final animation cut

Here is my animation, as submitted for the final review for project B.

final animation stills

diagrammatic_analysis

Each of the images are different renderings of 1 diagram that analyzed the movement of the male figure across the frame from the first clip. The film clips I made below are the composite of 5 layers; the bottom diagram is color-coded according to the literal layer of the figure in space. Both diagrams above the colored one represent a more accurate depiction of the temporal-spatial movement of the figure through the scene. I think his lateral movement and haphazard stride is also more apparent in both the black and white diagrams.

I'm slightly intimidated, as this diagram is only about a third (~7s) of the first clip.

process_b

and so it goes... the first investigation and subsequent model generated were a good study, but holding me back in terms of analyzing the unique properties of the scene. I am interested in studying the emergent relationship resulting from a literal overlay of sequential clips in order to explore movement of the characters across the frame. First, I split the whole scene into the camera clips in order to superimpose them. Though each is of different length, clips were lengthened to a finite amount of time (20s) to exaggerate movement and track new relationships between the different physical layers.

Ideally, the physical form of the 'person' would dissolve and allow for a new reading of this scene from the "Lady from Shanghai." I intend to diagram this process in order to record new interactions between clips when viewed simultaneously. Especially interesting is the way in which the male figure moves across the scene; his very specific gait as is directed and reflected across the number of mirrors proposes opportunities for an animate new surface from which to codify and model.

2a process

These are a series of process images that illustrate the direction I'm headed. All allude to the potential of the artifact, seen at the top right of each image in perspective.

2a structure

Another means of investigation for this exercise involves exploring the film sequence in "The Lady from Shanghai" from a two-dimensional point of view using light. In the sequence I chose, the cinematographer highlights objects moving across a series of frames instead of moving the camera to compose a narrative. Those objects (whether people or otherwise) shot with the most light are conceptually pushed into the foreground, as our eyes are first drawn to contrast and areas of maximum brightness. In order to better understand how the cinematographer was using light in the sequence, I abstracted each frame into 2 levels: light and dark. This is illustrated in the first image.

I chose to diagram each frame using one line, composed of seven control points, to illustrate how the objects moved within the frame of the camera. My intention is to diagram each scene in the x- and y-axes, which will subsequently inform a model (using time in the z-axis) to emphasize temporal/spatial movement across the sequence.

The third frame illustrates the "hulls" of the line, which could in itself become an interesting diagram for the final sequence. It further abstracts the line I created with control vertices. Something I've been wrestling with is how should these new diagrams function? Right now, they are represented by a single line but I've been playing with the idea of having them become an enclosed new shape that mutates over the sequence.

2a diagrammatic analysis (latest edit)

This is the second iteration of a diagram I finished for class last week. The first 40s are still the same, but the latter half of the video is new. My logic and structure imposed on the video were as follows:

blue lines = horizontal datum
yellow lines = vertical datum
white rectangles = objects in either foreground/background
yellow planes = approximated angle of the reflected figure in mirror

I focused (mostly) on the movement of the male figure across the frame(s) of the camera and those of the mirrors. Each image represents 1s of film. I found the last 15s to be especially compelling; there's a great deal of layering, transparency, and mutations in scale that are well-composed.

2a diagrammatic analysis

This is the first set of a series of diagrams I hope to complete to fully analyze the sequence. I split the whole sequence up by 00:01 frames in order to keep a clear rhythm since there are far less camera changes. The diagrams analyze figures in the foreground (heaviest line-weight), those in the background, datum lines inside/outside the frame, and eventually planes dictated by the angle of rotation the mirror angle reflects the image.

I hope to do more diagrams like the last ten or so, because I think the potential in the sequence is in the angular distortion of the frame.

project 02 sequence

I chose a scene from Orson Wells' "The Lady from Shanghai" as a cinematic sequence to analysis and inform new spaces. The scene occurs inside a mirror maze; most of the shots are taken from specific angles to amplify the distortion of the plane in which each character is viewed. There are 03 characters in the scene. I am very interested in the vertical datum across the sequence and how it changes according to a persons' movement. I am starting at time 00:42 and have edited it down significantly for the project.

project 01 poster

synopsis

"Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography" is definitely worth watching before choosing a film to pursue for this second project, especially if you've never taken a film course or critically watched a movie to evaluate it's visual success. Contemporary cinematographers are interviewed, as well as directors, to discuss how the craft of shooting a movie and using the camera as a tool has evolved through time. It’s a mostly chronological sequence, with examples dating back to 1909. There are over fifty films alluded to in the movie; the list is compiled below.

I found the history and development of cinematography to be quite interesting. Cinematographers who shot movies in the teens and twenties had to both know and study photography because of the conventional black and white framework. The Germans in the twenties were blowing everyone out of the water; they took the formal elements found in German expressionist graphics, paintings, etc. and re-appropriated those into their films (ex. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, 1919 and The Last Laugh, 1924).

The impact of sound on films with respect to their cinematography was discussed. Now having to accommodate microphones and larger sound-proof cameras, the dynamism and “freeness” of the camera found in earlier films was lost. The “painfully obvious” microphone in the vase at the middle of the table was illustrated as an example, with the actors leaning and speaking directly into it. One cinematographer even claimed that we would probably have stronger films today if sound hadn’t appeared for another ten or fifteen years after it actually did. In these early sound films the camera couldn’t move or pan; it took cinematographers some time to “free the camera” again. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in 1931 was one of the first films in sound to accomplish this successfully. It was here, during the time between 1930 – 1950 that we got cameras moving with actors, counter to actors, tracking, panning, etc. that led to each studio having a specific style: “gloss of Paramont, hard edges of Warner Bros., and glamour of MGM.”

It was during this rich period that each studio developed their own techniques and cinematographers became inventors in both the figural and literal sense. They had to manufacture and test on screen new devices adopted to achieve a specific effect. For example, the fascination with lighting the female face became critical on screen. Marlena Dietrich’s face was always lit at a much higher footcandle than other objects around her for contrast. One cinematographer told the anecdote of having to construct an entire stageset around an actresses’ face because it was best lit from one side only.

The work of Greg Tolland in Citizen Kane (1941) was highly praised in the movie. Many said it read like a “textbook” for cinematography because so many different techniques were explored, giving the film incredibly deep space and extraordinary dynamics. The clips extracted from it were great; I REALLY want to see the movie. The film noir movement just after the war is also covered. Cinematographers said many of these films had a “primal simplicity” in their deep shadows, low angles, and stark contrast.

Other films are covered in the movie, including more recent films like Raging Bull (1980) and Jaws (1975). I've got the dvd at my desk if you want to check it out.

a netflix wishlist

films cited (for whatever reason) in "Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography":

The Magnificent Ambersons, 1942
How Green Was My Valley, 19441
Birth of a Nation, 1915
The Cameraman, 1915
The Crowd, 1923
Way Down East, 1920
Last Laugh, 1924
Sunrise, 1927
Dr. Jeckyll and Mr Hyde, 1931
Gold Diggers of 1933
What Prince Hollywood, 1932
The Sea Hawk, 1940
Possessed, 1930
Red Dust, 1932
Desire, 1939
Midnight 1939
Rebecca, 1940
Grapes of Wrath, 1940
Citizen Kane, 1940
The Long Voyage Home, 1940
The Killers, 1946
Out of the Past, 1946
Mildred Pierce, 1949
T-Men, 1947
The Big Combo, 1955
Touch of Evil, 1958
The wizard of Oz, 1939
Becky Sharp, 1935
Sweet Smell of Success, 1955
Hud, 1963
Jules and Jim, 1962
The Graduate, 1967
The Conformist, 1967
Easy Rider, 1969
Lawrence of Arabia, 1963
Cool Hand Luke, 1967
Fat City, 1972
Day of the Locust, 1974
Rosemary's Baby, 1968
Yound Man with a Horn, 1950
Naked City, 1958
Do the Right Thing, 1989
On the Waterfront, 1952
Midnght Cowboy, 1969
Dog Day Afternoon, 1969
Taxi Driver, 1976
The French Connection, 1971
Annie Hall, 1977
The Godfather, 1972
Chinatown, 1974
Jaws, 1975
In Cold Blood, 1967
The Professionals, 1966
Days of Heaven, 1978
Raging Bull, 1980
The Last Emperor, 1987
Last Temptation of Christ, 1988
Goodfellas, 1990
Eraserhead, 1976
Apocalypse Now, 1976

tile 03

progress_1b

These images are part of a series from another matrical analysis, this time I manipulated the hulls in order to inform new surficial geometries. Dimensions are 6 x 8 x 3. Like a multiplication table, properties from both the row and column inform the new element. The first two rows are manipulated by a translation, the second two are via a rotation, and the last two are scaled. Every element in the z-direction is scaled. Here's the row-by-row breakdown:

Row 1: topmost longitudinal hull translated by .1 in y-direction
Row 2: bottommost " "
Row 3: top and bottom hulls rotated 5 degrees about z
Row 4: " " about y
Row 5: top hull scaled by .1 in x
Row 6: bottom hull scaled by .1 in x

Another of the fields in the z-direction scales the bottom three hulls of each object by .1 in the x-direction. The other field scales the middle three longitudinal hulls by .1 in the x-direction.

progress_new geometries

This image is the result of subtle manipulations with each point (out of eight) on an isoparm. I was trying to construct a well-formed surface that could serve as the isolated element within a larger tile. My intention was to create a surface that was not tremendously complex, so as to inform new geometries for a more complex pattern. Hopefully this will lend itself to some interesting manipulations of line and surface.

Less complexity is good, especially when jumping from surface to solid. The initial surface is highlighted in white; I found the residual space between the "joints" to be especially interesting.

update_cinematography video

Non-print media services doesn't allow you to check their videos out of the library, unless you arrange for an external loan. Maybe we can do this after the break/review?

cinematography article

This review of a movie called "Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography" by Roger Ebert is both interesting and informative. He talks a good deal about how an audience can often be so captivated by a narrative that the cinematography fades away. He presents a few examples of films shown in the movie and how the cinematographers used specific techniques for each film. The movie is at Hornbake; I am going to get it and keep it over the break. If anyone else wants to watch it during SB2K9 let me know.

pattern_physical construct

These are an assortment of the physical construct of the first tile pattern I produced. I wanted to document the actual artifact to prove it actually came out of the 3d printer - many of the individual modules have already fallen off because they are too thin or have zero support on the ends. The bottom of the tile is luckily very flat (as opposed to the irregular geometries on the top face) so transport to shoot some photographs was easy.

pattern_b_02

pattern_b

pattern_abstraction

These images are more of an experiment; a test to see if a pattern is apparent without the glossy colors and renderings. I think a pattern is still visible, even when the source object has been "flattened" into a two dimensional image. Isolated elements being to form lines of varying rhythm. This is inversely related to project a in 470 last semester, when we were asked to abstract a pattern and to inform a space.

pattern_surface

Each of the isolated elements is compacted in two directions to a form a tile of very high density. A grid is established with rows that vary in rhythm. When observed as a fragment, the form of the isolated element lends itself to a translucent (but physically dense) pattern.

pattern_construction

I've been working on the pattern tile for class tomorrow in formZ. In order to construct a pattern, I scaled the initial object and replicated it a number of time in different directions. When I attempted to scale it back down, of course, it was massive and complex. Anybody else have problems or a good construction method?

aside: joining the objects works a little faster

versioning, an introduction by SHoP

According to SHoP architects, ‘versioning’ is a process-driven, open, and fluid shift that has occurred in both design theory and practice with the advent of technology. Its’ proponents are “second generation” architects who allow themselves to extract ideas over a multitude of disciplines in order to conceptualize how space is conceived and constructed. SHoP refers to this as the difference between “horizontal integration” and “vertical integration.”

Versioning as a design methodology relies on vector-based information, instead of pixel-based simulation. To conceptualize how this changes and challenges design-thinking, one may think of a straight line set by two CV’s in either a pixel-based or a vector-based computer application. If one of the control vertices were to exert a force (in one direction, of any magnitude) on the line, the form would change. Within vector-based programs, this mutation immediately and accurately reflects the difference between forces acting on the vertices; a new line is "drawn" according to a precise mathematical equation. Pixel-based applications are called simulations, however, because the existing line is defined in space by a series of dots instead of a finite equation between two vertices. It would be a close approximation, at best, to draw the resulting line. What’s more, the approximation isn’t even the actual line... it’s the image of where the line would be in pixels.

And this is a single line, manipulated in one direction in space by two control points. Imagine that one line was connected to a series of lines, in three dimensions. Versioning and vector-based information allows designers to quickly change geometries that adapt to fluctuating resultant forces on either one or a number of points. This allows for a non-linear, vertical process whereby information can be transformed and changed with computational power immediately.

matrical analysis_03

matrical analysis_02

This series is the result of a second 03 x 06 matrical study. Each row went through a single (either scale or shear) deformation in a single direction. Surfaces in the final row were rotated 30 degrees and scaled on the y-axis. For this analysis, the transformations have occurred surficially without separating and manipulating the components (vertices, faces) of the original.

matrical analysis_01

This series is the result of the first 04 x 03 matrical analysis; the only deformations occurred in the top and bottom rows, where the object was scaled in x and z direction, respectively.

"potential performative effects"

Every cultural object has a determinant history (lineage) that can be definitively traced back to a singular physical item or artifact. Rahim argues that through contemporary techniques and a deconstruction of these finite lineages, new effects emerge when observed simultaneously over time.

Memes are copied forms of behavior that as passed down evolutionarily “through a non-genetic means, usually through imitation.” It is only through both variation and selection that lineages can produce new performative effects, because both are not self-replicating. According to Stephen J. Gould, these deviations allow for cultural change. Rahim methodically traces the evolution of a computer as an example to illustrate how lineages, memes, and ideas coincide to spontaneously create an artifact. As a nonlinear process, it can be analyzed but not replicated. And in order to extract meaning from both the artifact and the organizational processes from which the object originated, it cannot be viewed as a static entity. Rahim suggests a contextual (temporal) understanding of the object is necessary, and can only be accomplished via contemporary techniques.

‘Techniques,’ as defined, is “a way of carrying out a particular task.” Rahim integrates the noun through the article in a seemingly broad manner. His lack of specificity however, is directly related to how “digital” design should operate: loosely and perhaps without an agenda. Utilizing programs to achieve a final product (image, built work, drawing) negates the ability we have to use computational power to our advantage. It is a manner of recognizing that without the systems’ capabilities, many performative effects actualized in architecture would be either ineffective or impossible.

Another critical aspect of the readings is present in the first word of the title: the potential for lineages to produce these effects versus what is actualized. What does this mean in terms of architecture? Well, by using existing temporally dependent lineages and conditions and reconstituting them within a temporally independent software program, truly “new” performative effects emerge that cannot be conceived or imagined previously. Cool.

the culprit

I've been attempting to adjust vertices today, in hopes to get a model to 3d print for tomorrow. The .stl I had ready for Friday morning had virtually no thickness, and as a result couldn't be printed. Bummer. I think this area I highlighted is one of the problematic spots, as well as at the edge where it folds. Michael suggested splitting it on the seam a few times along an isoparm. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

project_1a images

These drawings are a re-presentation of the air intake in the back of he vehicle. After setting down the initial contour lines, I worked mostly from a perspective view by manipulating the control points in order to maintain clear edges but keep the b-splines. The images exploit my process, to a degree, by calling attention to the points in space and their connection to (but detachment from) the object itself.