Interactive animation with 4-channel surround sound - 2004
 
        
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Digital Animation
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A complete redesign of the body shapes was undertaken in order to ascertain the most effective way to articulate the body relative to the actioning of interactivity. This in particular required the design to:
1 . embody an iconic aspect rather than a realistic/3-D appearance;
2 . concentrate less on a recognizable body whole and more on body parts, fragments and components; and
3 . be such these parts, fragments and components could morph through a series of small scale movements.

A new set of elements was thus designed by Philip Brophy to be key frames for the Digital Animation. Each of these key frames were hand drawn; scanned in Photoshop; exported as EPSs; imported into Freehand; drawn as outlines; exported as SWFs; then imported into Flash. In Flash, the images had basic line width and fills assigned to them as part of a ‘model sheet’ protocol to be adhered to in further stages of rendering and outputting. The model sheet was also structured in accordance with a set of 16 sequences (each broken in two halves in preparation for the 'in' and 'out' finger movement required for the Interactive Interface).

Inbetweening of the key frames was then completed in Flash by Isobel Knowles. From the original 128 key frames (42 examples can be seen below) a total of 1.205 frames were created. These frames were then rendered by Philip Brophy with motion gradients as well as customized line points and curvatures required for each individual frame to effect the iconic brushwork suggestive of inked comics (lines tapered to thin points, variance in boldness of outlines, etc.).


The Body Malleable
is thus comprised of 32 image sequences, each divided into 2 halves. These sequences contain between 35 to 70 individual frames such as the ones illustrated above. The first half of a sequence plays when the user inserts their finger. Then when the user pushes the soft silicon walll at the end of the colon, the second half of a sequence imperceptibly switches over until the user brings his/her finger back toward the opening of the orifice. Then at that point the first half of the next sequence is imperceptibly triggered.

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