3D Game-based Filmmaking


Book Description

The Machinima approach to creating movies promises to revolutionize the computer animation industry and this book will serve as the industry bible for emerging filmmakers. It expertly covers the very latest technology in filmmaking, from the history of Machinima, who the major players are, and where the Machinima movement is going. Conventional filmmakers are quickly adopting this medium as a much easier and economical way to produce animation films. This book contains a wealth of tips, tricks, and solid techniques to creating your own Machinima films from some of the best creative minds in the industry. Numerous hands-on projects are provided to show readers how to expertly create, edit, and view their own films. Some of the hot topics covered include developing actors, preparing sets, incorporating audio, adding special audio and visual effects, using the best post production techniques, using the best game engines, and much more.




Understanding Machinima


Book Description

In this groundbreaking collection, Dr. Jenna Ng brings together academics and award-winning artists and machinima makers to explore the fascinating combination of cinema, animation and games in machinima (the use of computer game engines to produce animated films in cost- and time-efficient ways). Book-ended by a preface by Henry Lowood (curator for history of science and technology collections at Stanford University) and an interview with Isabelle Arvers (machinima artist, trainer, critic, and curator), the collection features wide-ranging discussions addressing machinima not only from diverse theoretical perspectives, but also in its many dimensions as game art, First Nations media art, documentary, and pedagogical tool. Making use of interactive multimedia to enhance the text, each chapter features a QR code which leads to a mobile website cross-referencing with its print text, integrating digital and print content while also taking into account the portability of digital devices in resonance with machinima's mobile digital forms. Exploring the many dimensions of machinima production and reception, Understanding Machinima extends machinima's critical scholarship and debate, underscoring the exciting potential of this emerging media form.




Animation: A World History


Book Description

A continuation of 1994’s groundbreaking Cartoons, Giannalberto Bendazzi’s Animation: A World History is the largest, deepest, most comprehensive text of its kind, based on the idea that animation is an art form that deserves its own place in scholarship. Bendazzi delves beyond just Disney, offering readers glimpses into the animation of Russia, Africa, Latin America, and other often-neglected areas and introducing over fifty previously undiscovered artists. Full of first-hand, never before investigated, and elsewhere unavailable information, Animation: A World History encompasses the history of animation production on every continent over the span of three centuries. Volume III catches you up to speed on the state of animation from 1991 to present. Although characterized by such trends as economic globalization, the expansion of television series, emerging markets in countries like China and India, and the consolidation of elitist auteur animation, the story of contemporary animation is still open to interpretation. With an abundance of first-hand research and topics ranging from Nickelodeon and Pixar to modern Estonian animation, this book is the most complete record of modern animation on the market and is essential reading for all serious students of animation history. Key Features: Over 200 high quality head shots and film stills to add visual reference to your research Detailed information on hundreds of never-before researched animators and films Coverage of animation from more than 90 countries and every major region of the world Chronological and geographical organization for quick access to the information you’re looking for




The Art of Movies


Book Description

Movie is considered to be an important art form; films entertain, educate, enlighten and inspire audiences. Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as — in metonymy — the field in general. The origin of the name comes from the fact that photographic film (also called filmstock) has historically been the primary medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist — motion pictures (or just pictures or "picture"), the silver screen, photoplays, the cinema, picture shows, flicks — and commonly movies.




Machinima


Book Description

Unlike traditional animation techniques that use specialized 3D animation software, machinima--a term derived from the words "machine" and "cinema"--records the action in real-time interactive 3D environments, such as those found in video games, to create a cinematic production. No longer solely the province of hard-core gamers, machinima has become central to the convergence between animation, television, and film, but retains its own identity as a unique media format. It has evolved quickly within massive multi-player gaming and virtual platforms such as Second Life, The Sims, World of Warcraft, and virtual worlds under development. These interviews, essays, and discussions with leading machinima producers, reviewers, performers, and advocates discuss scripting basics, character development, and set design, as well as tips on crafting machinima through creative use of sound, lighting, and post-production.




Gamescenes


Book Description

Illustrates artistic expressions made with an emphasis on videogames. Text in English and Italian.




Imagery in the 21st Century


Book Description

Scholars from science, art, and humanities explore the meaning of our new image worlds and offer new strategies for visual analysis. We are surrounded by images as never before: on Flickr, Facebook, and YouTube; on thousands of television channels; in digital games and virtual worlds; in media art and science. Without new efforts to visualize complex ideas, structures, and systems, today's information explosion would be unmanageable. The digital image represents endless options for manipulation; images seem capable of changing interactively or even autonomously. This volume offers systematic and interdisciplinary reflections on these new image worlds and new analytical approaches to the visual. Imagery in the 21st Century examines this revolution in various fields, with researchers from the natural sciences and the humanities meeting to achieve a deeper understanding of the meaning and impact of the image in our time. The contributors explore and discuss new critical terms of multidisciplinary scope, from database economy to the dramaturgy of hypermedia, from visualizations in neuroscience to the image in bio art. They consider the power of the image in the development of human consciousness, pursue new definitions of visual phenomena, and examine new tools for image research and visual analysis.




Knack Digital Moviemaking


Book Description

It’s one thing to own a digital camera or camcorder and make shaky home movies. It’s another to record and edit a movie as good as what a professional would make. Enter Knack Digital Moviemaking. With clear, step-by-step instructions and 350 full-color photographs, this quick reference guide gives you the tools and inspiration to make exactly the films you want no matter what your subject or budget. It covers everything from choosing and using a camera to casting actors, from shooting and editing to special effects. Look for valuable information about distributing your movie online, in theaters, and in festivals. 350 full-color photos covering: Screenplays * Budgeting Cameras * Lighting * Sound Actors * Shooting * Editing Effects * Animation * Graphics Guerilla Filmmaking




Handbook of Research on Teaching With Virtual Environments and AI


Book Description

The increasingly pervasive use of digital technology has catapulted society into an interconnected world where the natural boundaries between humankind and machine, virtual and real, individual and community have become less perceptible. As individuals interact with different digital technologies, they must build a digital intelligence, which must be further cultivated as it is a key competency for the future of school and work. Digital intelligence includes understanding the mutual strengths between people and technology, as well as developing an awareness in the use of digital tools in order to avoid common threats such as cyberbullying, addiction to video games, techno-stress, and more. As adolescents continue to engage with virtual reality and 3D virtual worlds where the online and offline overlap and coincide, it is important to build this intelligence as well as utilize these technologies to promote successful learning. The Handbook of Research on Teaching With Virtual Environments and AI explores the new personalized educational opportunities that are available with digital technology and virtual environments that can be used within education. This book focuses on the use of these tools and how to navigate the use of new technologies such as AI and virtual environments for educational practices. While highlighting topics such as virtual worlds, game-based learning, intelligent tutoring, augmented reality, and more, this book is ideal for teachers, administrators, technologists, educational software developers, IT specialists, practitioners, researchers, academicians, and students interested in how virtual environments and AI are being implemented in teaching practices.




Engaging Art


Book Description

Engaging Art explores what it means to participate in the arts in contemporary society – from museum attendance to music downloading. Drawing on the perspectives of experts from diverse fields (including Princeton scholars Robert Wuthnow and Paul DiMaggio; Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice; and MIT scholars Henry Jenkins and Mark Schuster), this volume analyzes key trends involving technology, audience demographics, religion, and the rise of "do-it-yourself" participatory culture. Commissioned by The Wallace Foundation and independently carried out by the Curb Center at Vanderbilt University, Engaging Art offers a new framework for understanding the momentous changes impacting America’s cultural life over the past fifty years. This volume offers suggestive glimpses into the character and consequence of a new engagement with old-fashioned participation in the arts. The authors in this volume hint at a bright future for art and citizen art making. They argue that if we center a new commitment to arts participation in everyday art making, creativity, and quality of life, we will not only restore the lifelong pleasure of homemade art, but will likely seed a new generation of enthusiasts who will support America’s signature nonprofit cultural institutions well into the future.