Computer generated images in movies

COMPUTER GENERATED IMAGES IN MOVIES

Stephen Halley - 11060131Aoife O'Dwyer - 11131888

Mark Eisenberg - 11118482

INTRODUCTION

"It is not just that such images [CGIs] raise the stakes of what can be represented, but that they are ... more real than the real ... "

Why did we chose this topic?• Common interest.

• Relevant to our course.

• Explore various aspects.

Our Sections

• CGI in Science Fiction

• Realistic Effects

• Non-Realistic Animation

CGI IN SCI-FI:FROM STAR WARS TO

THE AVENGERS

THE EARLY DAYS• CGI & Science fiction go hand in hand.

• 3D CGI first used in 'Futureworld' (1976)

‘Star Wars: A New Hope’ (1977) used 3D wire frame graphics.

• 1982 – ‘Tron’ - first movie to have extensive use of solid 3D CGI. Very little processing required.

RISE IN POPULARITY• Sci-Fi movies become more prominent and successful through

the use of CGI.

• CGI has helped make certain elements cheaper to create.

• Younger audiences in a video game culture.

• End of 20th century - New advances in CGI - 'The Matrix' (1999) - Bullet Time.

• Increase in big budget, CGI inspired, sci-fi movies.

• 'The Lord of the Rings' Trilogy (2001-2003) blended live action and CGI seamlessly.

• AI used for digital actors- Eg. Gollum

'Avatar' (2009) - first full length movie to use performance capture to create photorealistic characters and environments.

• 'Avengers Assemble' (2012) - Used CGI throughout to make unrealistic characters and creatures look exactly like reality.

Realistic CGI & Animation

Realistic CGI & Animation

• Character - Body Movements

• Personality - Facial Expressiveness

• Polygon Meshes - Fast rendering, common, lots needed.

• Human Face - Bossels and Depressions, shading problems, motion and close-up detail.

• Empathy, Agency (impacting an event)

• No sudden movement

Realistic CGIMethods

• Photographs

• Cross sections - topographic map, contours

• Magnetic-field 3D digitizing - faster

• Plaster, sculpting, projected grid

Making it easier

• Reusing old assets

• Symmetry

• Computer sculpting - Adding, removing, assembling - "Spaceball"

• Spheres, Cylinders, Points, Moulding

vs.

Realistic Animation

• Actions follow screenplay and storyboard

• Motion capture - expressiveness

• Suite of emotions/motions

• Not producing a generalization, but working off a blank slate.

• Reusing animation assets

• Colour, texture eg. blushing

• Intermediate emotions can

be generated by computers.

Cartoon Animation

Cell Animation

• Traditional method of animation

• Each image is drawn by hand

• Main method until computer animation

Method:

• Artists drew on transparent pages ("cells")

• Coloured in by hand

• Sections could be moved without redrawing entirety

CAPS• "Computer Animation Production System"• Developed by The Walt Disney Company and Pixar in

the late 1980's• The first computer paint system• Image outlines were scanned onto computers, then

painted• Enclosed blocks of images could be painted with a

mouse click• Improved colour blending, shading, camera movements• The Rescuers Down Under (1990) was the first film

entirely made using CAPS• Images were 2D looking and CAPS stopped being

popular in 2004

3D CGI Animation

• Even outline drawings are drawn on the computer, not by hand

• Small components can be modified, not just layers

• Improves perspective and makes the image look 3D

• Cel shading: "toon shading" used to make computer images appear hand drawn. Gives a more "traditional" feel

Conclusions

• From doing this presentation we have learned that tricks of the trade are used across specialities.

• Computer Generated Images in movies are improving at a fast rate. The detail in graphics available now were not even dreamt of years ago.

• The things we have learned can help us in the future with projects and in the workplace.