Hapty : a Haptically Augmented Animation tool”, Poster presentation

Communications in Computer and Information Science, 2014

We present an approach for teaching and designing embodied interaction based on interactive sketches. We have combined the mover perspective and felt experiences of movement with advanced technologies (multi-agents, physical simulations) in a generative design session. We report our activities and provide a simple example as a design outcome. The variety and the qualities of the initial ideas indicate that this approach might provide a better foundation for our participants, compared to the approaches that focus only on technologies. The interactive sketches will be demonstrated at the conference.

Royal College of Art, 2020

Since the invention of devices that use rapidly repeating still images to create a phenomenon of apparent motion, a tension has existed between the artistry of forming images and the mechanics of generating an illusion. In the midst of this tension is the animator , immersed inside the technology whilst simultaneously 1 relying on their embodied memory of the world to guide their creative judgement. This research attempts to illustrate this liminal state of creative practice and lays out Animatory Thinking as a precondition of animation practice. Defining animation has been extensively discussed and researched (Wells 2002;

This paper focuses on the research project, Projecting Performance, in which off-stage technical operators take on the role of performer through the live manipulation of digital ‘sprites’ in a theatrical environment. The sprites are projected onto gauzes in the stage space and operators control them with graphics tablets and pens to perform with on-stage dancers. Operators have frequently described experiences of dislocation or translocation during the experience of operating and this paper investigates the reasons for such reports. It presents the tripartite models of Zich and Castronova from the fields of theatre studies and human-computer interaction respectively, cross-referencing them to analyse the relationship between performer-operator and sprite. Merleau-Ponty's phenomenological theories are then employed through the writings of Crowther and Fraleigh to explore the experience of the performer-operator. The paper proposes an understanding of the digital interface in Projecting Performance as embodied and experienced both visually and kinaesthetically by the performer-operator.

2003

Applied artists and product designers encounter difficulties in adapting to digital tools which could theoretically improve their practice. The Tacitus project has adopted user-centered methodologies to investigate the potential advantage offered by digital media, particularly during the germinal phase of the design process, by developing a novel interface which exploits spatial input, haptic force-feedback and stereovision. This paper presents theoretical implications and experimental results obtained from the first studies of an early prototype for sketching in three dimensions, with the focus on qualitative evaluation. The underlying principle of the 3D sketching 'widget' is to support designers by merging those qualities typically offered by sketching and modeling with advantages of digital interfaces.

De-problematising animation through a critical examination of Aristotle’s philosophy of motion. The academic side of the animated world is small and seems to be making little-to-no progress in terms of theorising. The major issue faced by theorists seems to be that of defining what it is exactly that their theorising should apply to. There are numerous arguments as to what defines animation, all hotly contested by various scholars and this infighting has led to an almost complete stagnation of the field. The purpose of this paper is to apply a new mode of thinking to the issue of definition and to find a way around it. I do this by examining Aristotle’s philosophy of motion and common-sense, and applying the insight flowing from this to contemporary animation. I begin by exploring the works of Aristotle, as well as the work of the scholars in Aristotelian philosophy that have come before me. I pay particular interest in Aristotle’s application of common-sense in his philosophy of motion, as well as his philosophy on the nature of being. I use this opportunity to apply Aristotle to our current understanding of terms and ideas. After all the immediate applications are made, I explore the current state of the animation field, and explore the theories of contemporary writers in greater detail. Once their ideas are understood I again turn to Aristotle and apply his theories to those laid down by the contemporaries. It is clear that the problem in defining animation stems from the adherent of what is known as ‘digital media’. The research paper has identified this problem, as well as the solution, by drawing from the analysis of the case study this paper conducts. The medium has outgrown the old models of classification, and new theories are struggling to appease both the old ideas as well as the new characteristics of animation, specifically in the field of performance capture work. To overcome this difficulty, I use Aristotelian common-sense, as well as philosophies of motion and the nature of being, to re-classify ‘performance capture’ works under the headings neo-animation (where little-to-none of the recorded motion is altered in post-production) and faux-animation (where the captured motion is heavily modified in post-production) to remove performance capture from the current realm of animation and provide it its own space to grow.

Pratique réflexive en création numérique d’effets spéciaux : exploration du renouvellement de la pratique au moyen des techniques traditionnelles en mécanique de fluide, 2017

This research work focuses on the renewal of the artist’s practice of visual effects simulations in industry. The context of practice in industry now involves increasingly rationalized and rigid production models posing several challenges and discomforts for artists. Over the years, the problem experienced in the practitioner’s work experience refers to an aesthetic fatigue with regard to the tasks to be performed, that is to say to a lack of interest, disenchantment, a loss of pleasure in the act of creation, contrary to the strong passion that animated the beginning of his career. The practice in industry does not provide sufficiently interesting opportunities for the artist to pursue his development and quest for meaning; There is not much room for exploration, discovery, surprise, but on the contrary, its conduct becomes regulated and subject to the adjustments and procedures imposed by the choice of studios for the use of digital technologies. Thus, arising from the work structures where our professional practice is carried out, this malaise would be ideally surmountable by revisiting the traditional techniques of creating visual effects. The creative project will go in this direction ultimately aiming to allow us to regain the pleasure of creating visual effects. This project will consist of custom special effects experiments based on traditional techniques of fluid mechanics. Using the theoretical framework of Schön’s Reflective practice (1994), The goal of this research is to bring new meaning to visual effects artist practice. The project of creation thus takes the form of inquiry process and reflexive and interpretative analyzes, to lead to new senses. The analysis of the results reveals that particular satisfying conditions become necessary to find and regain the pleasure of creating. First of all, the first condition is that the practitioner must be able to make discoveries, that is to say that he must be able to observe and evaluate an emergent and unexpected content in his creation. Traditional techniques have allowed such fortuitous discoveries. While they present limitations in terms of capacity, traditional techniques require a great deal of creativity and adaptation in the artist. Paradoxically, the components then imagined demonstrate a great diversity, originality and efficiency. In contrast, the techniques underlying digital media (e.g., application software), in the context of production pipeline, are becoming instruments for standardizing the way things are done. The second condition, which has been clarified with information from the creative activity, implies that the artist can benefit from a space for his personal expression in the production of a work. The research work concludes on the relevance of offering these necessary conditions in artistic practice in industry. It raises certain issues concerning the development and flourishing of practitioners, by launching the invitation to develop reflexivity in practice. The contribution of this research is, first of all, personal to the researcher practitioner, who has been able to bring a new meaning to his practice, leading to the renewal of his practice. Then, this work serves to enrich the knowledge about new artistic practices, especially those in the creative industries. The results of the experiments can be viewed at the following addresses: https://vimeo.com/patrickparenteau/fluidespatial (this editing contains experiments 1 and 2) https://vimeo.com/patrickparenteau/hadesfluide https://vimeo.com/patrickparenteau/kirbycrackle https://vimeo.com/patrickparenteau/europa

2007

This paper investigates the difference between seeing and perceiving in animation. It analyses character design in the light of experiments in face recognition, in particular how iconic a character can be in design. It discusses whether a universal theory can be applied and if caricatures are really ‘super-portraits’ that echo how brains recall faces. The psychophysical perception of motion in animation is analysed in the light of animation principles such as ‘squash and stretch’ and ‘isolation’. Using made and found examples, the paper looks at how signature movement and animation principles are now being supplemented or even supplanted by motion capture and posits what this means for animation in the future. The paper maps popular animation characters within two specially designed triangular charts for image and for motion. It analyses the resulting images in terms of perceived and received information, looking particularly at the region of empathic connection coined by Dr Masahiro Mori as the ‘Uncanny Valley’. [1] By examining the different empathic demands motion capture makes on an audience it reaches the conclusion that both image and motion must be treated symbiotically for full analysis to be achieved.

Digital Creativity, 2001

This paper outlines the major motivating factors concerning a novel collaborative project between Edinburgh College of Art and Edinburgh Virtual Environment Centre. The "Tacitus" project will investigate the use of multimodal virtual environments, specifically, the haptic modality, with regards to the creative processes employed by designers working within the field of applied arts. The salient areas of research are described, and the methods by which information regarding these areas will be obtained are considered. Initial investigations have revealed a strong need to mimic the traditional applied artists' workspaces, with co-location of visual and haptic cues a priority.

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2012

, statues etc.) may differ to those who are sighted. In such cases approaches defined as environmental description can be used to enable experience of different art forms. Environmental description can be portrayed through touch. (Lahtinen, Palmer & Lahtinen, 2010.) Art elements are portrayed through haptices i.e. touch messages during interaction between two people. Haptices are formed by combining haptemes, i.e. they obey the grammar of touch. This originates from social-haptic communication . In this article these grammatical elements of touch are analysed further, especially in connection with experience of perspective.

Animation 2023 18:1, 23-41, 2023

Animateurs are characterized by liminality or, possibly more accurately, intersectionality, vis-à-vis the mainstream and the avant-garde. Their vernacular creative work points to hybrid genealogies that include analogue handmade cinema and performing arts, such as the magic lantern show, puppetry and shadow play. The author proposes that animateurs develop a distinctive practice and theory of animation that can be best understood as 'para-animation', i.e. a liminal, nearby, or off idea of animation that critically expands theories of the moving image and media archaeology. In para-animation, the moving image is non-medium specific, freed from both the index and the virtual, as reality is not there to be (re)presented or remade, but instead to be reconnected with. Para-animation's uncontainable and overflowing multimedia materialities challenge film's representational and photographic genealogy and actualize the moving image as a key location for an alternative, both embodied and enchanted, experience of the modern world. In so doing, para-animation also reveals multidirectional-across times and places-connections between animateurs and other enchanters (inventors, prestidigitators, performers, storytellers), similarly crossing and morphing boundaries between technology and magic, representation and imagination, science and art, knowledge and pleasure. Referring to a selection of animateurs' works, this article focuses on the embodied gesture of 'the hand on-screen' as one of the key modalities through which para-animation re-centres the body and allows for a simultaneously technologized and de-technologized re-enchanted experience of reality.