June 13, 2011
The best animators know their physics
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| The Game Design Through Mentoring and Collaboration (GDMC) program, run by George Mason University, is designed to i ncrease student interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects in traditionallyunderserved communities. Learn more in this Discovery >> http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_ summ.jsp?cntn_id=117966 Credit: Evan Cantwell, George Mason University |
From drawings to computer animation, the magic of cartoon movies allows audiences to explore a fantastical and imaginary world. To make animated characters life-like on the big-screen, the laws of physics have to be taken into account by film makers. To be believable, every character's movements have to have the fundamentals of physics supporting them. If film makers incorporate scientific principles in the creation of the animated movie, audiences can escape reality and enter a fantasy world.
"The biggest win is when the audience feels an emotional connection to the character," says Cassidy Curtis, a character animator for DreamWorks. "Physics is integral to everything we do as animators because when something doesn't feel like it's physically capable of happening, it pops the audience out of the moment. It reminds the audience what they're watching isn't real."
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| If you spend a lot of time online, you may have an electronic alter ego--an avatar. An avatar is a movable image that people design to represent themselves in virtual reality environments or in cyberspace. But is one's avatar just a virtual identity, or can it also affect how the person is in the real world? Find out more in this Science Nation video.>> http://www.nsf.gov/news/special _reports/science_nation/virtualself.jsp Credit: Science Nation, National Science Foundation |
Physicist Alejandro Garcia, a professor at San Jose State University, advises DreamWorks animators, including Curtis, to create believable characters. With physics in mind, he and other scientists help animators make dragons fly right and explosions look real. "Anatomy is a topic that doctors study, and so do artists," Garcia says. "With animation, physics has become another science essential to the craft of these artists."
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| Chris Rogers at Tufts University is working to improve science education by bringing engineering into K-12 classrooms. Rogers started the Center for Engineering Education and Outreach (CEEO) in the School of Engineering at Tufts University. One of the first programs the CEEO started was the Tufts Student Teacher Outreach Mentorship Program (STOMP). The STOMP program enlists undergraduate engineering students t o mentor K-12 teachers and students. Learn more in this Discovery. ZZ http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc _summ.jsp?cntn_id=117563 Credit: Elsa Head, Tufts University |
Garcia also helps animators create realistic yet whacky worlds of their own. "It's very important for animators to understand motion because that's really what they're doing, they're creating motion," says Garcia.
Animators create worlds that aren't always a plausible fit in the natural world. Damon Riesberg, a DreamWorks animator and the head of character effects for DreamWorks' "Megamind," understands how to mix imagination with reality. "Each movie, each film animation that we do has its own world of physics," Riesberg says. "They're slightly off from what our normal physics would be. 'Megamind''s world wasn't necessarily our world."
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| Mitchel Resnick and his colleagues at the MIT Media Lab are focused on getting young people excited about computer science. Their goal is to encourage young people to use technology as a means to express themselves in creative ways, including through computer programming. Read more in this news release.>> http://www.nsf.gov/news/news _summ.jsp?cntn_id=116070 Credit: L. Barry Hetherington |
Animators analyze the real world physics of cape behavior while running, spinning and jumping around. The tests give the animators understanding of how to create a reasonable yet individualistic cape. "That's some of the science Garcia teaches," says Riesberg.
Garcia's physics lessons have also taught Jason Spencer-Galsworthy, supervising animator for "Megamind," a few things as well. "He explains how physics actually works," Spencer-Galsworthy says. Garcia gives lessons about gravity to help animators figure out the speed of falling objects or how characters should shift their weight from side to side when they're running, walking or standing still.
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| Ron Fedkiw is an associate professor of computer science at Stanford University. In 2008, he received an academy award for his groundbreaking work in liquid simulations. While people don't usually associate computational scientists with movie stars, Fedkiw's honor shows the impact of computer science on Hollywood and people's lives. Read more in this news release. >> http://www.nsf.gov/news/news _summ.jsp?cntn_id=111178 Credit: Frank Losasso, Jerry Talton, Nipun Kwatra, Ron Fedkiw / courtesy of Stanford University |
With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Garcia has been able to develop a course at San Jose State University on the physics of animation. The objective is to teach animators-in-training how to make it all look plausible. Students who have taken the course say it's invaluable.
"I learned about the physics of jumps," says student Carlos Nunez. "I learned about light and how light is affected by the world around us and how sound is affected."
Emily Johnstone is another student who appreciates Garcia's course. "Physics is what life is all about," says Johnstone. "What we're trying to capture is how life works and how things behave."
In the classroom, Garcia analyzes a student's animation and points out subtle changes that would make the animation appear more realistic. Garcia's student, Paul Yula, says, "There's a believability that comes into play in animation. You can stretch the rules, but you can never break the rules."
Learning these rules could give future animators a leg up on the competition when they start the job search in the profitable movie, TV and gaming industries.
"It's a very highly skilled industry, both on the art and technology side," says Marilyn Friedman, head of outreach and special projects at DreamWorks. "Not every school is teaching it in the way that will set them up to succeed at a place like this."
With physics as groundwork, prospective animators could make any imaginary world seem as authentic as our own.
Miles O'Brien, Science Nation Correspondent
Ann Kellan, Science Nation Producer
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