San Jose Short Film Festival Extra Credit

--San Jose Short Film Festival Receipt Photocopy--

Definitely, worth going. A lot of great shorts which were both inspirational and powerful! Something to see for sure. One day left! I highly recommend it. Entry fee will be 8 dollars. A reasonable price to pay for what you get in return!

Creating Stereoscopic 3D Images

A lot of experimenting with this one. Took many shots. A lot were failures. But eventually had a few successes after eventually getting a hold of a tripod and learning to use layers in Adobe Photoshop. Found a number of different strategies to working with lighting, composition, and the various perspectives within my images.

Most of the images are in red/cyan but one can be viewed in green/magenta. Often times you may have to flip the glasses around as well since I experimented a lot with rotation and shifting of the anaglyph stereoscopic images.

-Only a handful of the images I have taken which I found decent enough to post-

EXPERIMENTS THAT WORKED (Best viewed if enlarged by clicking on image):

(1)


(2)


(3)


(4)


(5)

For image above use either the green/magenta or red/cyan glasses

__________________________________________________________

ONES THAT STOOD OUT TO ME (Top Choices):

(1)


Thanks to Jeanette for helping out! Shot on campus near event center.

(2)


I like the way the dresser is in perspective as well as the different uses of stuffed animal/subjects (interacting with one another within the composition which creates a story while giving off a eye-popping-depth like appeal)

(3)


The lighting effect and the way the chandelier pops out at you in relation to the kitchen in the background gave a very tangible/engaging experience.

Lighting a Scene in Maya

I actually did it! And remodeled my original initials from the previous assignment (rounded edges and added texture/color so it is much more aesthetically pleasing and geometrically accurate.

The design of my initials didn't take as much time as the lighting though. Spent a whole day/night trying to perfect the single point/two point/three point while maintaining similar camera angles as well as accurate lighting techniques and transition into each new setup.

I am a film major and have had prior experience in Grip & Electric so I understand the concept of lighting pretty well (though I know I will always have room to learn more). I did not have previous experience in Maya but learned through tutorials and the tips of others. So I managed to complete my project and am quite satisfied overall.

Thank you again for another opportunity for new experiences.

ONE-POINT LIGHTING:



TWO-POINT LIGHTING:



THREE-POINT LIGHTING:

Building a Scene in Maya

The Dots between letters represent periods (T.J.)

Science Fact or Cinematic Fiction

        “What goes up, must come down!” That's a straightforward statement for a very convoluted and complex force that has been a riddle for hundreds of years. The term "gravity" connotes the notion of weight. Gravity is the force of attraction between any two objects with mass. It is considered much weaker than any of the other fundamental forces, thus neglected in relation to simple particles, which take place at short distances; in contrary to large scale settings like in space. This could explain why the laws of gravity in films and video games are manipulated so frequently and appear unnoticed to the general populace. Gravity, through creative dispensation, is frequently portrayed improperly whether it is too illustrate a battle or to extend the performance of a scene. In the anime, Naruto, An Anbu assassin executes an attack that ultimately defies the fundamental nature of gravity. In the film Kung Fu Hustle, Sing is able to achieve powers beyond comprehension and perform nonsensical yet compelling maneuvers. In Super Smash Brothers Melee, the game characters are able to carry out jumps that defy gravity altogether. In most cases gravity as well as other laws of physics is exaggerated in films and video games for the sheer purpose of carrying out the storyline or for artistic reasons. With motivations like these backing it up, the viewers neglect the seemingly unrealistic situations and regard them as plausible occurrences.

        In the ninja anime Naruto, there is an elite group of assassins for the Nation of Konoha. They are called the Anbu. The ANBU Black Ops, take orders directly from the Kage who is a leader of one of five most powerful hidden villages (nations), partaking in difficult assignments, such as assassinations. Apparently in one scene of the anime during a battle between an Anbu assassin and his foe, there is a point where an ANBU assassin simply blinked his eyes and vanished with the use of Hirashin, which is a hidden flying thunder God technique (As demonstrated below by the 3rd Hokage of Konoha.)


          He reappeared a few dozen feet away but still on the path of the wave and began forming hand signs of Gravity Discharge: Gravity Field technique. According to a Naruto Fan page dictionary, “the Gravity Discharge is a technique that allows the user to manipulate, control, and produce gravity.” These techniques can apparently be used to take a person's physical mass to zero, generate gravitational fields, and draw in and drive back objects. It can also be used to enhance a person's physical strength and potency. By reducing the draw of gravity below him, the user can run or fly at any velocity or elevation at which he can still respire.

          Through a logical perspective, if you were to release the force of gravity acting on your own body completely and tried to run, the fact that there is nothing drawing you to the surface of the earth, it would mean that you would instantaneously launch off frantically into space, where you would then be subjected to raw space or vacuum, causing your insides to burst out before you can reach the top of the stratosphere. As a matter of fact, the release of gravity would in principle not increase your speed neither because resistance of speed is caused by resistance and friction, which is maneuvered by electromagnetic force, not gravity. Therefore liberating yourself from the force of gravity is firstly, not a practical realistic way to increase your speed and secondly instead of an awesome technique that allows one to manipulate space and time and the laws of physics itself, it would just cause an involuntary act of suicide. Though physics do apply in Naruto, they are bent to certain a point but since it is merely an anime and the conception of gravity manipulation has already been established and kept consistent throughout the entire series, it has been widely accepted and even appreciated.

          In the world of Kung Fu Hustle, there are no regulations. Some characters cannot be eradicated. Some can soar through the sky. Some can run exceptionally fast. Some can endure extreme punishment. Some can alter space and time. In an actual animated cartoon, these things are taken for granted, that anything is feasible and the hilarity is literally not having any boundary on what might happen next. This being a movie with real life people, one may take the time to consider and notice the unrealistic effects occurring within the story line. Sing who is the movie’s key hero and kung fu master, has an ultimate move called the Palm Move That Falls From Heaven. It consists of him “skyrocketing above the clouds”, stepping calmly on a bird, and then making a slow but lethal descent to earth for the big attack called the Buddhist Palm.


          The issue in this scene begins with the unexpected speed and distance Sing is launched into the sky. First of all it’s silly enough to perceive a launch that sends a person a few hundred feet into the air. But what becomes very absurd is the fact that as he slows into the apex he manages to jump onto a bird and ascend once more for another few meters up in a very serene manner like a balloon. Then eventually when he finally begins to descend, he falls at a much slower rate than when he was ascending. This very sluggish increase in acceleration as he falls is a bad representation of the odd rule.


          The director obviously disregarded the concept of correct spacing between each frame when this scene was put together. In actuality Sing would have fell at the same speed as he ascended but in this case he is descending at an exponentially slower speed. Even so it ties in well with the rest of the movie and though it doesn’t make sense from a realistic perspective, the error is easily overlooked and compensated for dramatic/aesthetic reasoning. Furthermore, the character’s ability to fly and control speeds is already an accepted condition within the genre of Kung Fu movies. Fantasy abilities therefore become an accepted aesthetic value. In the world of the martial arts film, mysticism, and heroism are available to all its inhabitants this insinuates that it is okay to break rules for the purpose of art if it corresponds with storyline content.

          Smash Brothers Melee is an all out brawl amongst familiar Nintendo characters, including Mario, Yoshi, Donkey Kong and Link. Super Smash Brothers Melee is a 2d platform fighting game where you attack rack up percentage damage on your opponent. The higher their percentage, the farther back they'll be pushed. Players can recover by jumping and executing other special moves. And although it completely challenges the laws of gravity and whatever other laws are out there, the characters in Super Smash Bros. Melee can leap while in the middle of the air. Whether you got into the air by jumping once or by plummeting off an upper ledge, tapping the X/Y buttons will allow you the choice of jumping again. This is a pretty basic move that goes against all logic since one is being propelled upward without any sort of force. This actually defies Newton’s third law—the action-reaction principle.


          But what is even more ridiculous is that you can gain even more height to your jumps by performing a third jump after the double jump. Most of the characters B and Up combo attacks will propel them in an upward motion. This permits you to give you one last effort to get back to the ledge or platform. Not sure where to begin with this one. First of all to explain in a deeper level, the double jumping mechanic is one of the most vital actions of the game's controls. It allows the hero to do a second jump while in mid-air that works the same way as the first jump (offers many possible trajectories). This second jump thus allows the player to vary his/her course of action or give him more distance and/or height. It can also be used to reach seemingly unreachable spots (platforms located beneath ledges as an example). The second jump is, in itself, as non-limited as the first jump in its capabilities and possibilities and can be executed at any instant during the first jump's trajectory, thus permitting an almost infinite number of possible trajectories when combining the two jumps.

          To broaden one’s jump's length, height or otherwise change its path after being lifted from the ground, is just physically impossible unless some other force acts on your character upon time of the second leap (i.e. platform, item, another character). Essentially while in mid-air, gravity (plus minor air resistance) are the only two forces acting on the player if there are no other objects in the vicinity; this is a very inconceivable procedure but many turn the other cheek because in most cases double jumping in video games is a very beneficiary maneuver.

        Character jumps and falls, of course, in a video game from a mass scale point of view would not be expected to follow the laws of physics. There is something special about it, something that we can recognize and accept even if it isn’t realistic. As in the case of Super Smash Bros. Melee, or films and cartoons like Kung Fu Hustle and Naruto, they are essentially a simulation designed for entertainment. With entertainment and simulation combined in such an informal manner, any exaggerated readjustment in physics if executed properly can still seem believable.












Since I have changed certain topics from my original outline I have chosen to rewrite it to suit the needs of my final draft of the second term paper.

Outline for the Second Term Paper

Intro - Laws of physics are dynamically broken to attain a more amusing result in today’s gaming and cinema. The law of gravity is one rule in which is typically disregarded or broken.

• Naruto: For the sake of awesome dramatic affect characters have special moves that can defy the laws of gravity altogether.

• Kung Fu Hustle: Sing can alter his falling speed in relevance to his initial speed.

• Super Smash Brothers Melee- Players have the option of having their character jumping in the air.

A) In the anime, Naruto, ninjas can disappear and reappear and commence attacks that ultimately can lead to suicide

• Anbu assassin is capable of using hand signs to do an attack that utterly defies the law of gravity.

B) Kung Fu Hustle, a Stephen Chow film, Sing has special powers that allow him to be launched into high altitudes and control the speed of his fall for dramatic effect

C) In the video game Super Smash Brothers by Nintendo, the characters have the capability to alter their movement patterns depending on buttons you press; for the sake of game play and control.

• When fighting in an arena, the players can double jump and control the direction of movement of a character while in the air for the sake of avoiding their foe’s next attack.

Conclusion

• In order to progress the storyline, laws of gravity will be broken to give a sense of story development.

• Even though there is a sense of unrealism, it helps make the narrative or story convincing and absolute.

• Restate Thesis

Outline for the Second Term Paper

Intro - Laws of physics are dynamically broken to attain a more amusing result in today’s gaming and cinema. The law of gravity is one rule in which is typically disregarded or broken.


• Shaolin Soccer: The soccer players relentlessly defy the laws of gravity with their different super abilities that allows them to jump really high or soar through the sky for long periods of time.
• Naruto: For the sake of having uninterrupted conversation, at times
characters soar through the sky for long periods of time between jump intervals.
• Super Smash Brothers Melee- Players have the choice of having their character fall faster at whim.

A) Shaolin Soccer, a Stephen Chow film, utilizes exaggerated jumps and ball kicks to aid in the story:

• A soccer ball spends a long period of time in the sky after being kicked by Mighty Steel Leg Fing.

• Light Weight Brother has the ability to practically drift in the air at will.

B) In the anime, Naruto, ninjas can hover in the air for long periods of time. They are utilized typically in scenes where there is a dramatic conversation or fighting.

• Naruto, the central character, and his team experiences hang times of over 5-10 seconds when jumping from tree to tree during scenes with dialogue.

• When Naruto transform into Ultimate frog form, he is virtually capable of staying in the air during the entire battle against his arch nemesis, Pain.

C) In the video game Super Smash Brothers by Nintendo, the characters have the capability to alter their falling patterns depending on where the player wants them to move; for the sake of game play and control.

• When fighting in an arena, the players can double jump and control the direction of movement of a character while in the air for the sake of avoiding their foe’s next attack.

• In the F-Zero Stage, the characters can jump from air ship to airship without any resistance even though these vehicles are moving at super fast speeds.


Conclusion

• In order to progress the storyline, laws of gravity will be broken to give a sense of story development/personal fulfillment.

• Even though there is a sense of unrealism, it helps make the narrative or story convincing and absolute.

• Restate Thesis

Character Animation

In order to create this video, I was required to be very patient and also very wise in the choices I made. I needed to be aware of various circumstances and accommodate for all of them. I needed to concentrate on making the beat of the music match with the stop motion animation but also be aware of the fact that it is also very important to keep the realism within the actions done by my character. I took very close attention to every movement; even within the cart wheel. I also had to plan out a storyboard depicting what angle I want my character to be portrayed in certain parts of the song/animation. Everything went according to plan and I'm happy about that. I would tweak a few more things if I had more time but considering we only had a week to do this, there wasn't much time to do all the things I wanted.


Here is the layout of my work station (my desk)



For the Best Quality (Recommended - Use Link Below):
http://vimeo.com/16489755


Low Quality Version:

Reverse Video Reference of Walking

Spent way too many hours trying to perfect timing and movement on this assignment. But turned out pretty well in my opinion :) I also slightly altered the hue/texture of the clips to convey a similar feeling of an animation sequence.

First of all my main goal was to mimic what was portrayed in each video as closely as I can. But in order to do that I had to figure out the distance required for each shot, pay attention to the particular details that may be easily overlooked, and also the timing. For the most part I tried to prioritize the style of the animation but also needed to understand the limitations I had especially in Clip A since I was by myself which would be quite difficult unless I have the capability of defying the laws of gravity (principles behind center of gravity.) In Clip B I had the aid of my housemate who I appreciate the help. And in Clip C my housemate ended up passing out so I had to do some improvising in post (editing) to compensate for the loss of camera movement.

Clip A:



                           


Clip B:



                           


Clip C:



                           

The Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe

Super Smash Brothers Brawl is the 3rd installment in the series for the Nintendo Wii entertainment system. It is a brilliant and unrivaled fighting game that goes against all odds. It uses game characters from the Nintendo franchise and puts them in an arena for an all out battle to the finish. Relying on skills of the players and the extent of how far each player will go to put up against their foes lays out the underlying principles of the game. The battles revolve around 2-4 players skirmishing while executing a number of different combination of moves as they attempt to smash, thump, bop, tap, slam, blow, stomp, whack, crack, or even bash others off the playing field. If a player gets booted off stage he/she can make the indispensable effort to jump back on because what lies below will cost you more than a bash to the stomach. Each character effectively have the ability to also jump, run, climb, grab, punch and kick like a normal person do with exception to the fact that while in the game you may also employ a countless unique set of attacks that may or may not combine with the ability to soar through the sky, distort one’s shape and size, attain special powers from unimaginable substances and items, and/or release out a fireball that essentially covers half the screen as it overpowers every character that comes in contact with it, while still holding a perfectly inert stance. While the Super Smash Brothers Brawl game is amusing and compelling with its exaggerated depiction of a fighting arena, we can see that the universe that exists within smash brothers is far from that of reality. Comprised of a physics engine that is significantly bent to follow this twisted path of mayhem, the creators of the game wanted to observe the extent of what they can do when it comes down to the squash and stretch animation; as well as the law of inertia that is appropriately represented at times with the swaying of the facial hair on a character’s face but distorted when it comes to the unrealistic ability of a character to jump while in midair; as well as the implementation of gravity and action and reaction principle. The game takes place on a planet that initially appears relatively similar to our own with exceptions to the unfamiliar scenic backgrounds behind each battle arena. Round after round, one may see that the game violates the properties of physics constantly within our world and its own to intensify the action for the players and generate a visually gratifying experience.



As we dive into the game one can notice something very abnormal about the world that is exhibited. It is quite evident that the stage itself is basically a floating platform which clearly defies the laws of gravity.



According to Newton’s theory of gravitation, in everyday life, gravitation is well-known as the agent that gives weight to objects with mass and causes them to fall to the ground when dropped. The sheer fact that there is no sort of support to maintain the platform’s static position in the air, the creator’s intentions were merely for amusement or artistic reasoning. It would be quite understandable if this idea was consistent in this world, however it is not. Conversely, the characters are quite familiar with the notion of gravity and plunges toward the surface of the platform when there is no object or matter that will keep them suspended in the air.



The innovation and application of Newton's law of gravity accounts for the in depth information we have about planets and its gravitational properties. This planet in which this game takes place on explicably encompasses the concept of gravity through its characters and any tangible item that exists in the world—minus a few exceptions including the stage platform as well as the Final Smash Ball which well…is obviously not doing physics justice as it floats in the air and moves back and forth across the screen until someone breaks it and stops it in its tracks.



It may be justified that perhaps the floating platform’s inimitable reason for existence is to permit the player to hop onto them to get to their opponent. After all, you can't fly. Oh wait…never mind, apparently there are exceptions to certain characters like Kirby and Jigglypuff who have the unrealistic ability to float in the air for moments at a time by puffing up into a balloon like figure.



Floating platforms aren't just unreceptive to gravity, but to all laws of physics. Despite what happens to them-- e.g. explosion from a bomb--they'll either just stay stationary or motionless or keep moving in their preordained pattern, overlooking the basic concept of inertia, which is defined as the resistance of any physical object to a change in its state of motion or rest. Some stages try to rationalize this, often by putting some sort of propulsion or driving force below the floating platforms, or by changing the platforms into clouds—although that would ironically raise another argument and one may question how the clouds would be solid enough to sustain the weight of the character.



Another example of when the law of inertia is broken includes the fundamental combat attack system that comprises of the character to jump, then crouching in the air, and then briskly hammering or diving directly into the ground (called ground pound). It is quite a feat to be able to control your character’s direction of motion with such energy and force when you have predefined forces (the jump) already acting on your character in the opposite direction while you’re in the air.



Double jump is also another example of an impossible act of movement that defies both the law of gravity and inertia. It is the ability to jump while you're still above ground from your initial jump, hence gaining extra altitude. Precisely how this is supposed to work is uncertain but a concept which been widely accepted for a while now because it helps progress the story along by aiding the character while making the game play much easier.



Another law of physics that this game unfailingly break that I believe is worth mentioning would be the concept of Squash and Stretch. Apparently certain characters, more specifically Kirby have the mysterious ability to swallow and spit any other character in the game regardless of their size. The purpose is so that he can obtain a skill or ability of the character he engulfed. Kirby’s innate ability to do this is quite interesting since it practically implies that his body is so elastic that it can stretch even 3 or 4 times his normal size.


Jigglypuff have the strange ability to enlarge herself to almost half screen size when she acquires the Smash ball. In real life, if she were to expand in size like this, she would more than likely explode. This notion of exponential growth in size over a course of a few seconds is unimaginable unless her body is ridiculously elastic and even then, it is a very unlikely predicament.


Finally last but not least I would like to touch up on is the notion of the action-reaction principle which states that for every action that is applied there will always be an opposite and equal reaction. One idea which is quite often done is the baffling design where characters can run through each other upon contact without damage or consequence. In actuality the characters would more than likely bump/rebound one another and even bounce back upon impact. Despite this impossibility that occurs in the game, the action flows together naturally and does not noticeably bring the spectators out of immersion since it allows the player to engage in battle with much ease than having to think about the extra mechanics that could be involved that may merely interfere with the style of gameplay.



Another example of a misusage of the action-reaction principle is when a character grabs a final smash ball and gain extraordinary powers--e.g Mario would attain an ability to shoot a large fireball or Samus will shoot out a gigantic laser beam—while refraining from experiencing recoil after execution of attack. In reality the characters themselves who discharged such powerful attacks would receive a reaction that is as significant; more than likely sending them flying backwards off the screen in the opposite direction. The only way they may resist this rebound is if the characters themselves have a much larger mass than compared to the force that is behind the wave of blast released.



The designers of the game twisted the laws to give the game more texture and quality. The designers altered the gravity and motion so there is more to do when it comes to the movement of the character and how it interacts with it environment. The odd squash and stretch element is incorporated to add a comedic and amusing aspect to the gameplay; and lastly the action and reaction principles were defied to make the game exaggerated so there is more control, intensity, and appeal to the gameplay. We see that in a video game universe, all forms of laws can and should be broken to help alleviate game play and accentuate the extremities of the game so it is a lot more interesting. Not only do bending these concepts and laws help bring about a better game playing experience, but by maneuvering around the rules that regulate a universe, the designers introduce to the players something beyond the ground rules of reality.

It appears that the laws of physics from the “real world” setting are broken quite frequently in every manner conceivable in the game of Super Smash Brothers Brawl and in many cases not kept consistent in the world of the game itself. The outlandish physics engine was established for exaggerated humor and compelling/dynamic effect and was also created with intention to make the game more immersive and engaging.








The word count is a little greater than 1500 words because I felt there was a lot to discuss about in the world of gaming when it came to concepts in physics. I revised and cut out essentially everything that I felt could go and left only the nitty gritty. All the information I have kept I feel is very important to my paper.

[Here is a revised version of my Outline below since I deviated quite a bit from its original order and format]


The Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe OUTLINE

The Physics Engine in "Super Smash Brothers" video game franchise

I. Introduction of the game
B. Introduce thesis & Hypothesis

II. Body

A. Unrealistic exploitation of the laws of Inertia & Gravity: Motion & its relation to characters

1) A weird example of video game Jump Physics, the Double Jump is the ability to jump while you're still airborne from your first jump, thus gaining additional height or distance. Exactly how this is supposed to work is unclear; games that justify it through rocket boots, etc. are the rare exception.
• Justified in several cases due to wings, psychic power etc.
• All characters in Super Smash Bros. Some, like Jigglypuff and Pit, have even more
jumps.

2) In certain circumstances when referring to items, the characters have a different response depending on item which interrupts the flow of a character’s movement in a manner where it is not plausible
• Example includes the homerun bat, where upon contact, the character is momentarily in a fixed position—stationary and inactive before being launched off the screen

B. Notion of Squash and Stretch

1) Certain characters can squash to the point where they are barely perceptible.
• Example includes when Kirby is ducking—his body practically morphs into a blob of
elastic clay

2) Certain items allow characters to change shape, form, and size
• For example, after Jigglypuff obtains the Smash ball and commences his special attack,his body increases in size exponentially essentially covering half the screen blasting away anyone who comes in contact with him.

C. Action & No-Reaction: Forces are not balanced or sensible

1) Two characters can walk right through each other and not be affected by one another

2) When a player/NPC grabs the Smash Ball in SSBB, the character gains a special power that goes against all odds and potentially sends every player that comes in contact with the special move/attack, off the screen without matched recoil
• Mario gains the power to hurl an enormous reign of fireball that covers the entire
screen but stays in place after the wave of blast
• The same goes for Samus and her blaster gun

III. Conclusion
A. Summarize my Points
C. Reiterate my thesis
• The laws of physics from the “real world” perspective is broken constantly in every manner but kept consistent in the world of the game itself.
• The improbable and unfeasible physics engine established for exaggerated humor and
compelling and dynamic effect

The Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe

The Physics Engine in "Super Smash Brothers" video game franchise

I. Introduction
A. Initiate with catchy phrase or convincing argument
B. Introduce video game
C. Hypothesis

II. Body

A. Action & No-Reaction: Forces are not balanced or sensible

1) A super powered attack is strongest when it is first used. It gets weaker and weaker the more the character uses it. This applies to all accessible/playable characters in the game.
• For example, when Kirby attacks with his fists, with each wave of attack the level of power emitted is weakened overtime

2) When a player/NPC grabs the Smash Ball in SSBB, the character gains a special power that goes against all odds and potentially sends every player that comes in contact with the special move/attack, off the screen without matched recoil
• Mario gains the power to hurl an enormous reign of fireball that covers the entire screen but stays in place after the wave of blast
• The same goes for Samus and her blaster gun

B. Unrealistic exploitation of the laws of Inertia & Gravity: Motion & its relation to characters

1) A weird example of video game Jump Physics, the Double Jump is the ability to jump while you're still airborne from your first jump, thus gaining additional height or distance. Exactly how this is supposed to work is unclear; games that justify it through rocket boots, etc. are the rare exception.
• Justified in several cases due to wings, psychic power etc.
• All characters in Super Smash Bros. Some, like Jigglypuff and Pit, have even more jumps.

2) In certain circumstances when referring to items, the characters have a different response depending on item which interrupts the flow of a character’s movement in a manner where it is not plausible
• Example includes the homerun bat, where upon contact, the character is momentarily in a fixed position—stationary and inactive before being launched off the screen

3) Newton's Second Law of Motion, relating force, mass, and acceleration, not apparent or rational when observing the level of air resistance and gravity in maps that take place in space or areas with low atmospheric pressure.
• Example includes when one is playing on the map Corneria in SSB, the same principles of gravity and motion apply there as it does in any other map.

C. Notion of Squash and Stretch

1) Certain characters can squash to the point where they are barely perceptible.
• Example includes when Kirby is ducking—his body practically morphs into a blob of elastic clay

2) Certain items allow characters to change shape, form, and size
• For example, after Jigglypuff obtains the Smash ball and commences his special attack, his body increases in size exponentially essentially covering half the screen blasting away anyone who comes in contact with him.

III. Conclusion
A. Reiterate thesis
B. Summarize my Points
C. State my Thoughts
• The laws of physics from the “real world” perspective is broken constantly in every manner but kept consistent in the world of the game itself.
• The improbable and unfeasible physics engine established for exaggerated humor and compelling and dynamic effect

Vid Clip of the Day!

---Clip of Professor Alex Garcia & his Experiment for Art 123 Class---

Note: I advise to lower the volume...or else it will blow out your eardrums. But this is literally how it sounded when we observed the event.

Location: In the halls adjacent to library & old Science building



**Using a fire-extinguisher for rocket-like propulsion.

Stop Motion Animation of Falling

I initially planned out what sort of obstacles I wanted my object to encounter as well as its environment (band-aid represented the ground--not quite the smoothest nor most rugged surface) and the sort of placement I wanted the camera to be in (top angle). I then determined what kind of object I was going to use. I decided to use a coke bottle cap. I then measured my object’s size, as well as the distance it would fall based upon the setting/background I chose while following the laws of motion as keenly as I can using the odd rule formula to get the correct timing and spacing (marked the sides).



Next I shot a reference video to determine the path of action of my object for the first falling sequence (repeated several times).



The ruler was used as a reference to mimic and match the height of the writing notepad that I was dropping the cap from in my stop motion.

I then used the tracker application tool to calculate and trace its trajectory (falling motion). While using both the video and the plot points of the B mass (coke bottle cap) I was almost prepared to take the shots for my stop motion video.



I then set up my station, placing the camera on the tripod and set both pads adjacent to one another into the frame of the camera. I didn’t want the light too subtle or too harsh. So I diffused the lighting around the “set” so it isn’t over blown or under exposed.



The choice I made to use the red bottle cap also had its reasons; so that there is enough contrast with the background during the entire animation sequence—took consideration to many possible shortcomings along the way.

Now my stop motion animation was underway. Almost everything was carefully executed. Even the audio is in sync. I took many shots—repeated many sequences to perfect the motion of the movement of my object. Even though this was my first ever stop motion animation, I wanted to challenge myself so I tried multiple falling sequences including the clothespin drop and the string/rope drop.

*Also note that though the band-aids are aligned with each other, there are grooves between each one (the bottle cap occasionally falls in between)

Stop Motion Animation Sequence (apologize for the low quality):




HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! For the Higher Quality Version (Use link below):

http://vimeo.com/15596822

OMG CAT Fukkireta 「吹 っ 切 れ た」

HAHA~~ found something that I thought you would probably enjoy watching Mr. Garcia

Video analysis of Path of Action

Recorded Quicktime movie showing my path of action for one jump:




Screenshot of Video Analyzed:




Original Video Showing Path of Action:

Extra Credit: Photograph at Empire Drive-In

This is me in one of the cars at the Drive-in inside the South hall during the downtown Art Festival.

Tracker video analysis of falling

I redid another video to suit the needs of this assignment. I shot it also in 30 fps (which may be 30 fields per second since I've been receiving these repetitive intervals when tracking the ball).





This First Picture depicts what happened after frame by frame.





This Second Picture depicts what happened when I skip every other frame before I mark each one. This seems more like a parabola to me.

Video Reference

Video FPS: 30

Here I am dropping a ball for my video reference.

Mini-Portfolio

A drawing I made back in High School of myself, my childhood friend, and her boyfriend from left to right respectively.

A drawing I made of myself as a pilot in a made-up cartoon series.



I apologize that this isn't an animation but I haven't done anything of that sort quite yet and thought I post this short trailer I did for my RTVF 171 class last semester.

Here is the better HD quality version:
http://vimeo.com/10816148

About Me:

Hello my name is Theodore Reid. I also go by the name T.J. I was born in America but I spent a great deal of time growing up in Japan. I have initially went to University of Santa Cruz as a Computer Science major to pursue my undergraduate degree but transferred a little over a year ago to San Jose State as an RTVF major w/ a concentration in Film and double minoring in computer science and math. After I graduate I hope to pursue a career in the field I am studying perhaps in cinematography.

Courses I've taken:
Art - Art 12 (2D Design), Art 14 (color theory), Art 24
Science - Physics 6A/lab (@ UCSC), Chemistry 1B (@ UCSC),

Current Courses this Semester:
Art 123 Physics of Animation
History 170 Topics of American History
Kin 69 - Stress Management
RTVF 110- Electronic Media & Culture
TA for RTVF 170
Possibly RTVF 130

This is a test blog!

This assignment is GREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!