! Gi meg styrke!

Marching forwards!

2007-04-19T14:16:00.000-07:00

Soldaten er nå tegnet og er delvis animert til å marsjere framover mot kamera. Dette var veldig slitsomt da jeg ikke lenger kunne ty til objektanimering, men måtte tegne tegning for tegning.

Det finnes én ting som er vanskeligere enn å tegne en hånd fra merkelige vinkler: det er å animere en hånd fra merkelige vinkler!

Er bare 6 uker til alt skal være ferdig og klart, og jeg kjenner stresset på kroppen allerede. 6 uker går fort når man har mye å gjøre!

Et tema jeg tenker på er bruken av tid: Skal man bruke lang tid på noe som ikke er viktig for handlingsforløpet, men som er veldig stilig? Eller skal man finne på alternative løsninger for å kunne flytte fokus over på ting som faktisk er viktig for handlingsforløpet? Jeg er tilhenger av det siste. Vi har sløst bort nok tid allerede.

SKAMBANKT

2007-04-13T07:36:00.000-07:00

Skambankt spiller ikveld. Det blir bra!

Dette har hendt siden igår:
Jeg har tegnet opp våpenet til soldatene og tegnet venstrehåndet (som holder våpenet) om et par ganger. Ble bra til slutt! Har utvekslet ideer med Krz og kanskje det blir et uhøytidlig møte på onsdag. Har innsett hvorfor 2D-animasjoner sjeldent har skyggelegging: Det er dritslitsomt. Er usikker på nøyaktig hvordan jeg skal løse det, men det blir nok bra på en måte. Soldaten begynner å komme på plass, mangler egentlig bare skyggelegging. Også må jeg tegne på bayonette på våpnene.. blir bra vettu! :D

Påske

2007-04-12T09:39:00.000-07:00

I ferien har jeg tegnet opp høyrehånden til soldaten. høres lite ut, men var stress å få alle linjene på plass. denne uken vi nærmer oss slutten på nå har ikke vært effektiv. som eneste gruppemedlem på arbeidsrommet er det vanskelig å holde seg motivert til enhver tid. har fått skrevet pressemeldingen ferdig idag.

har prøvd å lære meg/installere linux på den bærbare pcn, noe som var et bortkastet tidssluk. det er da man innser at windows faktisk ikke er så ille.. :P

har forøvring hatt bursdag denne uken. og imorgen er det skambant-konsert og grilling med øvd! det blir kos! :)

Vektor

2007-03-29T06:01:00.000-07:00

De siste dagene har gått til å modelere i Flash. Jeg har laget hodet og har kommet igang med kroppen. Figurene er basert på tidligere egne skisser og konsepttegninger, samt fotografier fra internettsider som german-helmets.com og newlineminiatures.com som referanse til detaljer.

Vi har sett gjennom Dark City, for å få inspirasjon til hvordan byen skal se ut. Tror dette kommer til å bli sweet!

Veiledning

2007-03-22T15:20:00.000-07:00

Idag har vi snakket med veiledere. Kåre mente vi kunne finne ting på nett som kunne brukes i videon, 3D-modeller altså, istedenfor å mekke dem alle selv. Knut mente manus ikke var noe viktig i vår sammenheng, men heller fokusere på storyboard sammen med tekstnotater. Sånn sett er vi ganske nær mål på det feltet.

Jeg har sett gjennom noen tutorials til Flash, men har ikke lært noe nytt. Vi har også hentet inspirasjon. Lyskastere er en god idé!

Røtter

2007-03-21T07:36:00.000-07:00

det grunnleggende storyboardet er så godt som ferdig nå. manuset er enda ikke komplett, men det kan ta bjarte ta sa seg av. vi kom på ideen om å la maskinverket ha røtter som skal strekke seg ut i byen og inn gjennom byggningene. kan bli bra om vi fikser det :)

Manus

2007-03-19T05:25:00.000-07:00

Manuset begynner å komme på plass. Igår kom vi fram til strukturen i fortellingen. Vi tegnet opp et kart over "byen" vi skal lage, og utvidet universet vårt blant annet med et "industriområde" som skal ha et overproposjenert stort tungt maskineri.

Manus og storyboard vil være ferdig til torsdag.

behold!

2007-03-16T14:37:00.000-07:00

begynt å lage konsept for damen og barnet. avtalt møte med veileder. torsdag klokken 0900. bør faen meg huske det. kim har åpnet 3d studio max. det er flott!

soldaten i gaten.

2007-03-15T16:11:00.000-07:00

Idag har jeg fått jobbet en del med konsept-tegninger og storyboarding. Skal gjøre litt mer research i Flash imorgen, for å finne gode løsninger på animering med vektor-grafikk.

Tidlige konseptegninger [V:28 musikkvideo]

2007-03-14T14:13:00.000-07:00

[klikk på bildene]

Som hovedfagsoppgave i bachelor multimediateknologi skal meg,
Bjarte og Kim lage en musikkvideo for metallbandet V:28 og deres
kommende slager Shut it Down.

Denne bloggen vil holdes oppdatert med siste nytt på den fronten.
For å sparke ting litt igang viser jeg fram noen veldig tidlige
konsepskisser som jeg har laget (sikkert 2-3 personer som er
interessert). More to come! :)

dagens band: IN MINOR

2007-03-13T05:41:00.000-07:00

Hør musikken!

Når man skal sitte lenge å tegne er inspirende musikk essensielt!
In Minor gikk ikke videre fra semifinalen i Battle of the Bands her
på Sørlandet, men spillegleden disse gutta viste på scenen overgikk det meste!

Battle of the Bands (Luftslottet)

Legger også med et par bilder fra konserten på Luftslottet i høst. De lånte bassforsterkern min for konserten, noe jeg fikk betalt i øl for. Mmmm.. øl! :)

Hvis du synes disse bildene er uskarpe, burde du se resten :P Mobilkamera er ikke ideelt til fotografing på konsert har jeg lært meg.

ny pc, nytt prosjekt, ny økonomi

2007-03-13T03:48:00.000-07:00

Kjøpte en brukt laptop igår! Veldig billig og bra kjøp synes jeg! 2600 for en fullstendig oppegående PC likzom. Den er flott og helt svart og skal brukes som ekstra-PC under hovedprosjektet, da jeg sikkert vil flytte PC'n opp til Bjarte. Så nå er jeg fordømt blakk, og jeg klarer ikke å skjønne hvorfor i hælvættæ jeg fikk så lite lønn fra Meny. Har de glemt noe, eller har jeg bare arbeidet en helg i februar? Kanskje jeg bare har det?? Jaja. Jeg er uansett fattig.

Hovedprosjektet er nå også igang. Har brukt denne formiddagen på å være sulten og gjøre meg bekjent med Anime Studio Pro. Oppdateringer om hovedprosjektet vil komme utover i denne bloggen.

insomnia

2007-03-05T23:38:00.000-08:00

jeg har vært våken i hele natt og jobbet med skole. jobbet faktisk med skole i 12 timer i strekk! må si at det for meg er vel en ny rekord! nå er klokken snart ni og det er på tide å legge seg.. men jeg føler meg mistenkelig våken :S

Min beibi dro avsted!

2007-03-05T06:35:00.000-08:00

Idag morges klokken 0430 dro min beibi avsted.

Trist.

Ute er det regn og inne hos meg er det så mye skolearbeid at jeg blir sliten før jeg kommer igang.

Altfor trist.

Og jeg kan med stor sannsynlighet ikke bo i kjellerleiligheten onkelen min til neste år likevel.

Trist som faen.

Kaos

2007-02-23T02:45:00.000-08:00

Det er snø overalt. Av den grunn er det ikke undervisning idag. Dette hjelper ikke meg mye, som har innleveringer å gjøre. Sørlandet har måtte gi etter for kaoset.

Jeg har klippet meg. Veldig mye. Så nå har jeg veldig kort hår, mens jeg igår morges hadde veldig langt hår. Noe synes det var kult, mens andre tror jeg ikke synes det var så kult. Jaja. Time will Change me, but I can't Trace Time.

Skole. Mange mener det er uhørt å betale 80 000 for et år på en skole man liker. Er jo forsåvidt en del penger, men det er ingenting om det kan hjelpe seg til å få en jobb man liker! Man lever bare en gang, og jeg vil ikke ha en tørr kontorjobb.

NKF here I come!!

Ting man glemmer

2007-02-22T03:47:00.000-08:00

Folk sier livet går raskere jo eldre man blir. Det begynner jeg å tro på. En ting er at vi kaster bort tiden vår på alt mulig dritt. En annen er at vi glemmer. Vi glemmer alt. Eller sånn føles det.

Spesielt tiden. Jeg har et ganske avslappet forhold til tiden. Jeg kommer derfor alltid for sent til alt jeg ikke burde komme for sent til.