Artefact09B from Adam Weaver on Vimeo.
Artefact 09B - with changes from artefact 09.
After fixing up the eyes to remove the autonomous ideas the second performance was suggesting it allowed for a clearer communication for the experiment. As i had anticipated there was no clear version that was better than the other. As i had noted the information is presented but in a different order. That is to say not the thought and reaction, but the link between object and character and the distance between them. These two elements were manipulated via the concave and convex positioning of the core of the body between poses. The transition between them does bring the conversation onto subtext. The (A) convex to concave suggests intrigue where as the (B) concave to convex suggests intimidation. (A) pulls the audience in through the line of action via both core and eyes, putting a clear link between character and object that is lacking before and confirms that the previous thought process was about the object. (B) starts with that clear connection between character, thought and object through the line of action via both the bodies core and the eyes. The reaction to the thought see the characters core pull away from the object breaking the line of action. This breakage and distance suggests some form of rejection, discomfort, intimidation or fear. The line of action is retained through the eyes. It was also noted the role the hand played in this connection as this to fell on the line of action.
Referring back to Rob Dressels comments at animex, it was suggested that his use for the eyes to manipulate camera angle change was specific to the issue. This shows the flexibility the eyes can offer in practice for changing posture for subtextual purposes but retaining objective communication. Using them for being suggestive of other spatial relationships whilst retaining a comfortable balance of spacial framing.
Artefact 10 & 11
Artefact 10 shows the modeled and rigged hair follicle that can be key framed via clusters, be completely dynamic or blended between both. In this instance i wanted to push it through a quick narrative to explore the limitations of the rig whilst trying to push an emotive performance. This has completely keyed, blended and completely dynamic action. The completely dynamic action is where the illusion of a mind existing inside the object is disposed of. There is only one instance i where i personally 'feel' the character, and that is during the shrug before he lies back down in the same move. The shrug was particularly difficult to get right. I tried to give it the impression initially of a spring but the rig couldn't perform this due to the limited number of vertices along the IK spline. I then tried to shake the tip of the follicle which from a manipulation point of view worked well, but the silhouette was very poor and this action could not be read from the camera's perspective. The concave positioning of the follicle produced a very suggestive gesture. The original reasons for picking a hair strand was that it was to be an extension of what was being tested in artefact 9. In this artefact it was used as the primary character when in truth the simplicity of the rig means it would always struggle. There simply isn't enough control to express complex emotion.
(Artefact 11 to be posted here when it has finished uploading)
However, it is far more suited to the secondary role that it finds itself in artefact 11. As this PGD stage is focusing on character design, it is through adding these secondary elements to improve performance via motion, layout and gesture. In this piece i chose the convex to concave performance as i felt more subtext could be pulled from concave to convex (see above). In the original performance (minus the strand) i suggestive a positive subtext was the result of the action. I decided to use the follicle to produce the opposite of this. I wanted to express that he was stressed. So the strand starts positive by following the convex curve in a very clean resting position before changing to an awkward resting position, concave, cutting between each eyebrow and eye. The feedback was that this did aid the subtext and improved performance for a more emotive outcome. It is an interesting manipulation as this changes what it means for the character to be concave post-thought in this instance. It also affirms that a characters personality can be expressed through secondary elements, and that abstract gesture can be part of the character than an extension of it, as shown in artefact 08. It was also noted that the grasp of the hand worked successfully as a mechanical representation of a blink that is present when a character has made a mental decision.
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