So continuing from last week, what exactly is a motion capture device? It isn't just ping-pong balls strapped onto a person. There has to be a reason why these people decided to wear something so ridiculous. It's simple really. The producers, who are developing the game/animated film, are trying to capture the emotions and stance positions of the performer to create a character who is human like in every way. A human like character gives a reason for the audience to stay because a human like character creates someone the audience can relate to. The other reason why producers use mocap (motion capture technology) is that it is very cheap. It doesn't even really need a special computer (or a computer for that matter). Here is a video that demonstrates that anyone can use mocap, even at home.
So how does this process work? By using the process of tracking cameras and tools called opticals, the producers get a "rough sketch" of the performer. The opticals transfer data back to a program to capture the movements of the performer. By using unique algorithmic codes, the producers can map out a performer's body and change variations within it. The result? With various touch ups, the performer's character can be something as ridiculous as a monkey, to a badass human. But technology never stops advancing. Now besides using ping-pong balls, little marbles are made to capture the facial movements.
Capturing emotion is key. Without it, the characters are less likely to be relatable to and the audience loses interest, which is the last thing any game company/ film company wants. To capture one's emotion, James Cameron developed virtual cinematography. This process allows the producer to capture the actor on both a virtual and real-life stage. The emotions and movements are better captured and because the emotions are human like to the max, the characters can pretty much be anyone or anything from blue aliens living on a planet called Pandora, to turtles living inside a sewer dieting on pizza.
Beyond Two Souls (an above average game in my opinion), makes their scenes as realistic as possible by recreating the world of the game. The movements and emotions are captured based on the performer's reaction to a particular scene with his/her interaction with the particular environment.
Motion capture is developed and created upon pure imagination. The concept of it is so unreal, that it seems that it seems like it is an idea from a science fiction novel. With just the power and movements of the ping-pong balls, game producers can create just about anything, and for this reason, people are very inclined to play video games, than actually sit through and watch a movie (seriously, if you haven't played a video game yet, go try it! I recommend The Last of Us.)
Picture this. There exists a world where fiction meets reality. With the technology we have today, this achievement can be possible.
As technology gets better and better, so do the movies. What I mean is the special effects of the movies (the plot might actually get worse, but who really cares. Wait, don't tell me that you watch Transformers because of the "in depth plot." You know we all watch it for the robots... and Michael Bay explosions.....The newest movie literally spends twenty minutes explaining how the sexual relationship between a minor and an adult was legit. Seriously.) With the advent influx of different types of technology comes different ways to utilize and seize the technology for the benefit of the greater good (so basically, entertainment). The directors use these tools to interpret movies in new and unusual ways to attract an audience's attention. Directors hire special effect artists and with the team of professionals, these people create ideas beyond the realms of human imagination.
In animation, there are movies created with just animated characters and more recently in the current era, movies with the combination of computer animated character and human characters are also becoming a norm (more recently, the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie). The technologies used today have such good special effects, that animated characters have look and become human-like. The highest gross movie of all time Avatar, uses computer animation with a combination of motion capture to bring its characters to life (as well as create an awesomely wicked environment might I add).
This particular film was shelved during the 1990s, by James Cameron (He says it's because technology hasn't reached to its full potential yet to capture the essence of this movie, and also, word on the street is that Cameron is a perfectionist, so if need be, he would've shelved this movie FOREVER. Thankfully the technology caught up, and we were able to see this masterpiece.). Cameron (being the perfectionist he is) saw that the technology available at the time decided to take action and with the current technology of 2005 (this was back in 2005), developed a new motion-capture device, that uses animation techniques to enable a 110% performance capture, rather than 100%.
Performance capture is the technique that drives this force. This technique is another art on its own and there are several subtopics to talk about when mentioning this technique. Until then, we will be discussing and continuing motion capture in the weeks ahead.
In relation to Animatronics discussed last week, let's take a step back and talk about puppets. Yes, the creepy doll like manikins that has eerie eyes and movable body parts, and yes, it is probably the cause of most of your childhood nightmares,next to clowns obviously (have you seen Chucky?). While creepy as they are now and apparently, used as entertainment for children (-_-), puppetry has a long history in human history and although historians are not sure when it began, what they are sure about is that the first written record of puppetry was in India, thus, historians dubbed India as "the birthplace for puppetry".
Puppets in India were used (and still are) as a way for storytellers to teach their followers about the stories of the Gods. It started about 3000 years ago and the stick-figured puppets would play the stories of the Bala-Ramayana and the Maha-Bharata. The mass appeal of puppetry in India goes to the fact that while puppetry was entertaining to watch, it was also a learning experience.
According to legend, a famous dramatist in Japan grew tired of human actors and their needs so he decided to assign the roles to wooden puppets. The actors (if they wanted to still get paid and be a part of the play) would be hooded in black and at most, three people would be assigned to each puppet. Even though these people who be seen as clear as day to the audience members, their presence would not be acknowledged (ironic isn't it, for the actors I mean).
In Europe, puppetry was so popular, that new techniques were presented to display the puppets. Instead of the puppets being made up two strings, the puppets now contain eight strings. Techniques such as ventriloquy and shadow puppetry were invented. Puppetry is still being used today but it has evolved over the years. Shadow puppetry might use humans...
and besides using stings, people may use a combination of sticks, hands, bodies and string to give the puppet more human-like qualities. The most modern use of this is Jim Hensen's The Muppets, and deviating from that also Sesame Street.
Puppetry nevertheless, has become a big part of our culture (to the point where we can't ignore it's existence, no matter how hard we try) and with many positives (Sesame Street) comes some negatives (Chucky, by the way, did you know that another Chucky movie is coming out. I swear, this puppet will NEVER die). In relation to puppetry with animation, I consider it live-action and indeed a form of art.
Sources:
"History of Puppets."History of Puppets. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2014. <http://www.puppetsnow.com/history-of-puppets.html>.
Animatronics is the use of mechanical objects, which simulate animate life with lifelike characteristics, different from using robots. Plants, dinosaurs and magical creatures are mostly animatronic creations. Animatronic figures are often powered byhydraulics, electrical means, or bypneumatics and can be implemented using both computer control and human control, including teleoperation (remote control). The first recorded use of animatronics was on paper when a man wanted to get out of prison. The only solution he could find was building wings out of birds' feathers (does this story sound familiar?). Leonardo da Vinci then designed the Automata Lion (basically a mechanical lion) in honor of the newly crowned King of France, Francois I.
In the 1770s Pierre Jaquet-Droz and his son Henri-Louis Jaquet-Droz, both Swiss watchmakers, start making automata for European royalty. Once completed, they had created three dolls. One doll was able to write, the other play music and the 3rd doll could draw pictures.
In 1939, Sparko, The Robot Dog was created. Unlike normal robots, Sparko represents a living animal, thus becoming the very first modern day animatronics character.
Animatronics, takes off when Walt Disney decided to get into the business. In 1961, he coins the term audio-animatronics and begins developing modern animatronics technology. In a matter of years, the Enchanted Tiki Birds were created and featured in Disneyland till this day.
So what does this have to do with "animation"? Well, animation isn't all just cartoons. It can also be real life too. The famous movie of Jurassic Park used this technique to bring its dinosaurs to life. This film became the 17th film to gross over $1 billion dollars and is considered the greatest film of the 1990s. This video presented shows the audience how the raptor suit is made and shows how the team behind the scene controls the dinosaur.
Animatronics soon moved mainstream and companies started to make toys using animatronic techniques. The most famous toy that I can think of on the top of my head is the terrifying Furby. I don't know why people find this thing appealing, but hey, I don't judge. Here is a creepy Japanese Furby commercial that you either will find disturbing or will find amusing.
....And here is the most recent commercial, because apparently Furbies are still a thing.
As the times go on, animatronics will take the stage as it becomes a more popular form of art to use in movies. I hope that it will transform the way we look at cinema like how Jurassic Park did.
With stop motion creeping up before the world, it was only time that it would make its "debut" before the world. The Stop Motion boom occurred around the 1950s, becoming a part of commercialism and engraining itself into pop culture. A major character introduced during this time is named Gumby. Gumby is an humanlike green clay character, that starred in over 233 episodes, becoming a pop culture icon. (The plot of Gumby Adventures is pretty ridiculous, but hey, that's what the people were in to.)
One of the most popular stop motion animators who pushed stop motion into mainstream cinemas was Ray Harryhausen. He created a stop motion film process known as "Dynamation", a process that combines animation, normal human actions, and special effects.
Stop motion continued to be in the public eye through films such as the all-time Christmas classic Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), Clash of Titans (1981), and the most famous one of all, The Nightmare before Christmas (1993). Throughout time, we as the audience see that with each film, the basic idea of stop motion stays the same, but with the Digital Age occurring during the 1980s and the evolution of technology, the tools used to create a stop motion film have changed drastically. Amateurs can create stop motion films on a computer with little to no cost, and with the advancement of social media, professionals and amateurs alike can share their creations. The next couple of videos have become viral hits upon their release. The first video depicts an animator fighting his creation and the second on is a music video with the background filled with colorful jellybeans.
Making vines are also some ways that people engage in stop motion animation. Our attention span has been limited to a span of 7 seconds, so vines are a useful tool for lazy people to be involved in making stop motion, without the effort....(because you can only do so much in 7 seconds -_- ). With the comparison from past to present, it is easy to tell that Stop Motion has come a long way. With creative minds, comes endless possibilities, and Stop Motion animation is a field of opportunities just waiting to be discovered.
