Nick Plaisted

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Computer Animation and Special Effects

• Nick Plaisted
• CSC Introduction to Computing

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Overview

• Some Basics about Computer Animation and Special
  Effects
• The history of computer animation and special
  effects in film

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The Basics

• Computer animation The art of creating moving
  images via the use of computers
• When computer animation is referred to in film it
  is known as CGI (Computer Generated Imagery)
• To create the illusion of movement, an image is
  displayed on the screen then quickly replaced by
  a new image that is similar to the previous
  image, but shifted slightly
• Computer animation is a digital successor to the
  art of stop motion animation of 3D models and
  frame-by-frame animation of 2D illustrations
• Objects (models) are built on the computer
  monitor (modeled) and 3D figures are rigged with
  a virtual skeleton
• Then the limbs, eyes, mouth, clothes, etc. of the
  figure are moved by the animator on key frames
• The differences in appearance between key frames
  are automatically calculated by the computer in a
  process known as tweening or morphing
• Finally, the animation is rendered and is added
  to the film and is known as special effects

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The firsts

• Futureworld (1976)
• Looker (1981)
• Star Trek II The Wrath of Kahn (1982)
• Tron (1982)
• Blade Runner (1982)
• The Last Starfighter (1984)

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The Young Sherlock Homes (1985)

• The first real CGI character
• Created by Pixar
• It was a Knight that was composed of elements
  from a stained glass window

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The Abyss (1989)

• The Abyss won the Academy Award for Visual
  Effects in 1989
• The most notable special effect in the movie is
  the seawater tentacle creature dubbed the
  pseudopod

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Total Recall (1990)

• The scene with CGI skeletons running through it

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Terminator 2 Judgment Day (1991)

• CGI took a central role in Terminator 2 Judgment
  Day in which the T-1000 Terminator villain
  impressed audiences with liquid metal and
  morphing effects
• The villain was integrated into action sequences
  throughout the film
• It also won an Oscar for its special effects

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Beauty and the Beast (1991)

• Beauty and the Beast is the first in which
  hand-drawn characters appear in a 3D background
• Every frame of the film is scanned, created, or
  composited within Disney's computer animation
  production system

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Jurassic Park (1993)

• It was the 1993 film Jurassic Park, however, in
  which dinosaurs created with CGI were seamlessly
  integrated into live action scenes, that
  revolutionized the movie industry
• It marked Hollywoods transition from stop-motion
  animation and conventional optical effects to
  digital techniques.

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Post Jurassic Park

• There are several movies after Jurassic Park to
  add CGI elements
• Free Willy (1993)
• The Mask (1994)
• Casper (1995)

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Toy Story (1995)

• Toy Story became the first fully
  computer-generated feature film
• Revolutionizes the film industry
• Average effects budget for films goes from 5
  million to 40 million

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Jumanji (1996)

• After Jurrassic Park being such a success ILM is
  asked to produce numerous realistic CG animals
  for Jumanji
• Including monkeys and a lion, which causes the
  studio to develop custom software to create,
  animate, and render monkey and lion fur, and long
  hair for the lion's mane

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Titanic (1998)

• The lead studio on Titanic, breaks new ground by
  putting thousands of digital people, animated
  with the help of motion capture, onboard the ship
  
• The studio also created CG set extensions and
  digital water
• The film received an Oscar for visual effects,
  and goes on to earn more money than any other
  film to date

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Dinosaur (2000)

• First to put an entire cast of 3D animated
  characters in a world fabricated from live-action
  backgrounds

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Final Fantasy The Spirits Within (2001)

• Although it fails commercially Final Fantasy
  features the first cast of photorealistic digital
  actors
• Excites the imagination of the press and CG
  community

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Beowulf (2007)

• Very recent computer animated film which uses
  photorealistic actors
• Actors modeled after common actors that we have
  seen in other movies
• Almost tricks viewers into believing its real
• YouTube - Beowulf Trailer

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Sources

• Google Images
• http//images.google.com/imghp?tabwi
• You Tube
• http//youtube.com/
• Beowulf Official Website
• http//www.beowulfmovie.com/
• Wikipedia
• www.wikipedia.org
• CGI Movie Retrospective
• http//web.presby.edu/phmeeker/classes/pc/CSC258/
  Notes/Introduction/CGW-MovieRetrospective-minusLin
  ks2Movies.htm

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Questions?