Outline for Third Term Paper

Special effects in live action and animation.

Intro: Lasers have long fascinated us. The idea of them is inherently futuristic, but also somehow feels attainable. In addition, the idea of a laser beam is versatile. It can be used as a sensor, a sword, a gun, a shield. Because it is a hard light construct, when it comes to lasers, the use is limited only by the creators imagination.

Movie 1: Star wars

A classic example of the use of lasers in film.
A: Light saber
- Hard construct
-has no physical form, but retains shape
-two light sabers physically repulse each other
B: Laser rifle
-Quick shot
-Does not retain form
-Repulsed by light saber
-disperses against walls

Movie 2: X-men

A: Cyclops
-Laser only projected when eyes are unprotected by special lenses
-Lasers have almost a liquid like quality at times in terms of splatter when met with opposite force
-Laser is pinkish red (infrared?)
-Laser can be reflected by mirror?
-No physically sustained form, closer to pure light energy in terms of output

Conclusion: While these particular instances of lasers are pure fantasy, they still must follow some basic laws of physics to aid with suspension of disbelief. Even as we see them used in unbelievable ways, filmmakers use of lasers are able to fool us into believing they can exist within the film's universe.

Character Animation

I feel this animation went better than the last one. First, I planned out my motion, and made some thumbnails of what possible animations would be possible for me given my experience and time constraints. After deciding on the grape toss, I had to fix up my clay figure to make it a little more flexible, breaking the joints. Because my figure is nailed down to a stand, I wanted to incorporate that into my character, having to exert great force to move over to the grapes. For the actual grape toss itself, I sharpened a chopstick and used that to move the grape, deleting it from the frames I could. Unfortunately, again, due to my inexperience, I made some mistakes, and could not erase every frame Like I would have liked to, as well as some hitches.