Film Riot

Film Riot is a YouTube channel that deals with all aspects of filmmaking. If you have not checked them out you seriously should. I have watched hours and hours of their videos and to be honest feel like I have learned more about filmmaking from this YouTube channel than many of my film classes over my four years here.

The videos feature Ryan Connolly, the host, with appearance from his team as they tackle various aspects of professional filmmaking as simply as they can. The videos include the final result of what they tackle, and then through hosted explanation, they explain how they did what they did. They are quite thorough and easy to follow and learn. They also have some DIY videos for making cheap filmmaking gear on a budget. They have a store where they sell a variety of different assets, make gear recommendations, sell merchandise, and more. They are a fantastic and useful channel and I highly recommend you sift through it, you will definitely learn a lot.

Film Riot:

Youtube | Twitter | Store

Goals

Someone at the production company I interned at, shared the reel of a Norwegian motion graphics artist named Marcus Eckert. His motion graphics skills are extremely impressive. There are two abilities you have to have to be a successful motion graphics artist. Ideas and mechanics. Just because you know the program, doesn't mean you have the creative mind to come up with a design that successfully works with the project. And of course if you have ideas, you have to be able to implement them and make them come to life. This guy can do both, and I aspire to reach his level. Check him out:

Enmeshed from Marcus Eckert on Vimeo.

Traveling Pixar Exhibit

A few months ago I had the pleasure of going to the traveling Pixar Exhibit at the Museum of Science in Boston. These types of exhibits are very hands on and interactive. While it may have been a little more technical than the Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings traveling exhibits, as a film student take 3D and animation classes, it was awesome. Each station that was set up demonstrated some aspect of animation, whether it be lighting, hair, working in 3D space, etc. There were simplified versions of the programs we use such as Maya, Cinema 4D, After Effects and more, to help kids interact in similar ways as animators do, with their favorite Pixar characters. One example of these exhibits was a computer screen with various lighting options such as intensity, color, and more. When the options are changed, there was a small, physical scene that is affected by all these changes. The exhibit was awesome and felt like walking into a physical manifestation of my 3D animation class. I highly recommend the exhibit if it comes to a museum near you.
Here is some info

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Animatrix

If you are a fan of the movie The Matrix like I am as well as animation, you may want to check out The Animatrix (2003). The Animatrix consists of several different animated shorts that take place in the general world of the matrix films. Each one was created by a different artist and have very different art styles. It is really beautiful to see the variety of animations one after the other, telling different stories in the same universe, but with very different visuals. Watching this is a great way to not only appreciate different art styles, but to understand how each art style in itself creates a mood and feeling about throughout the story. These choices are important elements in influencing the viewers emotional response to your animation/film.

You can pay to watch the film here, or find the full film or pieces online somewhere for free if you're into that.

Zoetropes

Zoetropes are an awesome older form of animation we learned about in my animation class a few years ago. If you don't know, they are a circular device with each frame of an animated movement drawn around the circle. You then look through a viewing window and as the zoetrope spins, it appears to be moving. Here is an example of an older zoetrope. Zoetropes are a great physical example of all the frames of an animation, as well as the variety in the types of animation. Pixar designed an amazing and complex 3D zoetrope. It has traveled the world to places like England, Scotland, South Korea, Finland, and many more at various exhibitions. I would love to see one of these in person. Check out this video to see it and hear how it works:

More about zoetropes: Click here

A little more about the Toy Story Zoetrope: Click here

Bass/ Treble Tutorial

Last week in class we went over the steps to tracking the bass and treble with different types of layers. I was going through some tutorials on youtube and stumbled upon this step by step video that teaches you to makes a pulse logo that reacts to the audio (bass/treble). The videos twenty minutes so its a bit long but when you get the steps down its easy to do with any song!

SPARK

This afternoon, I was greeted by this video on Vimeo.


RALF HILDENBEUTEL - SPARK from Boris Seewald on Vimeo.

I was immediately draw to it. Initially, because I saw dancers; they're so poised and elegant. As I watched, I was amazed at how beautifully the graphics (all done in After Effects) complimented the music and movement of the characters. Those styles of music and dance generally are not paired together. In this piece, however, they work. The director, Boris Seewald, describes the work as "an encounter between classical dance, geometry, and electronic music."

The 2 minute mark is where the piece really starts to get intense. The dark character meets the innocent one. I'm wondering if this has any Swan Lake influences... The lighting changes are truly incredible and only add that much more drama to the already ascetically interesting piece.

Raster vs Vector Graphics

Computer graphics that are interactive and mutable undergo mathematical transformations. Depending on user’s actions, the computer will take in that information and use different linear algebra principles to transform the image in the way the user intends. These transformations use matrix multiplication to change the graphic.

In order for computer programs or applications to manipulate images they read the image as a matrix, where each entry is a pixel value. Each pixel value is a combination of red, green, or blue (RGB) because computer screen use light, additive color. 

Additive color structure

Different programming languages have built-in libraries with functions that can be used to manipulate individual pixel values. At this point, manipulating graphics refers to filters (black and white, sepia tone, brightness, etc.) applied to images. The programs use nested for loops, or commands encapsulated within each other that run pieces of code for a given number of iterations, to comb through the elements of the two dimensional array. The types of images that would experience manipulations like photo filters are called raster graphics. These are collections of pixels on the screen and they do not have the same mathematical properties as vector graphics. Vector graphics can be scaled and not loose data or quality. This is because they are not just a matrix of pixels, they are defined by paths, curves, and end points. 

Raster graphics are often photos and
vector graphics are usually logos or models.

If a raster image image1 is defined as a matrix and it is being scaled to twice its size then the resulting matrix would have duplicate data  matrix . This redundancy of both rows and columns manifests itself as a pixelated image. When a high quality image is scaled down to a smaller size and saved or stored that way, the data of the image can be lost.

Example of loss of data causing pixelation.

This does not occur with vector images because they are not themselves matrices of image values. Vector shapes are matrices that are read and interpreted differently than rasterized images. 

Example of controls to make vector image.

One area of computer graphics that heavily uses vector shapes is in logos. Logos have to reshaped and resized for different platforms and merchandise. Because vector graphics are stored as paths and points they can be translated and scaled for different programs that read in vector graphics. For example, a pamphlet made in Adobe Illustrator can read in a vector graphic and scale it to a small size without it looking distorted. Additionally, a company that creates billboards can use that same vector graphic file and feature a logo that is completely not pixelated. Vector shapes are also greatly preferred because of the multiple platforms on which media is viewed. A logo can appear crisp on a TV screen and mobile phone.

Ray Tracing Graphics Rendering

Whenever I encounter something new and exciting I always want to know how it works. I want to know why it was built the way it is or how it can be customized. When using the program Adobe After Effects, I am stunned by how the preset objects (spheres, particles, lights) look realistic and physically accurate. I wanted to know how a computer could generate objects that incorporated scientific factors like light, reflection, shadows, and physics. Through an independent study with Ithaca College professor Paul Dickson, I got answers.

I worked for a semester with Paul to build a Ray Tracing Graphics Renderer. While that may be a mouthful it is actually a pretty simple concept that translates to complicated coding. The ray tracer that I built used object oriented programming. An object, in this case, is a class that has attributes, accessors, and mutators. 

For example, a sphere object:

attributes: position, radius, color

accessors: getPosition, getRadius, getColor

mutators: setPosition, setRadius, setColor

Image created from my ray tracing graphics renderer featuring planes.

All of these elements together give us an object or blueprint that we can create instances of. Once we have this outline we can have one sphere that is at position (0,0) with a radius of 5 and is red in color, as well as a green sphere at (8,10) with a radius of 2, etc.

Images from my ray tracing graphics renderer before an after
adding a light point in addition to ambient lighting.

In my ray tracer I had lines, spheres, planes, light points, and more. The light points were so that the objects placed in our virtual world could actually be seen. This is where some of the physics of computer graphics rendering came in. I was pretty much able to plug and chug numbers into my program to make the lighting work realistically but there is a lot of mathematics and research that goes into capturing the physics used in graphics renderers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Timrb/Ray_tracing

A ray tracer works by having a given perspective position or “camera” that sends a ray through every pixel of an image. If a frame of the movie is 1080x1920 pixels then the camera sends out 2,073,600 rays, which explains why ray tracing graphics takes so long and takes so much RAM. A ray has a starting point and travels infinitely in a direction. Sending out a ray means that every position between the camera and the last object in the virtual world is checked to see if it intersects with an object. If the ray intersects with an object then it sets that value of the pixel to be the color value of the objects. Lighting and physics may alter the color of the pixel as well.

When all of the rays have been sent then every pixel of the image should be colored and you will have final images like these:

Ray traced spheres with added camera effects like focal point and blur.

One Dragon object stores all of the dimensions and parameters for the dragon shape
and minor modifications to the values representing the physics of the light
make the dragon look like it is made of different materials.

This was ray traced and it makes me laugh.

Toy Story 4

I know I'm pretty late to this, but I recently discovered that they are making a fourth Toy Story movie. It is slated to come out on June 16, 2017 and still retain Tom Hanks and Tim Allen as Woody and Buzz Lightyear. The first Toy Story movie is probably my favorite childhood movie of all time, which brings back crazy feelings of nostalgia whenever it happens to be on TV. As a child, one of my favorite things about the movie was the animation and graphics. For whatever reason I always loved the way the characters interacted with each other. It seemed so seamless and realistic; most of the time it felt like I was watching a live-action movie. Anyway, I'm super pumped for this next iteration in the Toy Story franchise. Pixar films will always hold a special place in my heart, as I grew up watching many of the classics.

Madden NFL Video Game

Madden, by Electronic Arts entertainment has easily become one of the most popular sports video games of all time. I remember growing up playing this game and watching it evolve from using glitchy, pixilated graphics into one of the most realistic looking sports series that's out their today. With the release of the Playstation 4 and Xbox One, Electronic Arts has added even more attention to detail, with fans in the stadium now becoming dynamic, rather than static images, and even the grass on the field looks super realistic. The amount of work that goes into this game is incredible, and the video below shows all time and labour gone into making the series.

Pond 5 Public Domain Project

Recently Pond 5, one of the most popular sites in terms of stock footage/audio/graphics, announced a new initiative they were starting entitled the Public Domain Project. This project, offers various 3D elements, stock footage, and audio for free. That's right...free. The purpose is so users "can rediscover part of mankind's history and build upon it in their creative projects." While a lot of the stock footage is pretty old, some of the 3d elements are pretty cool including various types of satellites and space shuttles.  For more information check out the links below.

https://www.pond5.com/free

http://help.pond5.com/hc/en-us/articles/203320459-What-is-the-Pond5-Public-Domain-Project-

South Park First Episode

South Park, the third longest running animated television program will be entering its 19th season this fall. The show has come a long way with it's animation and graphics. Interestingly, the first episode entitled, "Cartman Gets An Anal Probe", was created using stop motion cut out animation. The budget Trey Parker and Matt Stone (the creators) were given was $300,000 and it was an incredibly labor intensive process. In fact, the first episode took roughly 3 months to make, where as episodes of today are made in less than a week. It's amazing to see how far this show has come in regards to animation. Technology continues to allow us to push our ideas even further, and South Park continues to take advantage of it.

Below is a short clip from the first episode.

Element 3D

Element 3D is an After Effects plugin that lets users more easily create 3d items in After Effects. This is a quick rendering tool and Compatible with After Effects so it is ideal for quick graphics and animation.

This was used in the creation of the Star Trek title sequence in order to create the planets and other objects. This plugin is powerful and a great tool if you know how to  use it. 

Here is a link to the title Sequence:

Star Trek Titles 

I just downloaded this plugin earlier today however I have already started using it and my personal opinion is that it is great. If you like animation and have some money to spare I would suggest downloading it. 

Grand Theft Auto - A Retrospect!

Hi there,

The amount of development and progression in the world of graphics and animation is mind boggling.  Now videogames not only simulate real life, they are confused with real life. Crystal clear graphics on the current generation of game consoles feature serene backdrops, painstakingly beautiful textures and animation that emulates life.

One of the must visually stunning videogame series is Grand Theft Auto (GTA). Regardless of how you feel about the content, the guts and gore, Rockstar Games has consistently created a beautiful city to wreak mayhem on.

The first version of the game was released way back in 1997 and featured depth and scale never really seen before in videogame land.

In just only 15 years the series transcended all graphical expectations. GTA 5 was released in 2013 and brought with it the clearest, most defined graphics of any video game to date.

The people are real. The situations are still crazy, but as a player you get much more devoted to the characters and their lives. Even compared to GTA 4 leaps and bounds are made.

I'm excited to see where this series goes next. I can't even imagine what the next step is. Although, I am very eager to play it!

Until next time!

Alex

Anti Bullying Animation & Spoken Word

A friend of mine showed me this amazing spoken word animation on YouTube and I instantly wanted to watch more videos like this.
First I'll talk about the animation in this video:
-the animation is very relax with calm colors but also has a serious tone to it
-without audio you understand the story
-the drawings are cartoony and engaging
-great transitions
-typography is used and matches the audio

Story:
This video has a very powerful message, it talks about being bullied and what that does to a person.
The poet has a very soothing voice that makes it easy to listen to and understand. The music added in at about a 1:30 is also fits perfectly. It sets the tone and mood for this part of the video. The music, the words, the art..all makes you feel like you are in the shoes of the poor person who is getting bullied. The story is real and is a situation that a lot of people can relate to.

Enjoy

How about some 3D

So I was scrolling through Facebook and I came across something that we were discussing in class. The basketball team, the Cavaliers, had taken the 3D effect idea that is usually used on buildings.

The effect was actually really cool. Now don't get me wrong I have always liked this kind of stuff. Making an immovable object look like it's moving and being morphed into something else. The effects that they had used truly blew my mind.

I have always wanted to learn how to do something like this. Even if it is just super simple, I have always wanted to do it. It would make for a cool party or concert intro.

This use of 3D effect you see in a lot of movies today. For example, a movie that I saw recently had used this: Now You See Me. It fit nicely into the movie because the movie was about Magicians and to make a scene like that, just fits well.

It takes a lot of work to create something like this. It requires projectors as and a lot of graphic movements in order to make the building actually look like it is being moved around and transformed. In this case, the basketball court was the object that was being transformed on. The breaking effect, the cubing effect, all of this is done with projectors and just calibration onto the basketball court. Absolutely amazing.

Since the video is on Vimeo I can't post the video like a normal YouTube video but if you click HERE, you can watch it.

Animusic

This video has always been my favorite song and one of my favorite visuals out of all of Animusic's works,

"Animusic, LLC is a computer animation company with the singular focus of animating music. Both music and visuals are entirely digitally synthesized. We "invent" imaginary Virtual Instruments by building computer graphics models of objects that appear to create the sound of the corresponding synthesized music track." (source)

I saw Animusic at a friend's house in high school and was immediately enthralled by it. The visuals alone are so interesting and fun to watch, then once coupled with the music I was really hooked. The combination was so real and fascinating. Now I am able to enjoy the various songs with my nephews who are young. I think when a movie, animation, or TV has really succeeded when they are able to entertain someone young, like my nephew who is four and also older people, like my dad who is in his sixties.

Here's always a good one to watch too!


Here's Part 1 to how they go in and make all their animations. 

After Effects used on Iron Man

    In college we're always learning how to use new programs. I've always been interested in knowing what professionals are using these programs and how are they using them. Well I did a quick search on what movies used After Effects as part of their creative design and Iron Man 3 was one of the first movies to pop up. Was I surprised? No way, there are no limits in adobe after effects so I would be surprised if movies didn't used this program. After Effects was used to create the HUD (head up display) of Iron Man.

 Watching the video gives you a glance of the work being done and if you pay close attention you will see a ton of layers listed in the after effects program. It just goes to show you how extensive a project can be and how advanced After effects is.

   It's both exciting and challenging learning how to work with after effects. I know the if I acquire the necessary skills in after effects I can create awesome work and obtain money doing something that is pretty cool and can possibly be seen be hundreds or thousands or even millions of people.

Here's the link that shows the video, as well as other videos. Click here.

Retro production intro's

I found this video the other day and I thought it would be perfect to post on this blog. This video is a mashup of many different introductions of various companies from the 80's. What I appreciated most is how I can see these intros being fairly simple to make with programs such as after effects. Watching video's such as this one with simple effects allow you to see the individual parts that can come together to make a short piece. Each segment has a beginning, middle and end, and each has separate elements that converge quickly to not only make an engaging animation but one that viewer could recognize. I was amazed at all the different variations of titles, fonts and sequences to make a short but unique piece. I also believe its watching short videos such as this one that can give someone a spark for ideas, using random shapes and and colors in animation to create a recognizable image. Watch for yourself and you can see where this could give someone the idea or spark that they need for a simple title sequence.