One aspect of games that hardcore gamers often overlook are "teleporting" camera animations. A perfect example of this: Halo 3's vehicle flip. Whenever a player overturns their vehicle in Halo 3, a message prompts them to press a button to flip the vehicle. Ubisoft Montreal is trying to create a revolutionary sense of immersion in Far Cry 2. One of their main goals for Far Cry 2 "was to immerse the player in the physicality of his avatar," and "to make him really feel like he is physically embodied in that world." To acheive this, they have made fluid animations for virtually every action in the game. From wear and tear visable on the player's weapons, to navigating via a paper map in real-time, the folks at Ubisoft Montreal are attempting an astonishing level of realism. With as little as I used to know about this game, it is shaping up nicely to be my most anticipated shooter of the year.

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Today I realized more people read this thing that I had imagined, which can't be anything but a good thing. Thank you, Diana for adding an interesting piece of furniture to yesterday's "Thing to Learn About"! That can be seen by checking out yesterday's comments. 

This brings me to today's "Thing To Learn About", and what's a better motivator than pure hatred. No, this doesn't have anything to do with yesterday's gregarious rant. What I mean is that today's "Thing" is PIGEONS.

Simply put, I HATE pigeons. I am so repulsed by these creatures that I shudder when they are in close proximity. I go slightly crazy when one forcefully approaches me, neck thrusting forward and back, beak ready to poke at whatever sign of food is unfortunate enough to present itself. Well Mr. Pigeon I will let you know that I am not food. (Wouldn't it be nice if pigeons could read this? Answer: NO! That would mean they were intelligent, and being as they are loathsome creatures, they would not hesitate to take over the planet, eating their way through every human being until they reigned supreme.) 

That being said, I decided to research my enemy. You never know guys...and I like to be prepared. 

Unbeknownst to me, pigeons apparently belong to a family of animals called Columbidae which contains about 300 birds. The pigeon and dove are both part of this family and thus closely related, which makes me a bigger hater of animals. These partners in crime have adapted to most habitats available on God's Green Earth (which I will refer to as THE green earth from now on). 

Throughout my research I found a section on Wikipedia entitled Relationship With Humans. I am tempted to abuse Wikipedia's system and write in my own section. All kidding aside, apparently pigeons and doves have declined in population due to human activity. (duh! like every other species) Listed as the most affected are the extinct Dodo and Passenger Pigeon. About 10 species of dove/pigeons have become extinct since 1600. 

Here is a link to the New York pigeon rescue central.
For more information, what's better than the National Pigeon Association.

There is a surprising amount of charitable work done regarding pigeons. I suppose this is a good thing. Of course, I must be the only hater. Further reading is required. Well, I'm going to learn more about the wonderful world of pigeons by reading that NPA site, maybe it will sway my opinion.

Meanwhile, here are some animated pigeons. I realize I already posted this video, and I am not obsessed with this movie by any means, but there are pigeons to be seen.

(via)

Josh Pothen

2.5 stars out of 4

Speed Racer is a lot of flash, but not enough fun. I confess that although I am a moderate anime fan, I have never seen the original Speed Racer cartoon and thus walked into the movie cold. What I can offer are two observations: 1) The main characters, which I have since learned all eminate from the original show, seem more like forces of marketing that popular icons, and 2) Upon viewing the movie, I have no desire to see a sequel or even the original show.

The movie bogs down in a confused mode of storytelling, of which unfortunately much must be said. The plot begins with the exposition of Speed Racer (yes, that is his name), including the story of his brother Rex who was disowned from the family and died in a car crash. These are important moments, to be sure, but the movie's doesn't give them enough time or dialogue for them to mean anything to us. It also chooses to tell them in a haphazard flashback style that intercuts them between events in the present for no apparent reason. This intercutting of events technique is employed later on in the film to no end of confusion. At times, I wasn’t sure if what I was seeing on screen had occurred, was already occurring or whether it was a hypothetical scenario. At other points, I didn’t care enough to figure it out.

But back to Speed Racer. Speed is his first name, and Racer is his last name. He lives with the Racer family in a gorgeous world that seems inspired by Dr. Seuss, anime and video games. The problem is that it never seems to have rules that make sense. Take, for instance, the Racer's pet chimpanzee Chim Chim. Why do they have a chimpanzee? Why does no one else in the movie have animals for pets? Where did they get him from? The local zoo? Later there is a scene where the Racer family, seemingly normal, turns suddenly  into an expert karate fighting team to defeat the bad guys,  which comes entirely out of left field in an action scene that feels simultaneously inept yet skillful. Even though there are gorgeous sights, they seem random since we don't comprehend how this universe works.

The film is written by the Wachowski brothers, who have made many an intelligent film from Bound to V for Vendetta. I was one of the few to like all parts of the Matrix trilogy, but here they've struck out completely. Even the secondary characters here seem like empty archetypes instead of characters we can care about. The tone is all over the place, intercutting serious scenes of drama and terror back and forth with silly scenes such as the young child Spritle and Chim Chim exasperating us with their unfunny antics. The actors have claimed that they were trying to make a fun family movie, to which I ask the Wachowskis whether the content of their movie validates that opinion. Did they really think that a family film could contain a scene where piranhas devouring a gangster’s finger? Or an attempted assassination attempt with a bomb in the mail, where the bomb goes off just a few hundred feet from the house? Or that it would be anywhere near appropriate to have the young boy Spritle give an adult the middle finger?

Much may be said of the production and visual effects of the film, which uses green-screen technology to create a beautifully stylized futuristic world. It’s beautiful at many points, yes, but not always consistent. In one scene, Royalton drives Speed Racer and his family through his factory, taking them through what looks like a small highway tunnel inside the building with employees speeding through in futuristic segues. An interesting idea, but the drivers around them are visually blurred in comparison to the sharply focused main characters, reminding us that those drivers were inserted digitally post-production.

I mentioned that most of the secondary characters are shallow, and for that matter, most of the primary ones are too. Now I must mention that the most interesting characters in the movie are not elaborated on. They are a Japanese business family, with Togo Igawa as the businessman father, Yu Nan as the beautifully graceful daughter Horuko, and the Korean singer Rain in a strong debut as his son and racer Taejo Togokhan. If there is a Speed Racer 2, they should have center stage. 

Having said all of that, I must admit that the final race of the movie is absorbing and enthralling. By about the three-quarter mark of the movie, a twist occurs that brings the story to a halt. The main characters then pause and engage in genuine dialogue about their reactions to all the circumstances that have occurred so far. It’s at this point that we finally understand everything that’s at stake, which makes us finally engaged with what happens with the final race. The visuals, story and racing action now have impact, and they bring us to an exciting conclusion.

Now to justify the film’s 2.5 star rating. The first three-quarters are a 2 star movie, while the last quarter clocks in at around 3. Yes, that should average out to 2.25 stars, but the final segment is so exciting that it almost erases painful memories of the previous segments. Almost, but not quite.

Note: This review pertains to the IMAX version of the film, and may appear differently on the smaller screen. It is the first IMAX movie I have seen that did not excite or fully captivate me.

What my vacation means is that I haven't been reading too many comics lately but I have taken the time to catch up on my movie watching. This includes several animated films and today I'll be looking at a "classic" Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Background: Released in 1993 this film is often hailed by fans as one of Burton's greatest works, some would even say his masterpiece. Don't believe search for the movie on Imdb and read the reviews. I've never seen such a ridiculous amount of 10/10s. 

Danny Elfman provides the score and the songs for the musical and voices the main character with actor Chris Sarandon. 

The film is made entirely in claymation, animation using clay figures and set pieces and runs at about 75 minutes. 

The Movie: Despite its brevity Burton does manage to shove a full plot with likable characters into the movie. Jack Skellington, the main character, is bored with Halloween stumbles across Christmas-town and sets out to make Christmas his own and almost gets Santa Claus killed. Bares bones summary.

The claymation is well done in this film. If there were a ranking of claymation films (not that there are terrible amount of them) I would place this one in the top 10. However, it would be behind Wallace & Gromit. Those guys have their claymation down.

The songs are cheeky and fun to listen to and dialogue is decent enough. Tim Burton's unique turn everything into fantastical bullshit style actually fits this film well and doesn't feel like a hinderance, unlike many of his other movies which leave you wondering which is a bigger character Burton's world or Johnny Depp. 

For myself and several of my friends the problem with Nightmare is that after the first couple of viewings, it begins to bore. I find it hard to sit through even the first 20 minutes of the film anymore. It's brevity should make it breeze by but many times I feel as though I'm wallowing through the it. It's like checking your watch during the Opera hoping to get to the end so you can carry on about how wonderful and what a masterpiece the music was. 

There's a charm to Nightmare but once you've seen it I feel that the charm wastes away with each successive viewing no matter how much time is placed between them. 

I used to casually enjoy Nightmare and nowadays I casually despise it. Mostly it's due to Hot Topic and the soul-seeking they do to franchises. For an "anti-establishment" store Hot Topic is amazingly good at ruining things. I haven't let them destroy my love of Family Guy yet but I imagine that a few more crap t-shirts and buttons from them might push me over on that front.

I remember when friends and school acquaintances enjoyed the film for it's fantastical world and the funny songs. Now, it seems as though people only enjoy because Jack Skellington's head looks good on a t-shirt or poster. Oooh, check out the awesome Skellington action figure.

Yes, Skellington was a major part of the film but it seems like you're missing something when that's your only focus. Remember Zero, the dog? The sewn together chick whose name I never remember? The mayor? Boogeyman?

Whatever.

My Recommendation: Claymation fans should see this film. Stop-motion fans should see this film. People who like whimsy and fantasy should also see this film. Jaded, consumerist teenage whores who shop at Hot Topic should see this film and then stab out their eyes whilst bemoaning the emoistic beauty of Burton and how he gets them. 

♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣

Scyo.

part 2

France is really cool in my flip-book. (ha!)

I have some animation recommendations today.

First of all, Le building by 5 French animation students (Marco Nguyen, Pierre Perifel, Xavier Ramonede, Olivier Staphylas, and Remi Zaarour). It's an animation short with excellent integration between traditional, 3d and flash animation. Really cool designs as well.

Then L'eau de rose by Arthur de Pins (French illustrator and animator) which has English subtitles for the uninitiated. Awesome work, really! What he manages to make with those vector graphics makes me jealous just to think of it. Nice story, too. Heheh.

And surely, this short by Sylvain Chomet (famous for Les Triplettes de Belleville). I still think that the Triplettes should have have won the Oscar instead of "Finding Nemo"... but i guess it's just the Oscar's way of giving prizes.

Speaking of which, the Oscar this year nominated an animation about a rat that cooks, one about a surfing penguin and one of a girl's coming-of-age tale during Iran's Islamic Revolution. Always nice seeing something different (and more adult) up there, and I did enjoy Persepolis a lot (note: even though Marjane Satrapi is not French, French is the language spoken in the animation).

Ok, that's enough for now. 40>0 hands out an unobtrusive "hasta la vista baby" to everyone

TRANSLATION TO PORTUGUESE | TRADUÇÃO PARA O PORTUGUÊS

Tenho umas recomendações boas de animações francesas. *(Só consegui fazer a piadinha em inglês. Feliz ou infelizmente, o leitor que não sabe Inglês perderá essa)

Primeiro, Le building de cinco estudantes Franceses de animação (Marco Nguyen, Pierre Perifel, Xavier Ramonede, Olivier Staphylas, and Remi Zaarour). É uma curta com excelente integração de tipos diferentes de animação: tradicional, 3d e flash. Gostei muito dos designs também.

Depois, L'eau de rose do Arthur de Pins (ilustrador e animador francês). Essa tem legendas em Inglês para os não-iniciados. Eu acho essa sensacional, me dá muita inveja ver o que ele consegue fazer trabalhando com ilustração vetorial.

E também, essa curta do Sylvan Chomet (famoso pelo filme As Bicicletas de Belleville). Eu ainda acho que Belleville que devia ter ganho o Oscar ao invés de "procurando nemo"... mas eu suponho que seja esse o jeito do Oscar de premiar.

Falando nisso, o Oscar desse ano nomeou uma animação de um rato que cozinha, uma de um pingüim surfista e outra de uma história de amadurecimento de uma garota na época da Revolução Islâmica no Irã. Sempre é legal ver algo diferente assim (mais adulto) em animações, principalmente quando fica tão bom quanto ficou (nota: apesar da Marjane Satrapi não ser Francesa, Francês é a língua falada na animação).

Okay, chega por hoje! Abraços!

Persepolis

The western influence in Iranian culture is evident throughout the film, and while illegal, you see teens trying to rebel by buying black market cassette tapes of Michael Jackson and Iron Maiden, wearing "punk shoes" Nike sneakers, and even wearing the sewn adage "punk is not ded" on the back of a denim jacket. Marjane becomes enthralled with western culture, as one scene shows her head-banging to Iron Maiden in her room. As any concerned parent would do, Marjane's parents send her away to Austria once danger becomes all too real when a bomb strikes down a family friend in the adjacent apartment building.

The film takes on many dark subjects, from unqualified "leaders", to hypocrisy within the public perception of men and women, and Marjane's realization that the rest of the world takes their freedoms for granted. For the most part, the animation is black and white, to portray the arbitrary outlook of the Iranian regime. It is a shame that the Iranian government boycotted this film. There must be too much truth for them to handle. The film succeeds in showing you the loving and nurturing side of the Iranian people, and how they only want to protect their families and change the situation they are in, but what can you do when you have others to think about? Do what you are told, and conform; happens every day. You can't change where you were brought up, or what nationality you were born into, but you CAN create your own future.

- Ant

[Persepolis is available on DVD.]

We used Max for modelling, and Blender for fluid sim, animation and rendering.

Source

Created in 2007 by students Julien Bocabeille, Francois-Xavier Chanioux, Olivier Delabarre, Thierry Marchand, Quentin Marmier and Emud Mokhberi, "Oktapodi" has won a shitload of awards and festival recognition, and deservedly so.

You can also check out a really cool Making Of video here.

Via Motionographer

Cool short animated movie!

CCOC screens Tuesday at 1:00 PM.

K: This is awesome. I'm keeping it.

--S

http://www.cgarena.com/archives/news/roadside_romeo.html

This is hilarious. The ultimate "how the magic happens" video.

Without arc-length parameterization, applying easing to path animation along a Bezier produces inconsistent motion that is a function of control-point placement. This can be seen in the following diagram.

Both cubic Bezier curves have the same geometry; they are offset vertically for demonstration purposes. The top curve is uniform parametrized and illustrates what would be obtained from any tweening library using Bezier curves. The bottom curve is arc-length parameterized. Both red and green markers are placed at a parameter value of 0.5 with no easing (equivalent to Linear easing with b = 0 and c = 1). Notice that the green marker is halfway along the length of the curve. A sprite moving along that curve moves at uniform velocity, as if the entire curve were a straight line and linear interpolation (tweening) was applied.

In the upcoming update of Singularity, the Penner easing functions are implemented in AS3 as an easing factory, conforming to a standard Interface. The easing demo will illustrate a few different types of easing applied to the above curves, highlighting the need for arc-length parameterization to properly apply easing in the path animation.

Hope you enjoy the upcoming holiday if you're celebrating it!