The Light idea

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11-1-2000

The Light idea

Gabe Atiya

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THE LIGHT IDEA

BY

Gabe Atiya

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Degree

MASTER OF FINE ARTS

MFA Imaging Artsl Computer Animation

SCHOOL OF FILM AND ANIMATION

ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

ROCHESTER, NEW YORK

November, 2000

Howard Lester, Chair

Professor

School of Film and Animation

Stephanie Maxwell

Associate Professor

School of FJlm and Animation

Bruce Austin

Professor

Reproduction Denial

MFA Thesis

TITLE OF THESIS: The Light Idea

I, Gabriel Atiya , hereby deny permission to the Wallace Memorial Library

of RIT to reporduce my thesis in whole or in part.

Signature

i

Title Page

ii

Permission Page

Thesis Report

1

I)

The Decision

to

Make

a

Film

3

II)

The Decision

to

Produce

a

3d Film

5

III)

The

Story

9

IV)

Character

and

Set Considerations

11

V)

Aesthetic

and

Technical

Issues,

Problems

and

Solutions

15

VI)

The

Learning

Experience

16 Appendix A: Original Thesis Proposal

21 Appendix B: Original Storyboard

28 Appendix C: Final Storyboard

I)

Thedecision tomake afilm

Although it is not unusual forstudents oftheRITfilmandanimation _program,

formerly

of the college of

Imaging

Arts,

to produce short animated motion pictures for thesis work, I made a personal choice to undertake this challenge. New programs inthe school, forexampleNew Media Studies and

Visualization,

which _{have little overlap} with motion picture production, appear to encompass

parts ofwhatthisprogram _{originally intended}tobe. Even though I knewthat an animated_story was nota requirementfor the

degree,

I decidedtocreate a motion

picturebecausetheideaof

doing

so interestedme.

My

greatestinterestin computer animation

technology

wastheassistance the medium offersto individuals like mein producing independent films. Until _now, in both

technology

and film production, the _possibility of_making personalfilms has been

largely

restricted to experimental formats. People have depended on

actors and a wide _variety of other accessories and restrictions that made the participation ofothers _necessary to produce a work of visual fiction.

Any

such work _originating

directly

from the author's imagination has been in the past limitedto thewritten word. This is strangebecausethe written word isconceived

as a means of verbal communication _of, whereas visual

imagery

is more

deeply

connectedto the natural and subjectivehuman experience oflife. The process of

dreaming

demonstrates the visual as the _{fundamental way} we human beings experiencetheworld.

Since I have been socializedtoview

technology

as ameansto an_end, suchas

gainingemployment inthemodern_economy or_{achieving human} endsthatwould be impossible without _technology, computer animation suggests a _way to use

technology

toward ends which are more _{clearly human. The}expression ofone's "soul"

is an _undertaking more

traditionally

channeled through music or

representational painting. I think that the process of

dissociating

from these human kinds of motivations have often produced alienation within the technical

person, andis an effectfromwhich criticism of

technology

in general

frequently

arises. Asastudent of_technology, thisdenial of certainaspects of

humanity

I felt had negatively influencedme.

Evenintherealm of_animation,

however,

the_possibilityof_producing a personal

film _{has generally been} out ofthe reach of_{ordinary people,} as traditional hand

drawn animation_very much requires the developmentof an animation trade. Not

only does producing hand drawn animation requirethedevelopment of askill,but has

traditionally

beensolaborintensivethat_manypeople _working

collaboratively

means of _{producing films have been sufficiently} expensive and removed from

ordinary life that few _ordinary people, I

imagine,

have possessed the

finances,

time, or resolve to create independent films. The development of computer

technology

helps to achieve _many of the most difficult and tedious parts in the process of animation. Computer advancements also make this animation

technology

available on personal computers. These

factors,

I

felt,

truly

place the

II)

Thedecision toproduce a3dfilm

When I appliedto thecomputeranimation programat

RIT,

Ihadmadeafirm decision to learn to create 3d animation. Digital

imaging

had been an interest of mine for some time and I thought that computer graphics was one of the most amazing applications that came with the development of _computing machines.

Also,

alotof_my motivation for

learning

computer animation stemmed fromthe rapid proliferation of computer graphics in multimedia CD

ROMs,

computer

games, andtheinternet. Aside fromthepurefascination I had withthe _seemingly miraculous results that this new

technology

produced, there were otherreasons I wanted toenterthisfield.

OnereasonIwas _especiallymotivatedtocreate3d animation wastherealismof themedium. I likethe3dvisual _environment,butuntil 3d animation

developed,

I had only been able to experience realism in animation through _stop motion

photography and claymation. Ithink that thiskind ofrealism ispowerfulbecause it takes the art of animation out ofthe realm of graphic style and more _strongly connectsittolive "film"

or evento reality. Aside fromthe graphic

film,

theother branch of traditional animation that 3d animation stands in opposition to is illustration. Except for certain sequences in

Fantasia,

_every

Disney

film I have

seen presents human problems, stories, andissues in animated form. In terms of story and concept, most of these films are _{essentially live} action-based themes transplanted into an animated _environment, which owe theircharm and

beauty

to the old craftofillustration rather than animation. Even though the animation in

these films is meticulous and _{naturalistic,} the naturalism of these films demonstrate a _{strong indebtedness} to illustration andto live action theater-film.

The realism made possible

by

3d animation takes animation out ofthe realm of illustration and gives the animation artist an _opportunity to tell a _{story in} a _way thatdoes not_relyoneitherthe tradition ofillustration orthatofthe graphic arts.

Ialso wantedto learnthisnew

technology

becauseIfeltthatitmelded well with my experience and interests.

Having

exposure _{to traditional arts,} in

drawing

primarily, as well as _{computers, mostly in} computer _programming, I felt that

graphics applications wouldfollow naturally from my

training

and understanding.

Although I discovered that this was not as true as I had

hoped,

I foundthat the

synthetic interface provided

by

the computer indeed made _working with the

computer more intuitive than _working with actual _cameras,

instruments,

and props. Good documentation and helpful interface functions were _among the

features that made the process of

investigating

the media much simpler. The synthetic camera of the computer provides one example

demonstrating

the

strengthsofthe computer.Ratherthan_requiringa usertolearn all oftheworkings ofareal camera- how

stop motion film _animation, one has to wait for film to be processed in order to see the results from pictures taken

by

the camera. Onthe computer, not_onlycan any changeortransformationIcreatebe

immediately

visualized,butplayback can alsobeproduced onthe

fly

viamotion captureandplayback.

Theother major advantageto_usingthecomputerforanimationisthatinthe computer_environment, timeandspace are _completely elastic.

By

this Imeanthat

if I wantto insertan action (a movement that acharacter_makes, forexample) in the middleofthe animation andmaintain realistic_continuity ofspace and_motion, I do not have to start animation over from the beginning. This is impossible in stop motion, where the smallest

discontinuity

of object or motion always comes out as

jarring

and abrupt. While this effect can and often is incorporated into

graphic _style, itworks against_producingrealistic results. Smoothnessresults from the computer's _ability to _graphically synthesize and

display

action prior to

rendering.

Keyframing

_{is especially important} toward _achieving this effect.

Animation motion curves are made alterable at _any point while _retaining

continuity of the original animation. This elasticity contributes to an overall

Ill)

The

Story

Theoriginalconceptofthe _storywasadaptedfromanAppalachianfolktale

entitled "Fare you

Well,

Joe Clark."1 I learned from Howard

Lester,

_my thesis chairman, that Joe Clark has a

history

in the lyrics of American fiddle tunes (althoughnone ofthetuneshecitedincludedthisparticulartale).In this story,Joe Clark identifies with birds from the onset. _{Not only this, but he is himself} identifiedwiththe

birds,

andthe narrator claims he has a resemblancetobirds in

physique and movement. The main narrative of the _story, cast against the

backdrop

oftheCalifornia Gold Rushofthe 1840's and

50'

s, revolves aroundJoe Clark and his quest for gold. One

day,

while _{up in} a tree

hanging

out with the

birds,

Joe overhears travelers

talking

of the gold

they

hope to discover. He becomes determined to make his fortune as_well, but

being

poor, he has no _ready

means of transportation to his desired destination. Again

identifying

with the

birds,

he decides to

fly

there.

Pitching

pennies, he earns enough _money to

buy

a

barrel oftar. He uses the tar to tar and feather himself and to create a pair of makeshift wings. He builds aladder upon ahigh tree on

top

of ahill and uses a

high branchas a platformfromwhich_{he may}takeoff. His finalobstacletakes the form of a _preacher, who attempts to _{stop Joe from performing} this _seemingly

unnatural and superhuman feat. This obstacle is surmounted in his merely

ignoring

the preacher's warnings; eventually he climbs so highthat the words of

the preacher are no longer audible. The story ends as Joe jumps off his high

platformwhiletownspeoplegatherbelow and

finally,

begin to_{pray for Joe} as he takes his

leap

into the unknown. The vision of Joe Clark

flying

over the

mountains on his way to California is the final image the first person narrator gives ofJoe's

daring

effort at flight.

According

to the narrator, this was the last thatanyoneever sawofJoe.

Ithought thatthis_storywouldmake a_{very appealing}animationfor many

reasons. Ithink that the _storyrecalls thenarrativetradition ofthetall_tale, and as

such, provides ample _{opportunity for} exaggeration in content,

form,

action, and movement. The factthat the _{story is} toldin firstpersonnarrative underscoresthe dream

like,

fantastic quality that the _{story has.}

Indeed,

the _{story is} structured and

functions verymuchlikeafantasy. Apoor_character, alienatedfrom_society, hasa

secret passion. He uses this passion to

develop

a _special, magical world for himselfas a respite fromthe real_world, which he does notunderstand and which does not understand him. When opportunity

finally

strikes, he finds himself

powerless against the ways of the real _world, but is able to turn to his special

passion andinnate quality in orderto make his dreams intoa reality. Becausethe

story speaks of

flight,

of_climbingtall objects, anddevelops an absurd solutionto

a set ofproblemsrooted inan _{stylistically identifiable time period,} I thoughtthis

1

made a great_story on whichtobasean original animation. Thestoryboard for my

animation underwent several revisions and the final draft is the result of

overcomingmanyconflicts ofinterest inconceptandtheme.

My

original_storyboard, oneofthreeI created(see Appendix

B,

page

21),

reflects few changes in this _{story idea. Most} ofthe changes I made were either

simplifications ofthe original orembellishments designedto _clarifyconflict and

motivation. Inthis storyboard,themain characteris introduced to theviewersas a

boy,

sitting outside his cabin, studying birds in flight. His fascination withbirds

and flight is made _particularly clear when he raises his arms in emulation ofthe

motion ofthe birds he watches. We see him later on, as a grown _{man, watching}

thebirds as

before,

but now poor and shabby. As he stands,

feeding

the

birds,

he

sees a cartof miners _passing

by

_along theroad.

They

_stopand beginto

dig

in the

road. Hewaves to theminers and

they

waveback as

they

move on. The nextpart

ofthe _story chronicles Joe's triumph against the odds. He nails _rungs, produced fromthe pieces ofhis broken-down house to the sideof a _{exaggeratedly} talltree

andbegins toclimb. As intheoriginalstory,thepreacherattemptsto _stop

Joe,

but fails. Joe awkwardly climbs a plank and prepares to take a final leap. His

dizzying

height is depicted

by

a point of view of the ground below. The townspeople, who have gathered to watch

Joe,

look like ants. He takes the

leap

and at first falls like a _stone, but _amazingly, his wings work! The people below

are amazed as Joe flies over a mountain and some even

try

to emulate him in flight. Just as miraculous the flight

itself,

Joe lands in a gold _mine, thus

discovering

goldand_{uniting him}withtheminersas ahero.

Although my ideawasapproved, manypeople saw somefundamentalproblems

with the _story that inclined me to

drastically

change the direction of the story.

Mostof_{these problems,}Ibelieve inretrospect,may inpartstemfromthefactthat

the _storywas somewhat too complex for a short animation, and _may stem from

thefactthat the_storywas _veryunrealistic. Perhapsnot

being fully

aware ofthis at

the _time, these factors made it a great challenge to produce a final storyboard

acceptable to _{everybody involved.} One committee member protested that

realistically, miners who are _mininggoldwould pan forgold to discover it.

They

would not

dig,

and certainly,

diving headlong

into a mountainside would not

uncoverunearthed gold. Since thewhole nature ofthis storyboardwas somewhat

tongue in cheek,

however,

Iwas not surehow seriouslythese disagreementswere to be taken. After

having

written stories and created films in which a main

character did not achieve his goals, I wanted to create a _{story in} which the

character did. This is why I chose to give _my character a chance to get what he

wanted

by

_alteringthe end ofthestory.

Another issueofdisputewiththeproposed storyboard concerned plot

complexities. Oneproblem cited was _ambiguityoverthecharacter's goal: wasthe character _really

trying

to

fly

or_really

trying

to getthegold? This was a difficult

wings interested me the most. One solution to this problem was to focus

exclusively onthecharacter'sgoalto learn flight.

However,

_creating an animated filmabout the

character'

s _simply

learning

to

fly

was difficultwithout_re-invoking the Wright brothers narrative. Without the motivation of

discovering

gold there

was no _{longer any} apparent conflict established inthe _story

-there were noreal

obstacles in the _way ofhis goal, if flight was his onlygoal.

Nothing

was risked,

nothing was

lost,

and therefore audience identification with the character was weakened.As one_mycommitteemembers suggestedthereis no specialreason to

like thecharacter or

identify

withhis struggle.

In mysecond storyboarddraft I decidedtoreturnto the theme ofthemain

character's dissonance withthe _{working community in} orderto provide the _story with needed conflict. Inthis storyboard, the characteris depicted as an estranged

member ofthe_{mining community}to which he belongs. Heis set apartfromthem

becausewhile

they

are _working, he is studying birds in flight. His identification

with birds is made clear when he raises his arms in emulation of the birds he

watches. Itis also made clearfroma conglomeration ofbird likecontraptions and

flying

paraphernalia, suggesting previous efforts at flight.

Finally,

the miners of the _{community discover gold,}anddecide toleave withtheir

loot,

_abandoning the

main character

-either outofgreed, or, in myown

interpretation,

_{simply because}

they

have forgotten about this person who plays no active role in their undertakings. The main character's goal therefore changes. He seeks to reunite withhis_community, andflight becomes his wayof_{achieving his} goal. His

flying

endeavors provetobe aprocess oftrial and error. When he

fails,

he sees a_group of _{scattering birds} and reaches for them. In

doing

_so, he

finally

realizes the

potential of his _wings, which lift him upward and over the mountainside. The final shot of the storyboard showed the people of his mining community

emulating Joe in his

flight,

just ashe hademulatedthebirdat the

beginning

ofthe

animation.

Ifeltthat thisresolutionwould showthe_possibilitythatJoe'spassion,

commitment, and courage could

bring

the miners out of their materialistic ambitions andtheir meaningless and repetitive pursuit of wealth.

This,

in effect,

wouldbethe payoff_{in Joe's risking his life}andaffiliation withhis community in

order to pursue his dream.

Although,

_again, there _{may be} certain realism

problems involved withthis poetic, ratherthan_mechanical,

discovery

of

flight,

I believe personally that this storyboard satisfiedthe basic requirements of a_story and solved the problems with theoriginal. _{From my} perspective as an _animator, this was, tome,amuchbetterversionfor relating myinterpretationofthe original

story. The Joe Clark character achieves his goal. He learns to fly. He also overcomes his _{conflict, namely} the callousness of his fellow workers.

Unfortunately,

since this was a period in which I was _{changing my} thesis

committee members, I did not feel as if I had much ground to stand on in

defending

what I felt was a good solution to _{my idea.} Perhaps this _{is why} this

storyboard did not get full approval either. This is the stage of the approval

The finalversionof_mystoryboard solvedtheaforementioned problemsina

couple of ways.

First,

this storyboard suggests arevision ofthecharacter's goal,

namelythathe wants_onlytofindanacceptable_wayoutof_{his community}and his

work (see Appendix

C,

page28). He needs an excuse to quithis

job,

at least for himself. He finds a

"way

out"

through the

discovery

of

beauty,

presented in the

motif of a beautiful and graceful shadow that flirts past him as he is working.

Next,

thestoryboard suggests arevision oftheconflict, specifically his

inability

to

gethisco-workers attention andpersuadethemtofollow his lead. Therealization of

beauty

aloneis notenough. He needs some affirmation ofthis

discovery

andin

the end he gets

it,

though through artificial means. Heconstructs a machine that

performs the same action as the bird that casts the

beguiling

shadow in the

beginning. It is a shadow_projector, andthebirds gatherto assist_{him in projecting}

shadows onto alocal schoolhouse. And (lo and

behold)

he finds an audience as

well, a_group of school children_{playing in} theirplayground. The kids loveit!

So,

in the _end, the main charactergets whathe wants he finds acceptable groundsto

leave the _group of workers with which he is struggling and he also gets some

personal affirmation ofhisconcept ofbeauty. This isthe final storyboard andthe

ideaupon whichI ultimately based myanimation.

My

ownfeelings aboutthis finalversion are _generallypositivebecause I feelit solvedtheproblems with _{my initial}storyboard. IthinkthatIachieved_my goal of

producingagood animatedmotionpicture. The attempts that thecharacter makes atflight are

interesting

to me for he visual appeal ofthemotion ofthecharacter.I

think that the character is still an

interesting

character _{to animate,} as far as his bird-like lookand action isconcerned. Likewise arethe motifs ofthe shadow and

themotion of_{the miners,} each of which are dynamic visual symbols_representing

beauty

andwork.

Also,

as described in detail _{above, the} final storyboard resolves

problemsofconflict andmotivationquite well.

My

_onlypersonal_uncertaintywith

the final_solution, with whichIgivemembers of_my thesiscommittee credit with

myself, is that the solution is ultimately an existential solution to an existential problem.

Nothing

_{has clearly} changed orprogressed attheend ofthe story. The

happy

ending is more for the children than for the main character. The main characterhas simplymoved fromone somewhat repetitive task to _another, even

though one is inspired

by

beauty,

andthe other,

by

a lack of clear inspiration! I

am not positive what is wrong with the characterin the first storyboard

having

two goals, onetolearn to

fly

andthe otherto getthegold. Perhaps hisattempt to

getthegoldis a materialistic one. In my final _storyboard,

however,

his

turning

to

a non-materialistic goal does not produce _any clear changes in the situation at

IV)

CharacterandSetConsiderations

In

designing

thelookofthecharacters andenvironment,puppet style animation

was _mymajorreference. Little is

fancy

or elaboratein thedesign ofthecharacters

I created. Ikept the _geometry ofdesign simple, and Icreated_nearly all elements

ofthecharactersfromprimitive spheres. The attireofthecharactersis simple,and

I aimed at_producing the impression of 19th

century miners. The main character

wears a simple white shirt, gray flannel or denim pants and suspenders. The

suspenders are not actual _{geometry but} a _ramp texture mapped on the _clothing

surface ofhistorso.

When Idesignedthemaincharacter,Iaimed at _{making him look bird like. The}

nose onthecharacter's face is intendedtoresemble abeak. His legs are

long

and his

body

is

lean,

toresemble a stork. Thecharacterhas awide armspan.Hehas a

tuft ofhair atop his

head,

to resemble the comb of abird. He has a

long,

slender

neckand aprominentAdams apple. Themaincharacter's eyes are large and wide

and his features are

delicate,

also intended to depict a childlike quality. In

animating the character, I tried to exaggerate his motion. I wanted to depict his

motion as somewhat stuttered and _awkward, as if land were not _{entirely his}

element. Like a

bird,

his motion when _{walking is} somewhat_sharp and abrupt, not

especially smooth and graceful. Theother characters arerepresentedas somewhat more human intheirappearance, thoughwithoutas much_personality asthe main

character. Their

bodily

proportions are more _accurately

human,

and their

movementis smootherand steadier.

Mostofthesets usedthroughout the animationmake _consistentlyuseafew

sparely designed elements. _{The surrounding} environment is composed offorms

thatI also tried tomake as _{simple, organic,} and natural

looking

as Icould. Green hills roll across the horizon ofthe landscape. A single piece of _slightly warped

geometrycreates theplane_representing the earth. All surface planes _representing

these natural forms were created from primitive planes with _evenly spaced

isoparms,

designed sothatthefractal surface mapsIcreatedwould produceeven

textures across all surfaces. Other elements in the natural environment simulate

this sparseorganic model. Treetrunks andbranchesarecreatedfromsingle pieces

ofNURBS geometry, which I bentand rotatedinorderto produce

flowing

lines. When I did not use a single color environment shader as an attribute of the

rendering camera, I used a sphere with a gentle _ramp texture as a

backdrop

to

convey the gradations of _sky color. These elements, along with the _cabin, schoolhouse and _{miningequipment,}comprise allprops usedintheanimation.

The fewnon-naturalformsin theanimation were alsocreated with_simplicity of

design in mind. Architectural _structures, such as the cabin and _schoolhouse, are

simplebox shaped structures. Iconic components,

including

atower andbell for

the schoolhouse andLincoln logs for _{the cabin,} I tried tomake consistent use of.

All non-natural objects have simple, repeating texture maps, whether

they

be

properties of

Maya,

which I discuss in more detail

later,

I felt that the simple,

repetitive, and organic appearance of sets and _characters, ratherthan hard lines

and synthetic _materials, were most _greatly enhanced

by

Maya's rendering

program.

Theexceptionto _mysimple and sparse useofpropsis thecomplicated

contraption that the main character uses to create the shadows. This is a

fairly

complicated device geometrically, and is designed to look somewhat like a

lantern,

somewhat like a _projector, and somewhatlike an engine. Blackmetallic tubes coilaroundthe device.

Rotating

gears move _continuouslywithinthebowels

of the machine. A glowing, shining, and _{shimmering beacon} oflight emanates

from the center ofthe contraption, the most _glaring of all features. This glowing

light,

which was animated

by

_manipulating the options within the Optical FX

lighting

feature,

is dissimilarto all otherlightsin the environment, since all other

environmentallights arespot

lights,

with cleardirectionalpropertiesandshadows.

V)

AestheticandTechnical

Issues,

ProblemsandSolutions

The digitalcreation of_mythesisanimationtookover ayearto_accomplish,and is _certainly one ofthe most substantial undertakings I have ever ventured. The

first issue I dealt with, naturally, was

learning

to use

Maya,

which I have

heard,

when introduced in

1998,

was the largest commercial software application ever

created.

Having

worked _{previously only} with

Alias|

Wavefront's first software

package,

Alias,

beginning

to deal with Maya alone was a challenge. Though Maya had many similarities with

Alias,

it also had many differences and _many

new features that, although _proving to be powerful animation _tools, also posed

technicalchallenges.

First,

were_modelingconcerns.

Maya,

Ifoundto _{generally be}aninferior

modelingpackagetoAlias. Functionsthatweresimple in

Alias,

such as

trimming

and _{rounding surfaces,} were quite difficult in

Maya,

and _many of_my models I

built in Alias andtransported toMayawhen

they

were finished. Otherthanthis, I became accustomed to _using primitives. In

fact,

all ofthe major components of

my character are built from primitive _spheres,

including

head,

_torso,

legs,

and

shoes.

By

_{using insert} and remove isoparm

functions,

_geometry was _actually

fairly

simple to extend or simplify. I chose to

keep

_everything as simple as

possible, partly for fear that _{making geometry} too complicated would lead to

complications with_animating and_{maintaining files. I} alsowantedto

keep

models

spare inpart because Ithoughtit would give me greater_control,in partbecause I

thought it would make _{rendering easier,} and inpart to challenge myself. I think that ultimately, this objective of _simplicity was a good choice in the Maya environment, because Maya is not as precise _{geometrically}as

Alias,

but is more flexibleand yields betterorganicforms.

Also,

sinceI found Mayanot aspowerful

in shadingor_renderingas

Alias,

Ithinkitwas importanttomaintain _geometry as

simple, clean, and clearaspossiblefortheviewer's eye.

Many

ofthefeatures intheMayapackage specific tocharacter animationwere very helpful to me for

designing

and_animating characters.

Among

these features included lattices and flexors. The feet ofthe characters are attached to the legs

with

lattices,

and are bound to these lattices rather than joints. I made use of

flexors at all major

joints,

and these flexors worked _very well in making the

characters bend more smoothly. The greatest problem with _requiring all this scaffolding for my characters was that it made _{changing characters,} which I

frequently

wasforcedtodo in the_modeling and

binding

process, very difficult. I hadtounattach _geometry,rebind

it,

and re-createdeformers. Therewas no_way to

preserve lattice and flexor positions oncejoints were unbound. One neat trick I found was _{using flexors for}

holding

characters waists together.

Creating

a

relativelyseamless bind betweenupper andlower

body

couldhave been achieved using another lattice or _using a blend.

However,

by

_editing the _membership of CV's on the

top

half and bottom halfofthe belt to respectivejoints (spine and

pelvis), the character would bend quite a lot without _showing seams.

Finally,

I made frequent use ofMaya's parenting function in order to associate an object

with a particular joint. This method made the specific

binding

of surfaces

unnecessary.

Shading,

rendering,

lighting

functionsin

Maya,

thoughIfound fine forwhatI

was

trying

to achieve, didnot measure _upto Alias' standards. Textures were not

usually a problem. _{For many}ofthe _{textures, I simply} usedthose made available

through Wavefront overthe Internet free forpublic use. The 3d shader conform feature was useful for creating a 2d texture for a specific object based on an

existing 3d texture. I made use of this 3d to 2d shaderconversion _process, for

example, _convertinga 3drust texture usedfor 3d objects to 2d for flatplanes on

objects such as the shovel. This shader conversion process was _necessary to

permittextures tomove in syncopationwith an assignedobject. One difficulttask

I had to deal with was _shading other _objects, such as the roof, which was _very

simple_geometry, to lookas if it hadshingles. This was difficult because in Maya

there is no displacement feature under shaderoptions.

Nonetheless,

Iwas able to

accomplish

fairly

_convincing results _using a

bump

map. I mapped this to a grid

pattern andmanipulatedcoordinate variablesto _{slightly warp}theroofs pattern.

Creating

realistic shadersforstylizedcloudswas another challenge. The clouds

in my environments are _obviously simple _spheres, which I varied in size, shape,

and displacement inorder to_convey an impression of motion. I _{derived my final}

cloud textures fromaMEL script thatcan be found on

Alias'

home page via its

Online Assistant tutorials. Though I do not understand the specifics ofhow this

script _worked, when I executed _{the code,} a realistic _smoky

looking

shader resulted. Ihad to

transparency

_map the black portion ofthe _ramp used tocreate

the cloud shader to give the clouds

transparency

in hue and texture.

Finally,

to

achieve greater

transparency

of _my cloud

forms,

I disabled the double-sided

option under _rendering options for the spheres that represent clouds _{in my} environment.

Most ofthe

lighting

_{in my}scenesrelies on a

fairly

simplethreepoint

lighting

scheme, comprised of a main

light,

aback lightand afill

light,

which Ivariedin

color and degree of intensity. In almost all of _my shots I used _only spotlights

because I felt that spotlights gave me the puppeteer style of

lighting

that would

most_effectivelycompliment_mysimple, organic models. Iwanted_my setstolook like_sets, soextreme realismwas not_something thatIwas _{especially aiming for. I}

worked quite hard to achieve _{convincing shadows,} also important to me forthis

aesthetic effect. I wanted to obtain shadows with clean, clear edges that would

remain _{sharp for} a distance. I achieved this effect

by increasing

_{depth map}

resolution and depth map focus. One result of

having

clear _shadows,

however,

was that it exposed a problem in Maya's

handling

of _{shadows, namely} that

shadows wouldnotalways meetthe objectsthatcastthem.

Decreasing

_{depth map}

bias,

a feature thatexists in Maya exclusivelytocover for_{this problem, to} about

0.001 seemedto

help

mostofthetime.

Creating

theanimated shadowsthatarecast

by

thebirds and

by

theprojector was also_occasionally a challenge. These shadows, distinct from the environment

shadows discussed above, were cast

by

individual spheres with animated

CV's,

one toproduce each _shadow, illuminated

by

abacklight. In many _scenes, I made

use of light

linking

so that I could separate the _{light casting} the shadows on

ground surfaces from the lights used to light the general scene. One of the

problems I faced was _creating shadows that were clean and _{possessing clearly}

defined edges that would not fade or become fuzzy. In those shots in which

multiple shadows were _cast, I had to light all objects _casting shadows from a

single main source so that I would get an even

lighting

effect across the scene.

Obtaining

crisp shadows,

in,

for example, the scene

depicting

the schoolhouse

from _afar, required me to place shadow _casting objects _very close to the

illuminating

light source. This meant _shrinking these objects to _very small sizes, since their respective shadow volume increased as

they

approachedlight source.

To hide objects _{casting shadows,} I turned off their renderable variable for

rendering. Forthe ground shadows that pass

by

the workers as

they dig,

I had to

create a specific light to cast main shadow to make it darker than the other

shadows in thescene. I linkedthis_{light only}to the object_casting the shadow and

to theground, and decreasedthe

intensity

ofthe otherlights tocompensateforthe

intensity

of the new light. Shadows obey Light

Linking

must be turned on and

Object

Visibility

must be turned off under the Render Globals menu for this to

work. Anotherapproach Ifounduseful tocreate _overlappingshadows was to take

an _ordinary rendered shadow into After

Effects,

sharpen all blurred edges

by

decreasing

the feather effect, and then use motion blur to add _subtlety after

compositingthe shadow with a_previouslyrendered shot.

Though Itooka

fairly

straightforward approachtoward animation, the

animation of some objects and characters provided afew noteworthy challenges

that I want to discuss. One of the most difficult motions to animate was the

complex motion ofthe

digging

men. Theman who _{is shoveling}was a particular

challengebecause Iwas forcedtofinda_wayto ensure thathis handswouldstick

to the shovel. Since the shovel could _{only be} parented to one

joint,

_parenting

alone was not anadequatesolutionto theproblem. One

temporary

solutionwasto

parent wrists together. Although this was _{adequate, this} action _entirely removed

joints connecting wrist _{to elbow,} and therefore produced some odd

looking

distortions on the shoveler's hands and wrists. The best solution was to parent

locatorsto the shovelso that theselocators would alwaysmove_regularly withthe

shovel.

Next,

I constrained the IK handles on the character's arms to these

locators,

so that smooth motion between the shovel motion and the character's

wrist andarmjoints would result. Sometimes itwas_necessary tomoveoneofthe

arms

independently

ofthe _shovel,forexamplewhenthe shoveler reachesto brush

off the _{glaring light. To} accomplish _{this, I} parented another locator to the IK

handle of the arm and toggled its weight from zero to one, to toggle on the IK

handleofthe arm offoftheshovellocatorand onto thenew one.

Parenting

wasa

big help

to me in using IK formost purposesas well.

Parenting

handles tojoints allowed me the benefits of_{using IK}

handles,

but also made it

possible to animate a character through various motions and contortions while

preserving the position of IK handles relative to those joints. Animated IK handles creating

flipping

ofjoints andbodies was

frequently

a problem as _well,

often, for example, when characters were animatedto gesture in large sweeping

motions. A good solution was _{usually grouping} the IK handle and then_pivoting the grouped node at therootjointofthearm. I thenusedthis _{group exclusively}

for arm_rotation, and usedthe _{IK handle itself strictly for}

flexing

motions. This

methodfor controlling the rotation ofIK handles proved an effective alternative to _using theIKmanipulator toolprovided

by

the defaultmenu, which Ifoundto

frequently

not work well enoughtoproducesmoothmotion.

Attaching

IK handles

to motion paths was another technique Iused to create _sweeping movements in thearms of characters

in,

for_{example, the} scenes

involving

the_runningchildren.

VI)

The

Learning

Experience

As is probablyclearfrom _above, I hadto learna greatdealofmaterialto

accomplish the goal of _creating a _personal, independent work of computer

animation. I was _greatly surprised, in

fact,

at how much there was to learn and

how much work was involved in creating a six and a half-minute piece. Even

though the computer was able to assist me _{in many} aspects of the animation

process,theprocessofall_animation,I feel_now,is

largely

the samein any kindof

animation, and that process is extremely labor intensive. I am not _entirely sure

thatI feelthesame_wayabout animation asI did before Iundertookthis task.Iam

inclinedto feelthatcomputer animationis as muchan art and a skill as_any other

kind of animation. Perhaps the most significant difference between computer

animation and other animated forms concerns the fact that, in so far as the

computeris able toproduce superior results to other animated

forms,

thestandard

has been raised and will continue to be raised. I also found that whatever past

experience I

have,

whether it be

drawing

or _computer, I believe had little direct influence on whatIaccomplished,althoughIalsosuspectthathad Inoexperience

at_all, Iwouldnothave beenabletoaccomplish whatI didaccomplish.

Oneofthemost _overwhelmingaspects oftheprocessin creating anindependent

motion _{picture, especially} when part of this process requires _accepting and

synthesizing input fromotherpeople,regards

dealing

with complexity. Eachstep,

from concept to storyboard, storyboard to technical

issues,

technical issues to

aesthetic

issues,

aesthetic issues to animation, animation _{to editing,} and so on,

creates a new level ofcomplexity. If an _extremely clear vision was not

firmly

rooted in the mind of the creator, effectively and _efficiently

developing

an

animation, I

believe,

wouldhave become fartoo complicated for_{me, the}creator.

Each level of creation became still more complicated with the _variety of

viewpoints Iwas challenged toconsider,because I hadtodecide whichto filter in

or out of_my production.

Only

because the computer has the _ability to _simplify

masses ofinformation did the material

finally

becomeplastic enough that I was

able tohandlethis level of complexity. _{It genuinely} was notuntil I hadoutputted

theworkto digitalvideoformatthatIwas ableto envision_myworkin goodform

and in its entirety, and was able to considerit afinishedwork and envision it as

such in mymind.

Proposal foranMFA Thesis

The

Day

Joe

Clark Took Flight

by

Gabriel Atiya

MFA

Imaging

Arts/Computer Animation

SCHOOL

OF

PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTS AND

SCIENCES

ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

ROCHESTER,

NEW YORK

May,

1999

- _L

Maria

Schweppe,

Chair

/

/

Associate Professor

Film/Video/AnimationDepartment

StephanieMaxwell Associate Professor

Film/Video/AnimationDepartment

Howard Lester Professor

Gabe Atiya

Thesistreatment_writeup

Working

title: "The

Day

Joe Clark TookFlight"

Estimatedtime:4mins

Treatment: 3Danimation _{using AliasAVavefront}and/orMayasoftware

A

boy

named Joe Clark is

looking

_{up into}the sky, wistfully. Heruns offtheporchofhis

cabinhomeand sees aflockofsmallbirdsfeeding. Heruns _upto thebirds but

they

donot

fly

away. Joe looksandwalks likeabird. Hetakesahandfulof crumbs outofhisoveralls andthrows them to thebirds. Ashadow passes over_{him. He looks up}and sees a

magnificent_{bird circling}overhead._{Joe looks up} andflaps hisarms asif hewerethebirdin flight.

Dissolve toJoe Clarkasagrown man.He isstill

feeding

thesame

birds,

buthis house is a

wreck, andheandhis clothesarein shabby shape aswell. He sees a_group of gold miners

traveling

alongtheroadina cart. He wavesto themand

they

waveback.

Again,

he flaps his arms asif hecouldfly.

Apictureof_{Joe atop}ahillside. _{He is putting}thefinalnail intherungsofaladder he has

built toahugetree. Peoplegather ashe attacheshis hand builtwings tohis arms. A preacherbegins topreachtoJoe. Joe ignores andbeginstoclimbtheladderanyway. The ladderstretches upward_{seemingly infinitely. The}rungs creak at_{Joe's every}step. Oneeven

breaks along hisway. _{The gathering}townsmencontinuetowatchJoe ashereachesthe top.

Joe awkwardly walkstheplankhe has builtand looks downovertheedge. Thepeople all

look likeants. Thewindblows andJoesways, almost

falling

off as he is getting upthe

nervetojump.

Finally,

he

hesitantly

doesjump. He atfirst falls likea_stone,but

finally

starts

flapping

his arms andbegins tofly. The peoplebeloware amazedas

they

watchhim

fly

overthemountainside. Someofthem

flap

theirown armsinemulation.

Joe lands inthemineoftheminershesaw earlier. Gold dustflies out ofthemine. He

scoops_upahandfulof gold

dust,

andis amazed

by

whathe has discovered. He

heroically

lifts hisarms and againpretendstofly. His dreams havepaid offintheend.

Budget Proposal: Item Estimate (Total cost) In Kind

(Donations,

facilities)

Actual (own expense) Research: Storyboard: Script: Animatic: $600 $1200 $1200 $1200 $100 $600 $600 $600 $500 $600 $600 $600

Totalproductiontime

Character Design Animation

Modeling

$3000 $8000 $3000 $600 $2000 $1000 $2400 $6000 $2000

Rentedcomputertime

(SGI with _software)

200@$100/hr =$20,000 $20,000 $0 Purchasedcomputer, leased software $4,000 $1000 $5,000 (if_used...)

Rendertime for 3-5minutes ofanimation X $0

Rented editingequipment (Mediacomposer)

20@$100/hr

=$2,000

$2,000

Sound

Editing

40@90/hr

$3,600

$3,600

Music and composition $1,000 $0

Other sound_{work/recording} $500 $0

Dubs and_recording 10 @ $5each

$50

$0

Media and supplies $500 $0

$0 $0 $0 $500 $50 $500 TOTAL: $31,800 +rendering

$

13,100

Timelineproposal:

End of

Spring

Quarter,

1999: Havecompleted storyboard

Havecompleted animatic

Summer Quarter: (0to 1 credit

hour)

Preliminary: research andcharacters

Researchanddesign models

Begin modelingon computerifpossible

Fall Quarter:

WinterQuarter:

Spring

Quarter:

(fourcredit

hours)

Havemodels and sets approved

Begin animating

(fourtofive credit

hours)

Finish animating

Begin rendering animations

Doresearch forsound

Begin workingwith sound

(twotofourcredit

hours,

for 12_total)

Finish rendering

Roughedit

by beginning

of quarter

Finishsound

by

midquarter

Finishfilm Writepaper

Marketing

proposal:

All listedare

festivals,

andweretakenfromthe_asifa.orgweb page. Iam still

looking

into

thispart of_{the process,} so_{it may}changein time.

Asifa East Festival

Blue

Sky

International Film Festival

Chicago International Children's Film Festival Hiroshima Festival

Los Angeles International Film Festival LA Short Film Festival

1) Joe Clark as child, sitting on porch

2) Joe walks up to birds, begins to feed them

3) Shadow passes over Joe, he looks up

5) LS: Joe flaps arms in iitimitation

?

E3

sen

6) LS: A later time. Joe is still _feeding the birds. He is dressed _shabily

7)MS: Joe sees a horse and cart pass by.

9) LS: The miners wave to Joe and Joe waves back.

10) MS: Joe waves his arms again in the air,

as he watches the miners travel away.

11) LS: Joe picks up a piece of his broken house

and mulls over the situation.

12) LS: A later time. Joe is nailing rungs of a ladder to the side of a tree. With him is a barrel of tar and a pair of wings.

A preacher walks _up to Joe and begins preaching to him. Joe begins to climb the ladder he has built.

13) MS: Joe's point of view of the _apparently

15) MS: The townsmen gather around the tree.

They look up and point.

16)LS: Joe teeters atop the precarious branch

at the top of the tree.

17) Joe's point of view of the villagers far below.

19) MS: Joe flaps his arms. Miraculously,

the wings work!

20) MS: The villagers watch Joe ascend over

the hillside. Some of them _flap their arms

in emulation of Joe.

21) LS: Joe lands head first into the mine in

which the miners are digging. Gold dust flies

it'

yf\

err X/i - -

-A

ij '"

J

,

M

. _*.__

y-

-T^

₎

1) L.S. Three workers _digging in the ground

%&#

T

^ ; <<

LlQL

^

2) L.S. Strange objects and occurances begin.

Clowns in fire engines pass by. No response from

the workers.

3) L.S. Bees pass by. No response.

<:L

if

r-i

[-4) L.S. Three breasted women pass by.

No response.

5) C.S. A shadow passes over the

ground where the pick-axes fall.

6) M.S. One character attempts to point out the shadow to another worker.

7) C.S. The shadow.

A \\

.*sS*

8) The character begins to pursue

the shadow on his own.

r

9) M.S. Character does not see where he is going.

He crashes into a tree. A bird flies overhead.

'/\v

A\

10) M.S. He gets up and for the first time, looks up.

11) L.S. (POV) The bird flying overhead.

fl>

i

S

12) Character flaps arms, in immitation of the bird's flight.

S\\\ \ '< s

13) L.S. The workers continue to dig,

still not _noticing the bird or the shadow.

14) Character exits and re-enters with a pair of hand

built wings. He begins nailing planks to side of tree.

15) L.S. Nails planks into tree as he climbs higher

and higher. Finally, he climbs out on a branch.

16) M.S. Birds gather on limbs to watch what is going on.

17) M.S. Climbs out _along branch, using wings as a tightrope.

18) L.S. (POV) Looks down at workers below.

They continue to work and pay no attention.

19) L.S. Birds continue to watch as he sways back and forth,

preparing to dive. Finally he jumps off branch.

20) L.S. Character fals on _{ground, tumbling} to a stop.

21) M.S. He turns back to workers, bowing after his feat.

1 1

I

22) L.S. The workers, continuing to dig.

23) M.S. The character scratches his head, looks down. Finally, a light bulb appears above. He dashes off screen.

Construction noises off screen.

24) L.S. Returns on screen with mechanical device. Begins to climb tree once again.

25) L.S. Brick schoolhouse

V <

11 '

w

lM

26) M.S. Two school girls walking. They stop. One points in the sky.

27) M.S. _{Boy playing} ball. Is distracted and drops ball.

#

28) L.S. The school house. Shadows dance all over premises.

29) M.S. Man is up on same tree branch, with machine,

hanging out with the birds. Bright light shines from

the machine.

1

i

/

-\\

>

- - \

j

1

1

1

/

\

n

30) M.S. He _suddenly turns machine around and points it in opposite direction.

31) M.S. Shadows now begin to dance around the workmen,

who continue to _dig in the ground.

32) M.S. Shadow passes over one workman. He _momentarily

stops _digging and looks up. He tries to brush off the shadow

as if it were a bug.

33) L.S. The man and the birds joyously jump up and down _atop their branch, in celebration.