Computer Animation & Storytelling – Arch 423/523 An Interdisciplinary Computer Animation Class Spring 2019

Image above, credit, Kirby Cheng, for “What Time Is This Place” exercise, named after the title
of a book by Kevin Lynch, Computer Animation & Storytelling, University of Virginia, 2018

ARCH 423/523 COMPUTER ANIMATION AND STORYTELLING is a workshop/seminar that explores moviemaking through exercises in 3D computer animation. Approximately five independently developed short animations constitute the work of the term culminating in a one to five minute time-length final movie project. It is anticipated that an interdisciplinary group of students admitted to the seminar will bring perspectives from design and the arts and sciences. Movie projects may range in creative subject areas. For example, built and landscape architectural places may be experienced according to our own changing eye point of view, the transformation of light and objects, as well as the movement of other people. In addition, objects found in architecture and nature reveal formal, tectonic and spatial orders that can be understood through animated sequences that depict varying intervals of time.There is an ongoing emphasis on storytelling, whether by means of 3D character animation or more complex scene description, that may be related to fully simulated aspects of either real or imagined environments.

MOVIEMAKING APPROACH

Moviemaking indebted to direct observational cinema and moviemaking indebted more traditional pre-scripted storytelling, even though the two approaches are from opposite schools of thought, will be considered. Projects may range from design simulation, bio-mechanical studies, and music composition, to more conventional storytelling narratives with animated human characters. The geometrical modeling engine, Maya, used by Pixar, permits more nuanced development of three-dimensional forms, and is free for academic use. Other software provides for precise modeling of human form and movement. Simulation of lighting, physics and mechanical systems are increasingly the basis for animation and have advanced to become more accessible to use. They are integrated into the software we use and will be explored within tutorials..

SIMULATION

The use of real physics simulation has a role in developing the animation of places objects and their environments and will be covered. This includes wind, air, fluids (e.g., molasses, water, ocean surfaces) particles (e.g., snow, rain, clouds), mechanical objects (e.g., springs, hinges, pin joints), cloth (e.g., clothing, tension membrane fabric), hair, skin, gravity, force, mass). Techniques in characterizing human and animal movement, such as inverse and forward kinematics, skeletons, joints, and materials, and working with motion capture data provide for the study of people and interactions. Additional technology can link recorded or synthesized sound or data to directly drive animation. Highly realistic simulation of artificial and sunlight movement, bi-directional reflective distribution descriptions of materials, and incorporating real empirical light data are undertaken. The Academy Award winning V-Ray plugin to Maya, granted by Chaos Group for the animation course, will be used. These are state of the art technologies in computer animation used by Pixar and Disney Studios among others.

MODELING FORM WITH AN INTEREST IN PERCEPTION

An in-depth exploration of NURBS three-dimensional modeling and rendering will be the basis for representing built and natural environments, sculpting characters and creating complex geometrical forms. The scales for individual projects may range from short narrative movies to the analysis of micro-scale environments or larger scale architectural and landscape architectural settings. The work of the seminar will be informed by screenings of student work and of other movies. Discussion of perceptual phenomenon will provide a conceptual framework for the development and critique of individual work.

CORE REQUIREMENTS

Five exercises consist of very short animations of 1 to 5 minutes. The first four animations count as roughly 15% of the course. The final animation counts towards roughly %30 of the course. Class participation / attendance counts towards 10% . The class is completely project based. There are no exams. While the technology explored will be of a significant sophistication, the evaluation of student work will more typically be based on topical rather than technical achievement.

For more details see:
SYLLABUS
EXERCISES
WORKSHOP NOTES

INSTRUCTOR

Visiting associate professor of architecture Earl Mark teaches design as well as computer based media and computational design methods. His projects in animation, moviemaking and computer visualization have been on long term exhibit such as at Historic Jamestown, Monticello, The Smithsonian and the National Building Museum. He studied under Ricky Leacock and is greatly influenced by Leacock’s pioneering direct cinema approach to moviemaking.

Questions about the class may be sent to emark@uoregon.edu

Course Times: Spring 2022, Tues. & Thurs. 10 – 11:50 AM Lawrence Hall 323