2024-06-19
Annecy is a beautiful French town on a pleasant (and gloriously cooling) lake with a little animation problem. Or rather the Annecy International Animation Festival and Market (MIFA).
There isn't much I can talk about (spoilers and scary lawyers), but the work-in-progress print of the new Transformers One movie looks great (I know that the fake bloopers will be in the final version)
... and Feathers McGraw is back in Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. Jean Paul Gaultier revealed details of this debut animation feature at the festival too.
Also, the music video for France's Chien Méchant's "Étoile Filante" got booed by the festival audience of professional and student animators, as it was produced using generative artificial intelligence. I'll let you decide for yourself.
2024-06-14
As midsummer approaches, it's time to dance in the sun (or at least between the raindrops). Dance is difficult to describe. The form, the passion, the artistic interpretation, the fine details. For centuries, steps have been forgotten.
Many dance forms, especially folk and indigenous dances, were passed down orally and through demonstration. Elders and dance masters would teach younger generations, ensuring the continuity of the dance styles and their cultural significance. But it's not impossible that things altered over time. Irish step dancing has two very different traditional styles; hardshoe, think Riverdance, and softshoe which is very close to tap. Tap itself is a blend. Things change (sometimes for good), if not recorded properly.
Things can be passed on imperfectly. If the master dancer has an injury, then their steps may be altered but to pain or difficulty. And these adjustments are passed on.
Memory is imperfect, or misinterpreted. Even if recorded accurately, the interpretation is in the eye of the reader. Italian dance master Thoinot Arbeau wrote his "Orchésographie", published in 1589, is one of the earliest sources of dance notation and offers detailed descriptions of various dances, their steps, and the accompanying rhythms. Not only does it describe the social ballroom dances but also provides information on the music, instruments, and the cultural context of the dances. But it's possible to misread these dance manuals. The option of two choreographers can disagree, and who can say which interpretation is more accurate.
Video gives a more accurate picture. But even then, angles and costume can obscure moves. No matter how viral the Tic-Tok dance is, it's going to change subtly from the original.
So we come to Motion Capture. 3D motion capture systems have significantly transformed the way dance is recorded, analysed, and disseminated. 3D motion capture systems can capture even the most subtle movements with incredible precision. This accuracy ensures that every aspect of a dancer's performance, from the tiniest wrist flick to the most complex jump, is faithfully recorded. If the capture method allows.
If a sensor or marker can fall off a patient stumbling due to an ankle injury, you can be certain that a form fitting suit or marker will restrict or fall during a very intense tango. Yes, we will sing the praises of marker-less motion capture systems such as Captury.
The systems also permit the recording and animation of the dangerous to perform moves. Visual Effects in dance sound ridiculous, but I've seen dances that require a padded floor to prevent injury. Or the unique dance moves of those with a hypermobile disorder. Trust me, a wheelchair rugby player can pull some unique moves.
So record those moves in the most accurate way possible. Celebrate the diversity on the dancefloor, and beyond. With technology like motion capture, we have even more tools to document and study dance, but the historical methods laid the crucial groundwork for our understanding and appreciation of this dynamic art form.
2024-06-10
Creativity includes the ability to create with whatever tools are available. If you have a creative streak you can make something out of the contents of your cupboard, from paper and pens, from games which are not supposed to be creative tools but something to be consumed.
This came up in the discussion of creativity by Emily Horgan at the #CultureCrush+ event hosted by the Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet on June 6th in Dublin. Kids are naturally curious and creative. They can, and will play with a stick and create stories around it. So it makes sense that, without access to extensive media tools, that they would create their own stories using games like Roblox, just like the Red vs Blue guys created scenes and sketches using the Halo games.
Roblox is a game engine and a game creation system. You can make your own 3 dimensional game level and record your actions in it. Or create a virtual environment and have your characters acting in it. It's amazing what you can do when you are constrained.
If all you have is a hammer…
And the ability to do things with a limited tool set is useful over all. The odd thing about Roblox is that, much like Minecraft , it was a metaverse-ish light system. Which means that it might be the best working metaverse that we have right now.
And its something that IKEA are looking at.
Long ago companies would create virtual environments in SecondLife (it's still around I think). Ikea are creating a virtual store in Roblox, and are hiring people in Ireland and the UK to work various paid roles in it. Apply or read their own post.
Ten candidates will be selected to work in different sections of the store, interact with customers (it's not clear if the customers are other players or in-game characters) and have a chance to win exclusive Roblox UGCs.
The game starts on June 24th, and hiring closes on June 16.
While this is not aimed at kids, I can confirm that the kids I knew playing Roblox, are old enough to work in the store now. Our most practical Virtual Reality might be a lot blockier than anticipated. We will soon see a game version of Horrorstor. Or maybe a Roblox set workplace comedy.
Animation Ireland Meitheal - Galway, Ireland 2024
25th May 2024
John FitzGerald (CEO of AnamoLABS - Cork), Michael Ledwich (Get Visual), Daniel Spencer
2024-05-01
It's May Day, or Bealtaine, so it's another animation about old Irish traditions, motion captured in AnamoLABS.
As you can imagine, the motion capture of using a butter churn took a while due to the giggling. And no bonfires are permitted in the lab.
And once again, CyberTwin used the using The Captury Live system here at AnamoLAB - Cork facility to create the motion capture for the Muckross House Research Library seasonal update animation..
... and now I know that I need to look up O'Donohue the Wizard.