WEEK 1 - THE AGE OF THE IMAGE AND THE TREND OF THE LENS
JAMES FOX ‘THE AGE OF THE IMAGE’
Most people have probably seen this surreal painting ‘The Persistence Of Memory’ by Salvador Dali. Dali experimented with time and space using double images, treble images and mirror images to bend time and space. He claimed that he was interested in science, particularly nuclear physics, prompting him to depict the collision and explosion in his artistic work. In this picture, three of the four clocks shown which are made of metal are contrarily stretchy, and liquid-like. Dali is believed to have been fascinated by Albert Einstein’s ‘Theory of Relativity’ which argued that time could be bent; much like this literal depiction in his painting.
While Dali depicted the bending of time, Harold Edgerton; an American engineer experimented on time using strobe lights, a 'stroboscope'. When you place a fast moving object in front of this light, it makes it seems as though that object slows down or even comes to a complete halt.
Edgerton started using this light to capture freeze images with a still camera and also produced super-slow-motion videos with film cameras. One these images which can be seen above; the milk-drop photograph, was captured the moment a milk droplet fell and splashed on a surface.
HAROLD EDGERTON IMAGES WITH A VFX SHOT
I created a gallery by pairing up four Visual Effects shots in films with similar Harold Edgerton images.
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Superman Returns (2006)
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
The Greatest Showman (2017)
Twilight (2008)
WEEK 2 - THE PHOTOGRAPHIC TRUTH-CLAIM
THE ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE
One of the famous philosophical stories ‘The Allegory of the Cave’ is about some people living imprisoned in a wet and dark cave, without natural light. These people who have a lack of education do not know anything beyond the shadows of creatures from outside of this cave such as animals, plants and people, and they pay a lot of attention to these figures. Furthermore, they believe that the shadows themselves are real and take great pride in their sophistication and wisdom. One day, one of the people, discovers a way out of the cave and observes all those things which he had formerly known only as shadows. He realises that the shadows were not real. In spite of this enlightenment, he goes back to the inside of the cave and tries to help his people who still believe that the shadows are real. In the end however, his point of view could not be forced upon the others despite reaching the truth from outside.
WHAT THE TRUTH-CLAIM IS
Charles Sanders Peirce
Gunning, T. (2004) ‘What’s the Point of an Index? or, Faking Photographs’, Plenary Session II, Digital Aesthetics, 1(25), pp. 39-48
Tom Gunning claim that whether the photography is analog or digital, Charles Peirce’s term “Indexicality” has not been changed. In terms of the indexicality of the photograph, the analog image drives from the transformation of light sensitive emulsion through a camera lens and diaphragm, while the digital image is formed through digital cameras’ encoded numerical data instead. The images which have captured information by digital camera can be stored, transferred and manipulated, but idexicality is not eliminated from the numerical data. To understand “something of the original image’s visual accuracy and recognisability” (Gunning, 2004, p41), not only photography indecixal basis is important also psychological and perceptual processes. The power of digital depends on the recognition of a manipulated digital image by viewer. No matter what the image maker creates an image, the viewer still must be able to recognise as a manipulated photograph. Gunning explains that viewer must keep considering in their mind with truth claims and accuracy an essential part of photographic practice although it gives people new techniques and processes of discovery.
Tom Gunning
WEEK 3 - FAKING PHOTOGRAPHS : IMAGE MANIPULATION AND COMPUTER COLLAGE
FAKED ANALOGUE PHOTOGRAPHS
FAKED DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHS
FAKED SHOT FROM VISUAL EFFECTS
The Great (2020)
1917 (2019)
Parasite (2019)
The Rescue (2020)
DEFINITION OF VFX COMPOSITING- WHAT IS IT, AND HOW DOES IT WORK?
In digital cinema, the importance of compositing has dramatically increased with the visual effects throughout its history. The early visual effects, in between photograph and science, have helped cinematic illusion effects deliver excitement and pleasure to audiences. Magician and early filmmaker Georges Méliès, in late 19th century, used the matte painting technique in his 1898 film ‘The Four Troublesome Heads’. This technique was the important role in the bridge between art and science in early cinema, but also this well-balanced connection has helped today’s compositing technique develop further. Today’s VFX compositing with Computer-generated imagery (CGI) and Green Screen, thanks to sophisticated software such as Nuke and After Effects that we can use to create images on screen compile of a variety of digital media, must be built from scratch based on mathematical models or on image data collected in the real world. In terms of “imprint of reality”, the composited media help in giving unbelievable output, which is impossible in filming process, but also it emulates reality as closely as possible. To create astonishing final illusion, today’s visual effects artists have to use different types of compositing techniques such as green or blue screen, Matting, Keying and Physical compositing. By keying and tracking objects and removing the background from behind the actors, it would be easy to remove and recreate the objects’ movements and create realistic background.
Georges Méliès
WEEK 4 - DEFINING TRENDS OF PHOTOREALISM
CGI PHOTOREALISM EXAMPLES
PHOTOREALISM IN VFX
Richard Estes | Cafeteria (1972)
The term photorealism evolved from a genre of painting, Pop Art, in the late 1960s, the US. A lots of photorealistic painters explored what three major themes ‘reflection on the city’, ‘culture of consumption’ and ‘American life’ are. Artists looked into what a reflective surface like window or vehicles and emergence of fast food like a burger or pizza. Within VFX, the photorealism is complex, because the understanding physics of light, cameras and lenses may apply to whole scenes and shots in film. Furthermore, VFX artists always consider the object’s qualities and artificial light more realistic under the applying the physics of light in a photo-realistic environment. The one of the versions’ photorealism is ‘Computer Generated Photorealism’. For example, a famous live action and animation “The Lion King (2019)” by Disney, which the individual animal characters is created from zero by CGI, and it had to keep the animals own way of moving, behaving and facial expressions while singing and speaking. Photorealistic generating is largely described by path-tracing like Arnold Renderer in Maya. The programmed light and camera make the object in a image more realistic by consisting of light through virtual lenses onto the surface. However, computer-generated photorealism under the fakery environment is too real which reads to an uncanny response in the viewers.
WEEK 5 - BRINGING TRUTH INTO VFX VIA THE CAPTURE OF MOVEMENT
KEY FRAMES
MOTION CAPTURE IN VFX EXAMPLES
Rotoscoping
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF MOTION CAPTURE
Pros
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Can create complex movement and realistic physical interactions.
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Can reduce time to produce the result
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Can create animations quickly
Cons
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It requires capable computer to produce and process data
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Can be expensive software programs and difficult to learn for beginner
A POST COMPARING MOTION CAPTURE TO KEY FRAME ANIMATION
The Incredibles (2004)
Monster House (2006)
Running scene from keyframe and motion capture
The Incredibles (2004)
Monster House (2006)
big gesture from keyframe and motion capture
In animation films, the movements of characters are exaggerated and comical, and that could make audience feel character alive and vividness. Traditional Key frame animation techniques allow to control exaggeration and comicality of characters. But, since the first mobcap animation ‘The Polar Express (2004)’ which characters being captured facial and body motion of actors came out, its techniques have limits on representing comicality and exaggeration although it is convenient to capture subjects' natural looks. Furthermore, the motion capture technique was criticised for its ‘lifeless’ and ‘creepy’, that lack of animated exaggeration makes the film appear ‘fake’. There is An example of two different keyframe and motion capture animation, ‘The Incredibles (2004)’ and ‘Monster House (2006)’, it shows the differences of character movements when the characters run, jump and big gesture. The key frame animation can deliver more its vividness and speed. The motion capture animation, on the other hand, shows the naturalness of movement followed rules of physics, so it look real. Because the live actions of human actors are recorded by the movement data which can be applied to virtual characters, the facial expressions or body movement should correct between actors’ performance and 3D characters.
WEEK 6 - REALITY CAPTURE (LIDAR) & VFX
EXAMPLE PROJECT OF TYPE OF 3D SCANNING
DEPTH-BASED SCANNING
3D PORTABLE SCANNER
LASER SCANNING (LIDAR)
IPHONE 12 LIDAR
LIDAER SENSORS FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
PHOTOGRAMMERY
photogrammetry arrays with dslr cameras
photogrammetry footage in movie
REALITY CAPTURE
Reality capture is a process that involves scanning an object or a natural environment to create a 3D representation of the real world. The output from the process is a digital photograph of real-world using laser scanning devices. Reality capture uses lots of overlapping high resolution digital images or a laser scanner to create the digital replica. In terms of architecture industry, the reality capture can help restore damaged or outdated buildings, 3D scanning is used in architecture and construction due to collect and visualise data about the existing structures. When creator uses digital images, both from a UAV and handheld camera, they use photogrammetric strategies to mix the overlapping snap shots to create a 3D mesh of the object or building. A laser scanner works slightly in a different way in that it measures lots of hundreds of discreet factors to define the structure and measurement of the object or building. In addition, 3D laser scanning has also been used for the preservation of cultural heritage. In the direction of archiving and planning reconstruction works, the as-is nation of heritage-protected structures can be digitally captured in a short time using a 3D laser scanner. In particular, scanning technology gives enormous benefits for shooting complex geometries and areas that are challenging to access. Especially the fast, contactless scanning of the object affords especially correct documentation that serves as the foundation for layouts, views and colour, polygon models, and photorealistic 3D models. This technology allows for the quick and accurate capture of architectural drawings and monuments.
VERONICA SCANNER
THE DIGITAL MICHELANGELO PROJECT
The digital Michelangelo project started at Stanford University in 1998 with using laser scanners to digitise the sautés of Michelangelo.
PHOTOGRAMMETRY EXAMPLES (SKETCHFAB)
MY CHOICE OF ESSAY TITLE
WEEK 10 - SIMULACRA, SIMULATION AND THE HYPERREAL
SIMULATION IN FILMS
The Truman Show (1998)
Free Guy (2021)
Jumanji : Welcome to the Jungle (2017)
The Matrix (1999)
JEAN BAUDRILLARD AND THE MATRIX
Simulacre was originated form a Latin word of Siulacrum meaning the virtuality and false figure. At the beginning of movie, Neo deals with Choi and picks up a book. That was a book of ‘Simulacra and Simulation’. Simulacre is a philosophical term systematised by a French philosopher, Jean Baudrillard, referring to the concept of another original duplicated by the original. In fact, this concept is a concept defined by Plato. Plato saw that this world lived by people is composed of the prototype ‘Idea’, replicated article ‘Reality’, replicated article of replication ‘Simulacre’. It means that the human life is a replicated article and that its secondary replicated article is Simulacre. However, he thought Simulacre does not exist and as absolutely nothing because he saw that it is impossible to replicate the original perfectly.