Stereoscopic 3D Images

Lighting a Scene in Maya

Building a Scene in Maya

Mid semester survey

Posting this since i haven't received any points for the mid semester survey which i did back in march before i turned in my video reference of my walking scenes.

Science Fact or Cinematic Fiction Paper

Science Fact or Cinematic Fiction Paper
With today's films focusing on special effects and attempting to make them appear more and more real it would be logical for the basic laws of physics to be understood and obeyed. With the incorporation of more computer graphics in films the industry is focusing heavily on imitating the looks of everyday life not the mechanics. With this, movie makers still do not seem to care about observing the basic laws of our planet, whether this is by choice or due to misunderstanding is left to debate. Some Directors cover for these changes in the basic laws of physics with simple one liners from the story line while others hope that it won't be noticed. With viewers constantly demanding for more amazing and fresh stunts and action scenes the laws of physics must be bent or completely ignored in order to impress movie goers. One of the most commonly broken laws in films is Newton's third law such as when a person lifts a heavy object and throws it a great distance without any feedback, or when a character jumps from a great height and is able to land on the ground and begin running unharmed. Newton's third law states that when an object exerts a force onto another object the force is reflected back in the same magnitude in the opposite direction. Granted that the film industry would be very boring for males the world over if these laws were always obeyed, but they have become so commonly abused and taken to such drastic measures that movie goers have begun to complain. The films I chose to analyze were; Spiderman 2, Live Free or Die Hard, and Sin City. I chose these films because they contain a great deal of action and a lot of special effects and I knew I would be able to find a flaw in Newton's third law.
The 2007 film Live Free or Die Hard Starring Bruce Willis as John McClane and Justin Long as Matt, was one of my personal favorites and even though it was the fourth film in the series it was a box office hit. The film has a good balance of action, comedy, and storyline set in present times with the focus on cyber terrorism. The plot is believable and there are no signs of super human strength or unnatural abilities and there are no special changes discussed that would alter any of the basic laws of physics giving excuse to anything out of the normal standards. In the scene I chose to analyze McClane has just been physically beaten by a girl, Mai Linh, and knocked out a window landing on a SUV many floors below, he then proceeds to drive the SUV back up to the level he was on and while driving through a industrial office at high speed hits Linh. With Linh pinned to the hood he drives the SUV into an elevator shaft were McClane and Linh proceed to fight it out some more. At the high speed that McClane was driving at and the large size of the SUV Minh should have been at least knocked unconscious when hit by the SUV, but more likely she should had been killed. If that had not been enough when she stopped by slamming into the wall of the elevator shaft she goes from at least 40 to 0 mph in seconds flat which once again should have at the least knocked her out. Through all this Minh is still able to fight her way through the SUV in attempt to get out of the shaft before the SUV plummets to the bottom floors below. This lack of spacing between these multiple infringements on Newton's third law are hard to miss and although they add great action to the film they subtract greatly from its realism.
Spiderman 2 was released in 2004 and is among the top 15 grossing films of all time. Starring Toby Maguire as Peter Parker and Alfred Molina as Dr. Octavius the film is an action film packed with sci-fi with small bits of cheesy comedy placed throughout. The film takes place in a world identical to ours and appears that all aspects of physics are the same. The main difference is that some people have obtained super human abilities giving them greater strength, agility, and control of unnatural abilities. The scene I chose to analyze takes place after Dr. Octavius (Doc Ock) escapes the Hospital with all four of his mechanical arms still attached to his spine. Upon walking out onto the street he is surprised by a speeding taxi cab, he proceeds in a swift seamless motion to pick up the cab with his mechanical limbs and toss it into other cars without so much as a pause. He then proceeds to raise into the air and walk down the street on his new limbs. The fact that the cab was speeding along and that Doc Ock weighs significantly less than the cab would suggest that he would be moved in one way or another by the cabs force. Instead Doc Ock is unchanged and does not even take a stance to support this exertion and reception of great force. If Newton's third law had been acknowledged in this scene then Doc Ock would have had to brace himself with two of his other mechanical limbs or been pushed back until slowly coming to a stop. Even though Doc Ock has received super strength via his limbs he is still human unchanged and his body must still obey the basic laws of nature, there is no added plot point that changes this circumstance. The fact that there is no acknowledgement shows that the director hoped this may be missed by viewers or he himself missed it entirely.
The 2005 film Sin City was packed with a large cast of stars the scene I have chosen to analyze is stars Clive Owen who plays Dwight McCarthy. Sin City was the first of its kind, transforming Frank Miller's graphic novels into a major motion picture like no one had ever seen before. Since it was adapted from a graphic novel the action scenes may not have been adapted as easily but should have been changed to suit the film. The Film is set in a major city and appears that there is no exception to the basic laws of nature, other than the few exceptions were those rules are ignored or broken. There are no plot points that suggest that people are super human and have special abilities allowing them to break the laws of nature. The film is packed with action and graphic violence exaggerated by the choice of contrast in colors. The scene I chose to analyze is very short but is very easy to catch since it is so unbelievable. Dwight jumps from a ledge on the side of a building and falls many stories to the ground below where he proceeds to take off running. In reality Dwight would only be going to the hospital with broken legs or at the least a severe sprain. The high amount of force built up by Dwight falling would be exerted back onto Dwight’s body when he hit the ground and be absorbed by his bones and in turn break them. But since Dwight is able to take off running it is obvious that the director failed to take into account the realistic affects this high fall would truly have or hope viewers would be caught up in the action.
Live free or die hard, Spiderman 2, and Sin City are all great examples of how major motion pictures bend and break the laws of nature in order to keep movie goers entertained. With the need to constantly reach new ground to keep movies fresh in order to turn larger profits. But while some films try to imitate and create the most realistic image of humanity others go in the opposite direction entirely. Then there are those films that are in the middle such as the three I chose that have reasonable believable plots but choose to break the laws of nature when it best suits them. The problem with this is figuring out where the boundary of believability and unbelievable are. In some cases it is apparent that directors ignored the laws of nature and in other instances when it is more subtle it is possible to see that it might have been missed. It is easy to understand how Newton’s third law can be overlooked since it can have many applications some more complicated than others, making it easy to miss them.

"Outline for the Second Term Paper"

Science Fact or Cinematic Fiction Outline
I. Introduction
A. Describe the importance of accurate physics in movies
B. Discuss how Newton's Third law is broken
C. Thesis: In the movies
II. Live Free or die Hard
A. Description of movie: action comedy
B. Scene: John McClane hits Mai Linh with a large SUV going at a very high speed and then proceeds to crash into a elevator shaft
C. Mai Linh should have been either killed or knocked unconscious by the fast moving vehicle but instead is able to attempt to climb her way out of the elevator shaft
III. Sin City
A. Description: Graphic novel turned into film packed with violence and action
B. Scene: Dwight jumps from a ledge and lands on the ground many floors below
C. Dwight would likely have a sprain but more likely a broken leg but is able to run after his target
IV. Spider man 2
A. Description: Sci-Fi superhero film with minimal comedy
B. Scene: Dr. Octavius awakes in the hospital to discover that 4 mechanical arms have been fused to his spine
C. He stops a speeding cab and proceeds to hurl it with minimal effort and without himself being moved at all
V. Conclusion
A. Summarize the films and how they broke Newton's 3rd law
B. Restate thesis

Character Animation

I chose my star wars action figures because of their mobility of motion. I then created a back drop using some pictures i had taken I then proceeded to play around until i came up with my scene. I then used some play-Doh to secure the characters feet and then used fishing wire to make the ball seem to float. I took multiple shots of the same stance along in order to make it seem more realistic. I decided to introduce Han into the shot for a little action.

Reverse Video Reference of Walking

Video A
Video B

Video C

Video D

Video E

Mid-Semester survey

"This is to certify that I completed the anonymous mid-semester survey for Art/Physics 123 and am requesting the five points of extra credit.

As a student at San Jose State, I understand the university's Academic Integrity Policy (http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/narr/catalog/rec-2083.html)."

1st Term Paper

The film The Fifth Element was released in 1997 and though it was not a huge hit it became very popular for all sci-fi fans and is one of my personal favorites. The film stars Bruce Willis as Korben Dallas, a retired special forces soldier who now drives a taxi in twenty third century earth, it co-stars Milla Jovich as Leelu who is a supreme being engineered by aliens. Leelu is brought to earth by an alien race which is charged with protecting all life in the universe which arrives every 5,000 years in the form of a massive dark planet. The rules of physics and gravity appear to be of the same standards we are used to. The film is shot in live action and uses computer animation for structures, ships, aliens, and weapons. This paper will cover how some humans and aliens possess super abilities and how some basic laws of physics were broken or bent in the film.

Since the story line of the film takes place on Earth it makes sense that the laws of gravity would be the same as we are used to, and the film does a good job of following these basic laws. Throughout the film we see vessels flying in space and hovering around major cities on earth. These vessels still abide by the laws of gravity and momentum, with the use of thrust they are able to obtain new modes of flight such as hovering. They use thrust accordingly to gain the movement that they require. Throughout the film all the vessels have engines that make it seem that whatever movement they make can be accomplished at no time during the film does it seem unrealistic for a vessel to be able to fly or maneuver in the way that it does.

When Leelu first meets Korben she has just crashed through the roof of his taxi, shortly after he takes her for a wild ride through the skies of New York city. After Leelu crashes through Korben's cab he is pulled over but quickly decides to help Leelu to evade the police. Korben makes many dives and sharp turns in his cab and since Leelu is not wearing a seatbelt like Korben she is thrown up against the glass and is knocked all around the inside the cab. This demonstrates that Newton's laws are still in the norm in this futuristic sci-fi flick.

The most basic of these laws that is demonstrated is how objects fall in the film. When priest Vito Conelius is summoned to Mr. Zorg's office he is given a demonstration in how order comes from chaos when Zorg pushes a glass off his desk and allows it to smash on the ground in a realistic fashion. When Leelu jumps off a skyscraper in New York she is able to evade the police that follow after her since she started her fall before they did. Another example is when Korben opens a cupboard in his tiny apartment in New York and all matter of objects fall out items ranging from books to heavy medals which all hit the ground at the same time.

One of the big mistakes in the film is early on when a Mondoshawan spaceship on its way to earth to bring the fifth element so it can be used. On its approach it is attacked by a squadron of fighters and after being fired on it is destroyed. But instead of blowing up in space it is instead seen crashing into the surface of a planet that was nowhere to be seen earlier on. This is a obvious flaw since in our universe if the ship was damaged and was entering a planet's atmosphere it would be destroyed and never reach the ground. Also the ship was nowhere near the planet in its previous shot and in order for it to be pulled in for it to crash it would have needed to fly close enough to the planets gravitational pull to bring it in.

As part of the story In the film aliens are a common occurrence and many of them posses super human abilities. Even though Leelu is a being who is engineered to be a perfect being her body is the same as ours on the outside and so it must abide by the same rules of gravity as all humans do. Leelu falls hundreds of feet after jumping off a skyscraper only to crash through the roof of the taxi cab Korben Dallas is driving. Through the cab is made of metal Leelu is able to survive her long fall with minor scrapes and no broken bones. If any other person was to attempt this feat they would end up dead or in a hospital for months since their force upon impact would be so great. Since Leelu is able to survive this incredible blow to her body with minor scrapes she is superhuman at this point.

One of the main alien races that appear in the film are the Mangalores. The Mangalores are a race without a home since it was seized by the military so many of them serve as soldiers of fortune. One of the super abilities that makes them such great soldiers is the ability to shape shift at will. The fact they are able to change their face and body without having to displace mass to other parts of their body defies all our laws on energy and mass. Because they are able to do this so casually without repercussions gives them the status of super human.

Towards the end of the film Leelu enters into hand to hand combat against a group of Mangalorians in order to obtain the sacred stones that she needs to stop the great evil. Leelu is able to engage these aliens in hand to hand combat and knock them around the room without moving more than a foot or two. Since the Mangalorians appear to be at least twice her seize and weight she should have great difficulty inflicting harm upon them, instead she is able to easily knock them around. Since she is able to exert such a great force on these soldiers and not have any force exerted back onto her she is breaking Newton's third fundamental law. Because Leelu is able to do this she is demonstrating a super human strength.

Throughout the film a common mistake was made or ignored, this mistake was objects have a large force, be it gravity or manmade, exerted on them and having minimal to no reaction to these forces. There are many cases in the film where Newton's third law is ignored in order to impress viewers. In the first seen we see set in the 23rd century we view a federal army battle ship coming up on a dark mass. Not knowing what it is the decide to shoot first and ask questions later. After unloading volley after volley of nuclear warheads on the planet no damage is done to the objects surface. Because the dark object is "evil" it can break our basic rules of gravity and take a nuclear warhead size force and have no reaction to it.

In the futuristic city of New York the problem of over population has been solved by simply building even higher skyscrapers. These skyscrapers are so high the ground cannot be seen below due to clouds and traffic. These skyscrapers have no unusual base or extreme width to support the great force that gravity would exert upon them. In a realistic environment these buildings would collapse and come crashing back to the ground.

In one of the final scenes of the film the evil object that is the size of our moon is stopped very close to earth. Due to the large size of this object and its proximity to the earth it would have a affect on the earth's gravitation as the moon does such as tides or the climate. But no such effect takes place and everything on earth carries on. The fact that the earth has no reaction to this new object in its gravitational field shows that not all objects obey the basic laws of gravity and physics.

A exclusion to objects having a great force act on them with no reaction is in one of the last scenes when the evil object is racing towards earth to destroy it. Leelu is brought to the temple along with the sacred stones. After activating the other 4 elements she stands on a platform and releases a beam of light from within which is able to stop the great evil from destroying earth. It is impossible for a ray of light to stop anything let alone a speeding planetoid.

The Fifth Element did a great job of following basic laws of gravity when it suited the story line, but when they chose to ignore a rule they would consistently ignore it not switching back and forth which would have made it more noticeable. Since gravity appeared to be at its norm as demonstrated by objects falling and requiring thrust to maneuver, any action that could not be explained or seemed unusual would be classed as super human and was explained in the story line. Although Newton's third law was the most neglected of all it was usually explained why it was ignored so as not to leave the viewer puzzled. Before watching this film with a purpose other than to be entertained I had never noticed any flaws or mistakes in the physics and now that I have i can still enjoy the film without being annoyed by any of these mistakes.

outline of first term paper

Edward Maybury
Phys 123 Dr. Garcia
3/7/10
Outline of first paper
Physics in "The Fifth Element"
I. Introduction- In the distant future
A. Objects are effected by our normal gravity
B. Aliens and some people have super humanoid abilities
C. certain objects can take a great deal of force with no reaction
D. Thesis statement

II. Objects effected in normal gravity
a. to climb ships require thrust
b. When riding in the cab while taking sharp turns leelu is thrown about because she is not wearing a seatbelt
c. Objects falling
Glass falling off desk
Leelu jumps off a building
objects falling out of cupboard
d. Exception- Ships are able to travel at the speed of light

III. Super humanoid abilities
a. When leelu crashes through the taxi made of metal she is end hurt and has no markings on her what so ever
b. Aliens are able to change their entire facial structure allowing them to change their head from one shape and size to one larger or smaller
c. leelu is able to punch and kick enemies around the room without ever moving more than a few feet

IV. Objects can take great forces upon them with no effect
a. the evil object was dozens of nuclear warheads fired upon it with little to no reaction
b. Giant skyscrapers with no apparent base are able to climb high into the sky with no risk of collapsing
c. a object the size of the moon is stopped close to earth but has no effect on the planets gravitation
d. exception- The evil object is stopped by a small beam of light

V. Conclusion
a. brief synopsis of points
b. because gravity appears to be normal these abilities become super human

"Stop Motion Animation of Falling"

I used a some sticky tape and rolled it into a ball. I then stuck it to a wall and began to move it downward using the sam animation program to record my shots. I had the ball bounce out of frame. Using the sticky tape allowed me to shoot my footage on a wall making it much easier to complete the project.

Video analysis of path of action

Tracker video analysis of falling

Video Reference

Video is at 30 FPS

Mini-Portfolio

I have recently moved back to San Jose, to attend SJSU, after 10 years of living in Sonoma County. I am a starting my senior year of obtaining my degree in History. I have not taken a art class since my sophomore year of High school and I haven't taken any physics classes since my senior year of High school. I chose to take this class to fulfill my upper GE area, I also love knowing how things work and are created and since I am a avid user of video games and regularly view the most recent top seller film. I do not have any artwork of my own but i do have a great of favorites that i will post. I am greatly looking forward to the class and obtaining more chances to win a dollar.

First blog

This is my first blog that i am writing for you in class