Creating Personalities for Synthetic Actors


Book Description

Progress in computer animation has gained such a speed that, before long, computer-generated human faces and figures on screen will be indistinguishable from those of real humans. The potential both for scripted films and real-time interaction with users is enormous. However, in order to cope with this potential, these faces and figures must be guided by autonomous personality agents. This carefully arranged volume presents the state of the art in research and development in making synthetic actors more autonomous. The papers describe the different approaches and solutions developed by computer animation specialists, computer scientists, experts in AI, psychologists and philosophers, from leading laboratories world-wide. Finally, a bibliography comprising more than 200 entries enable further study.




Synthetic Actors


Book Description

This book presents the making of computer-generated films using three-dimensional synthetic actors. It is based mainly on the production of the film Rendez-vous a Montreal, an animated film that uses advanced computer techniques to achieve such effects as reincarnating film stars Humphrey Bogart and Marilyn Monroe. The main purpose of Rendez-vous a Montreal is to show that true synthetic actors can be created. This fllm represents a technological breakthrough which opens up new vistas in motion pictures, television, and advertising. With this technique, it will now be possible to produce short fllms or motion pictures featuring any celebrity in any situation. The book explains in detail how such a film can be produced using numerous drawings and color pictures. In particular, the following topics are presented: - Preparation of object construction: documentation search, and plaster models preparation - Object construction: digitizing and modeling - Body animation - Hand animation and object grasping - Facial animation: expressions, phonemes and emotions - Choreography: decors, actors, cameras, and lights - Realism: colors, lights, shading, shadows, and textures - Image recording: special effects Finally, an extensive appendix describes in detail the HUMAN FACTORY system.




Artificial Intelligence Today


Book Description

Artificial Intelligence is one of the most fascinating and unusual areas of academic study to have emerged this century. For some, AI is a true scientific discipline, that has made important and fundamental contributions to the use of computation for our understanding of nature and phenomena of the human mind; for others, AI is the black art of computer science. Artificial Intelligence Today provides a showcase for the field of AI as it stands today. The editors invited contributions both from traditional subfields of AI, such as theorem proving, as well as from subfields that have emerged more recently, such as agents, AI and the Internet, or synthetic actors. The papers themselves are a mixture of more specialized research papers and authorative survey papers. The secondary purpose of this book is to celebrate Springer-Verlag's Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence series.




Computer Animation


Book Description

Updated to include the most current techniques of computer animation, along with the theory and high-level computation that makes this book the best technically oriented animation resource.




Sergei Radlov: The Shakespearian Fate of a Soviet Director


Book Description

First Published in 1996. Professor Zolotnitsky provides a picture of the life and work of Sergei Radlov - one of the most outstanding interpreters of Shakespeare on the Soviet stage in the 1930s. Sergei Radlov started as one of the left-wing directors among the disciples and companions of Vsevolod Meyerhold in post-revolutionary Russia. He directed Jack London, Ernst Toller, Evgeni Zamyatin and updated Aristophanes. In the latter he did "modern" operas, such as "The Love for Three Oranges" by Sergei Prokofiev and "Der ferne Klang" by Franz Schrecker.




Computer Animation


Book Description

Computer Science Workbench is a monograph series which will provide you with an in-depth working knowledge of current developments in computer technology. Every volume in this series will deal with a topic of importance in computer science and elaborate on how you yourself can build systems related to the main theme. You will be able to develop a variety of systems, including computer software tools, computer gra phics, computer animation, database management systems, and compu ter-aided design and manufacturing systems. Computer Science Work bench represents an important new contribution in the field of practical computer technology. TOSIYASU L. KUNII Preface to the Second Edition Computer graphics is growing very rapidly; only computer animation grows faster. The first edition of the book Computer Animation: Theory and Practice was released in 1985. Four years later, computer animation has exploded. Conferences on computer animation have appeared and the topic is recognized in well-known journals as a leading theme. Computer-generated film festivals now exist in each country and several thousands of films are produced each year. From a commercial point of view, the computer animation market has grown considerably. TV logos are computer-made and more and more simulations use the technique of computer animation. What is the most fascinating is certainly the development of computer animation from a research point-of-view.




Intelligent Virtual Agents


Book Description

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th International Workshop on Intelligent Virtual Agents, IVA 2006. The book presents 24 revised full papers and 11 revised short papers together with 3 invited talks and the abstracts of 19 poster papers. The papers are organized in topical sections on social impact of IVAs, IVAs recognizing human behavior, human interpretation of IVA behavior, embodied conversational agents, characteristics of nonverbal behavior and more.




Communication in the Age of Virtual Reality


Book Description

This volume addresses virtual reality (VR) -- a tantalizing communication medium whose essence challenges our most deeply held notions of what communication is or can be. The editors have gathered an expert team of engineers, social scientists, and cultural theorists for the first extensive treatment of human communication in this exciting medium. The first part introduces the reader to VR's state-of-the-art as well as future trends. In the next section, leading research scientists discuss how knowledge of communication can be used to build more effective and exciting communication applications of virtual reality. Looking ahead, the authors explore pioneering approaches to VR narratives, interpersonal communication, the use of 3D sound, and the building of VR entertainment complexes. In the final section, the authors zoom out to view the big picture -- the psychological, social, and cultural implications of virtual reality. Thought-provoking discussions consider important communication issues such as: * How will virtual reality influence perception of reality? * What are the legal issues defining communication in virtual reality? * What kind of cultural trends will this technology encourage?




A Reader in Animation Studies


Book Description

Cartoons—both from the classic Hollywood era and from more contemporary feature films and television series—offer a rich field for detailed investigation and analysis. Contributors draw on theories and methodology from film, television, and media studies, art history and criticism, and feminism and gender studies.




Multimedia Modeling: Towards Information Superhighway


Book Description

The process of integrating multiple senses and media into computer systems accelerated recently. This has broaden the applications of multimedia from the traditional areas of information organization, presentation and learning, to the new fields of simulation and virtual reality. Applications that have benefited from the introduction of multimedia include: training, demonstration of products for sales or inventory, education, computer-aided design and engineering, medicine, weather, and entertainment.This volume is devoted to the discussion of effective modeling of multimedia information and systems for a wide range of applications. It is perhaps the only book that devotes entirely to this important but much neglected topic.