Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Company). However, it is obvious to viewers that these animations are computer generated. Recent
advances in illumination models and texturing have produced human figures that are much more
realistic and have been incorporated into otherwise live-action films.
Synthetic actors have progressed from being distantly viewed stunt doubles and passengers on a
boat to assuming central roles in various movies: the dragon in
Dragonheart
(1996, Tippett Studio,
ILM); the Jello-like main character in
Flubber
(1997, ILM); the aliens in
Mars Attacks
(1996,
ILM); and the ghosts in
Casper
(1995, ILM). The first fully articulated humanoid synthetic actor inte-
gral to a movie was the character Jar-Jar Binks in
Star Wars: Episode I
(1999, ILM). More recently,
the Harry Potter series (2001-2011, Warner Bros.) display actor-like visual qualities as well as the
personality of a live actor not previously demonstrated in computer-generated characters.
However, a revolution is brewing in the realistic digital representation of human actors. At this
point, we are not quite to the place where a digital human is indistinguishable from a live actor, but
that time is drawing nearer. An early attempt at such realism was undertaken by
Final Fantasy:
The Spirits Within
(2001, Chris Lee Productions), which incorporated full body and facial animation
of human figures. The hair animation was particularly convincing; however, the facial animation was
stiff and unexpressive. Several films effectively manipulated the appearance of facial features as a spe-
cial effect including
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
(2008, Paramount Pictures) and
Alice in
Wonderland
(2010, Walt Disney Pictures).
Avatar
(2009, 20
th
Century Fox) with full body/face motion
captures animated human-like creatures by mapping the performance of actors to the synthetic crea-
tures. However, the most ambitious attempt at a synthetic actor is in the film
TRON: Legacy
(2010,
Walt Disney Pictures), which animates a computer graphics version of a young Jeff Bridges. In this
case, the audience (at least those of us old enough to remember what Jeff Bridges looked like when
he was young) have a specific expectation of what a young Jeff Bridges should look like. The repre-
sentation is effective for the most part; however, the film editing prevents the audience from closely
inspecting the young Jeff Bridges and even so, there is an unreal eeriness about the figure. But this
shows that synthetic actors are on their way to a theater near you. Advances in hair, clothes, and skin
have paved the way, but facial animation has still not been totally conquered.
Of course, one use of computer animation is simply to “do animation”; computer graphics are used
to produce animated pieces that are essentially three-dimensional cartoons that would otherwise be
done by more traditional means. The animation does not attempt to fool the viewer into thinking
anything is real; it is meant simply to entertain. The film
Hunger
falls into this category, as do the
Lucasfilm/Pixar animations.
Toy Story
is the first full-length, fully computer-generated three-
dimensional animated feature film. Other feature-length three-dimensional cartoons soon emerged,
such as
Antz
(1998, PDI),
A Bug's Life
(1998, Pixar),
Toy Story 2
(1999, Pixar),
Shrek
(2001, PDI),
and
Shrek 2
(2004, PDI). In 2002,
Shrek
won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Many animations of this type have been made for television. In an episode of
The Simpsons
(1995,
PDI), Homer steps into a synthetic world and turns into a three-dimensional computer-generated char-
acter. There have been popular television commercials involving computer animation—too many to
mention at this point. Many Saturday morning cartoons are now produced using three-dimensional
13
For brevity, only the first production company itemized on the Internet Movie Database Web site (
www.imdb.com
) is given
when more than one production company is listed.
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