Game Research Client For IAT445

 

Why do this project? 

  • This project will be used in the SIAT research, thus all games coming out of the lab will have your name on it
  • This project will also result in publications, which will have your name in the acknowledgment section as contributors.
  • Besides it is fun
  • It will also allow you to learn more about Acting Improvisational methods, used by improv actors all around the world, as well as Laban human movement qualities
  • This project may also start a collaboration with the Animation group at EA, which you can be involved in, if you would like to continue working on this project.

 

 

 

  • A short scene with two characters

Exercise of Character Animation 

Officer: Come in, Smith. Sit down. I suppose you know why I’ve sent for you?

Smith: No, Sir.

[Officer slides a newspaper over to Smith.]

Smith: I was hoping you wouldn't see that.

Officer: You know we can’t employ anyone with a criminal record.

Smith: Won’t you reconsider?

Officer: Good-bye, Smith.

Smith: I never wanted your bloody job anyway.

[Exit.] 
 

What do you have?   Exercise of Character Animation 

  • 10 character descriptions leading to 10 scenarios of the same scene
  • Each description provides a list of things and/or characteristics that could be done and/or possessed by each character
  • Each character also has a designated choice of Laban movement style

 


 

What do you have
 
 

Officer

Laban movement choice: punching (Heavy-Direct-Sudden) 

To Give Someone a Bad Time

  • Invade their space.
  • Be restless, tap fingers.
  • Cross your legs away from them.
  • etc.

 

Smith

Laban movement choice: smoothing (Light-Direct-Sustained) 

To Show People you are Happy about Everything

  • Enjoy touching things, including yourself.
  • Smile, dance, sing.
  • Be very alive, healthy, awake.
  • etc.

 Exercise of Character Animation 

  • 10 animations based on the same scene and 10 character descriptions (I.e. 10 scenarios)
  • Each scenario will probably be 20 to 40 seconds long, depending on your pacing
  • And other benefits and potential opportunities such as à

 

Outcome of the project

 More Detail and Contacts

 

About the Exercise

 

You are given a short scene with fixed dialogue taking place in an office and between one male character and one female character. In this exercise, you will improvise and fill in with all non-verbal details to make the scene alive; that is, you will design and animate character motions as well as facial expressions.

 

When creating a character, we come up with a list of things s/he could possibly do by looking at his/her purposes and behavioural characteristics. Here we used Fast-Food Stanislavsky Lists to create 10 different variations of the scene, therefore 10 scenarios, with different lists for each character. Based on the character description 1 to 10 below, you are required to animate the same scene for 10 times. Therefore the outcome of this project is 10 animations.

 

To help you with the design of character motions, we borrow dancing theorist Laban’s human movement qualities to indicate the character’s movement style. You will find in every character description each character is designated with a choice of Laban movement style. The chart below lists out the basic movement qualities that can result in 8 styles in total:

 

              WEIGHT                           SPACE                       TIME

              Heavy                                Direct                          Sudden

              Light                                   Indirect                Sustained

 

·      Heavy-Direct-Sudden describes punching.

·      Heavy-Direct-Sustained describes pushing.

·      Heavy-Indirect-Sudden describes slashing.

·      Heavy-Indirect-Sustained describes wringing, as in wringing out a cloth.

·      Light-Indirect-Sustained describes stroking.

·      Light-Indirect-Sudden describes flitting about.

·      Light-Direct-Sudden describes dabbing.

·      Light-Direct-Sustained describes smoothing.

 

Note that the above qualities refer to body use, but not the actual bodies. A character could be heavy physically but light when s/he was performing.

 

Reference

 

Keith Johnstone, Impro for Storytellers, “Chapter 12 – Characters.”

 

 

 

 

 

The Scene

 

Internal. An Office. Day.

 

-   Officer (male): Come in, Smith. Sit down. I suppose you know why I’ve sent for you?

-   Smith (female): No, Sir.

[Officer slides a newspaper over to Smith.]

-   Smith: I was hoping you wouldn’t see that.

-   Officer: You know we can’t employ anyone with a criminal record.

-   Smith: Won’t you reconsider?

-   Officer: Good-bye, Smith.

-   Smith: I never wanted your bloody job anyway. [Exit.]

 

 

Character Description 1.

 

Officer

Laban movement choice: pushing (Heavy-Direct-Sustained)

 

To be High Status 

·   Be more relaxed and stiller than your partner.

·   Delay before reacting.

·   Hold eye contact for at least five seconds (never glance quickly back).

·   Keep head motionless when you speak each phrase.

·   Blink less than other people.

·   Move smoothly – often be still.

·   Take lots of space.

·   Touch other people’s faces, ruffle their hair, pat their heads.

 

Smith

Laban movement choice: flitting (Light-Indirect-Sudden)

 

To be Low Status

·   Bite lower lip with teeth when smiling.

·   Blink more than your partner.

·   Be wide-eyed.

·   Break eye contact but keep peeing back, hoping that your partner will look away so that you can look at their eyes.

·   Hands in lap fumble nervously.

·   Laugh while moving head forward (but keep it level or raise the chin so that nape of neck shortens)

·   Often touch your face (head).

·   Sit low – look up to people.

·   Take less space than our partner (but don’t lean forward).

·   Wave to someone with your elbow held tight against your ribs.

 

 

 

Character Description 2.

 

Officer

Laban movement choice: punching (Heavy-Direct-Sudden)

 

To Give Someone a Bad Time

·   Invade their space.

·   Be restless, tap fingers.

·   Break their things.

·   Cross your legs away from them.

·   Frown; sigh; ‘tut’.

·   Glare at them.

·   Laugh at wrong time.

·   Keep looking away.

·   Poke them with finger.

·   Touch their head or face.

 

Smith

Laban movement choice: smoothing (Light-Direct-Sustained)

 

To Show People you are Happy about Everything

·   Enjoy touching things, including yourself.

·   Smile, dance, sing.

·   Be very alive, healthy, awake.

·   Move, laugh, stretch from sheer pleasure.

·   Stay happy when you fail.

·   Wreck things but feel no guilt.

·   Use open, unguarded body positions.

 

 

Character Description 3.

 

Officer

Laban movement choice: slashing (Heavy-Indirect-Sudden)

 

To Show Someone They’re Boring

·   Yawn.

·   Phone someone; read a book, magazine.

·   Stare at them or avoid looking at them.

·   Look at watch.

·   Nod or agree too soon; i.e. you weren’t really listening.

·   Beat head against the wall.

 

Smith

Laban movement choice: wringing (Heavy-Indirect-Sustained)

 

To Get Sympathy

·   Sigh.

·   Have a brave smile.

·   Be clumsy.

·   Weep.

·   Hurt yourself (spill something on self).

·   Cover face and ‘weep’.

·   Have a handicap.

 

 

Character Description 4.

 

Officer

Laban movement choice: dabbing (Light-Direct-Sudden)

 

To Flirt with Someone

·   Check for reactions, especially by raising eyebrows and opening eyes wide.

·   Emphasize points with hands more than usual.

·   Hold gaze longer than usual.

·   Keep mouth slightly open and look unconsciously at parts of other person.

·   Move closer than is normal.

·   Nod head in agreement, no matter what is being said.

·   Rest hand on some part of other’s body.

·   Small touching movements.

 

Smith

Laban movement choice: wringing (Heavy-Indirect-Sustained)

 

To Accept Guilt

·   Break or ruin something.

·   You sat on a small pet; you were unjust; you stole something, etc.

·   Avoid people’s eyes, hang head.

·   You forgot to close fridge, door, etc.

·   Set objects or people on fire.

 

 

Character Description 5.

 

Officer

Laban movement choice: pushing (Heavy-Direct-Sustained)

 

To be Thought Normal

·   Check appearance.

·   Dislike bodily contact.

·   Don’t take up much space.

·   Be formal.

·   Have a slight smile, or a slight frown.

·   Keep others at a polite distance.

·   Sit symmetrically.

·   Use conventional postures in sequence.

 

Smith

Laban movement choice: dabbing (Light-Direct-Sudden)

 

To Flirt with Someone

·   Check for reactions, especially by raising eyebrows and opening eyes wide.

·   Emphasize points with hands more than usual.

·   Hold gaze longer than usual.

·   Keep mouth slightly open and look unconsciously at parts of other person.

·   Move closer than is normal.

·   Nod head in agreement, no matter what is being said.

·   Rest hand on some part of other’s body.

·   Small touching movements.

 

 

Character Description 6.

 

Officer

Laban movement choice: flitting (Light-Indirect-Sudden)

 

To be Low Status

·   Bit lower lip with teeth when smiling.

·   Blink more than your partner.

·   Be wide-eyed.

·   Break eye contact but keep peeing back, hoping that your partner will look away so that you can look at their eyes.

·   Hands in lap fumble nervously.

·   Make nervous movements, twitch.

·   Often touch your face (head).

·   Sit low – look up to people.

·   Take less space than our partner (but don’t lean forward).

·   Wave to someone with your elbow held tight against your ribs.

 

Smith

Laban movement choice: pushing (Heavy-Direct-Sustained)

 

To be High Status 

·   Be more relaxed and stiller than your partner.

·   Delay before reacting.

·   Hold eye contact for at least five seconds (never glance quickly back).

·   Keep head motionless when you speak each phrase.

·   Blink less than other people.

·   Move smoothly – often be still.

·   Take lots of space.

·   Touch other people’s faces, ruffle their hair, pat their heads.

 

 

Character Description 7.

 

Officer

Laban movement choice: smoothing (Light-Direct-Sustained)

 

To Give Someone a Good Time

·   Consider them first.

·   Laugh easily.

·   Give presents.

·   Make them feel comfortable, important, at ease.

·   Offer food, drink, drugs, sex, money, etc.

·   Respond promptly.

·   Shower with attention.

·   Touch, stroke, kiss and hug (if appropriate).

 

Smith

Laban movement choice: stroking (Light-Indirect-Sustained)

 

To Seduce

·   Be close to him.

·   Caress yourself.

·   Hold eye contact.

·   Moisten lips.

·   Move sensually, pose.

·   Play with your hair (or his hair).

·   Sit close to him with legs tucked away from him.

·   Touch him when speaking.

·   Undulate subtly.

 

 

Character Description 8.

 

Officer

Laban movement choice: punching (Heavy-Direct-Sudden)

 

To be Thought a ‘Computer’

·   Be cold and distant.

·   Be wooden.

·   Be insensitive to pain or pleasure.

·   Dislike physical contact.

·   Other people are slow.

·   Pause before answering, or snap out the answers.

·   Be efficient – everything in its right place.

 

Smith

Laban movement choice: smoothing (Light-Direct-Sustained)

 

To Impress Someone

·   Be a neurosurgeon, rock star, author, witch, murderer, athlete.

·   Demonstrate skills.

·   Receive flattering phone-call.

·   Be a sexual athlete.

·   Do magic tricks.

·   Be rich.

 

 

Character Description 9.

 

Officer

Laban movement choice: smoothing (Light-Direct-Sustained)

 

To Show People you are Happy about Everything

·   Enjoy touching things, including yourself.

·   Smile, dance, sing.

·   Move, laugh, stretch from sheer pleasure.

·   Stay happy when you fail.

·   Wreck things but feel no guilt.

·   Use open, unguarded body positions.

 

Smith

Laban movement choice: slashing (Heavy-Indirect-Sudden)

 

To Show Someone They’re Boring

·   Yawn.

·   Phone someone; read a book, magazine.

·   Stare at them or avoid looking at them.

·   Look at watch.

·   Nod or agree too soon; i.e. you weren’t really listening.

·   Beat head against the wall.

 

 

Character Description 10.

 

Officer

Laban movement choice: dabbing (Light-Direct-Sudden)

 

To be Thought Intelligent

·   Whistle Bach.

·   Interrupt.

·   Carry a calculator or a book.

·   Make notes.

·   Don’t listen.

·   Be a writer, professor, doctor, etc.

 

Smith

Laban movement choice: stroking (Light-Indirect-Sustained)

 

To be Thought Mysterious

·   Be secretive.

·   Receive strange presents, phone calls, etc.

·   Laugh at private thoughts.

·   Give meaningful looks.

·   Significant pauses.

·   Secret smile.

·   Enter a trance.

·   Move languidly or look hunted.

·   Suffer an attack of some kind, and try to hide it.

 

DETIALS /  CONTACT

 

n terms of file formats. I think we would like:
1- Maya files of the scenes.
2- Also exports of all animations in specific format. I think we may use
COLLADA but I am leaving it up to Huaxin to determine after she does
more research on motion data formats since she is going to write up a
program to analyze the motions.

There are no restrictions in terms of poly counts or texturing or
modeling techniques.
We are not exporting this into a game engine, we are just using it for
motion analysis.

 

Contact

 

Huaxin Wei – huaxinw@sfu.ca  Grad. Student of Magy Seif El-Nasr ( magy@sfu.ca)