CNM 190 Advanced Digital Animation Dan Garcia EECS

CNM 190 Advanced Digital Animation Dan Garcia, EECS (co-instructor) Greg Niemeyer, Art (co-instructor) Jeremy Huddleston, EECS (TA) Randy Nelson, Pixar (today’s guest lecturer) CNM 190 : Advanced Digital Animation

Today’s Overview n Greg n Welcome, Class mission n Randy n Pixar production pipeline n Dan Technical challenges (read: projects) n Expectations n Examples of great animations (if time) n C 10 Hearst Field Annex; 642 -9920 CNM 190 : Advanced Digital Animation http: //inst. eecs. berkeley. edu/~selfpace/ 2

Pixar Production Pipeline Randy Nelson Dean, Pixar University CNM 190 : Advanced Digital Animation

Story-driven process n The Pixar filmmaking process is story- driven n We use traditional skills like storytelling, drawing, painting and sculpture n n This allows the work to be easily shared, keeps it informal and encourages experimentation Technology serves the needs of the story n Story determines what to put in the film and technology responds C 10 Hearst Field Annex; 642 -9920 CNM 190 : Advanced Digital Animation http: //inst. eecs. berkeley. edu/~selfpace/ 4

World, Character, Story n The story process is moved forward by designs for the world & characters of the film n The world has its own rules, that limit what the characters can do n n Building unique worlds is at the heart of animation The characters have things they want and need, that push the limits of the world n Characters should feel like they live beyond the frame of the film C 10 Hearst Field Annex; 642 -9920 CNM 190 : Advanced Digital Animation http: //inst. eecs. berkeley. edu/~selfpace/ 5

Design n Everything is design n We alternate cycles of planning and implementation n n We avoid ‘waterfall design’ where all design is complete before implementation begins We don’t do any manufacturing n That happens at Technicolor after the finished print leaves our building C 10 Hearst Field Annex; 642 -9920 CNM 190 : Advanced Digital Animation http: //inst. eecs. berkeley. edu/~selfpace/ 6

Timeline & Departments n A four year design process n Planning — all four years n n Story, Art, Editorial Implementation — the last two years Editorial n Modeling, Articulation, Shading, Digital Paint n Layout, Set Dressing, Animation, Lighting n Rendering n C 10 Hearst Field Annex; 642 -9920 CNM 190 : Advanced Digital Animation http: //inst. eecs. berkeley. edu/~selfpace/ 7

Story, Art & Editorial n Three departments are the focus of design n Story creates storyboards n n Art creates inspirational images, character and set designs, colorscripts and lighting pastels n n Refined images that establish the look and feel of the film Editorial creates story reels n n Drawings that are a comic strip version of the film’s important moments A rough draft form of the film made using the storyboard drawings, scratch dialog and borrowed music The goal of the planning process is a solid story reel C 10 Hearst Field Annex; 642 -9920 CNM 190 : Advanced Digital Animation http: //inst. eecs. berkeley. edu/~selfpace/ 8

Objects & Shots n The implementation of the film is split between making objects and using those objects to make shots n Everything in the film, every character, prop and location, must be created first n n Nothing is free; if it is in the film, it must be imagined and built Shots are created by populating each scene in the story with the correct objects n Only once the cast is on the set with their props can we begin the visual storytelling C 10 Hearst Field Annex; 642 -9920 CNM 190 : Advanced Digital Animation http: //inst. eecs. berkeley. edu/~selfpace/ 9

Objects n The shape and surface are created separately for every object n Modeling and Articulation deals with shape and how the shape moves n n These are primarily 3 D skills Shading and Painting works on surface n These are primarily 2 D skills C 10 Hearst Field Annex; 642 -9920 CNM 190 : Advanced Digital Animation http: //inst. eecs. berkeley. edu/~selfpace/ 10

Modeling & Articulation n Modeling & Articulation deal with the shape of the objects, and how they can be moved n Modeling is like sculpture, inside the computer — it creates the static shape of the object n n The model does not bend Articulation or rigging provides the ‘hinges’ in the model that allow it to be positioned n n The rigged model can be posed, and in the hands of an animator, can act Props and sets get less articulation than characters C 10 Hearst Field Annex; 642 -9920 CNM 190 : Advanced Digital Animation http: //inst. eecs. berkeley. edu/~selfpace/ 11

Shading & Painting n Shading and painting deal with the surface color and texture of the object n A procedural shader is a computer program that represents how light interacts with a surface n n Shaders can provide surface deformation as well as color — they can make a smooth model look bumpy Digital painting allows textures or other paint marks to be applied directly to surfaces n Once a surface has been shaded, digital paint can be used to rough it up or add other naturalistic details C 10 Hearst Field Annex; 642 -9920 CNM 190 : Advanced Digital Animation http: //inst. eecs. berkeley. edu/~selfpace/ 12

Shots n Objects are assembled into shots n Layout sets up the basic blocking for character and camera movement n n Set Dressing makes sure each shot is well framed by the set and props n n Dressing may also build the set used by Layout Animation moves each object n n Layout is informed by the storyboards and story reel Animation provides the acting in 24 ths of a second Lighting lights the shot to focus the action and to help create the mood n Lighting is directed by images created by Art C 10 Hearst Field Annex; 642 -9920 CNM 190 : Advanced Digital Animation http: //inst. eecs. berkeley. edu/~selfpace/ 13

Animation n Animation means to bring to life n Animation uses the hinges in the object’s rig — avars or articulated variables — to change the its location & position over time Animators are actors who can break down a performance into poses n Each pose attempts to capture the essence of the character's thoughts and feelings n C 10 Hearst Field Annex; 642 -9920 CNM 190 : Advanced Digital Animation http: //inst. eecs. berkeley. edu/~selfpace/ 14

Rendering n Rendering is the final step in the implementation pipeline n Rendering is like taking a digital picture of the world inside the computer The renderer produces a 2 D image of the 3 D scene in the computer n A film consists of 120, 000 or more rendered 2 D images, each onscreen for a 24 th of a second n C 10 Hearst Field Annex; 642 -9920 CNM 190 : Advanced Digital Animation http: //inst. eecs. berkeley. edu/~selfpace/ 15