The project aims to investigate how state-of-the art research outcomes and market technologies for systems like motion capture, wearables and live coding can be utilized to enrich animation and especially character’s personality. The outcomes will be applied as case studies in the following digital or hybrid media: Interactive Media, Animation production, Games, Interactive Networked environments (IMAGINE).
The main objectives of the project are:
- Understand the link between nonverbal behavior patterns and character personality, or what nonverbal
behavior patterns we tend to associate with various character types. - Investigate which of the above nonverbal behavior patterns can be captured, analyzed, described, and
re-created with each of our examined methods (motion capture, wearables, live coding). - Create a database of human movements that are assigned to personality traits.
- Explore the challenge of applying motion capture techniques for non-human movements.
- Conclude to a holistic methodology for digital character animation with focus on personality using
Motion capture, wearables, and live coding techniques. - Test the above outcomes in all IMAGINE media as real and non-real time case studies.
- Collect all aspects that manifest character’s personality (emotions, expressions, body movements,
appearance, clothing, accessories etc.) and incorporate them in a common workflow for further use in
real and non-real time IMAGINE media applications and experiences.
The Scope of the Project is to Provide Agile Design Methodologies to Develop Personality aspects in Character Animation for use in Transmedia Digital Production and Educational Applications. By achieving the objectives of the proposal, we expect the following impact:
- To provide and expand the technologies and methodologies for digital character animation with a special focus on character’s personality, that can be applied in the IMAGINE media (Interactive Media, Animation production, Games, Interactive Networked environments).
- To apply a holistic, embodied approach that will incorporate elements of motion capture, wearable technology and live coding techniques in digital character animation, informed by practice-based research in performing, audiovisual and interactive arts.
- To investigate the technological and methodological challenges that emerge from shaping pipelines and tools both for real and non-real time interactive applications for IMAGINE media.
- To capture human and non-human expressive aspects using a variety of devices (e.g., motion capture, depth cameras, wearables) and techniques reporting on the challenges and opportunities of the current state of the art.
In this project we will explore strategies to achieve a wider impact in society, based on a communication- centered approach. To this end, by adopting new methodologies, tools and pipelines for new animators and interactive performance designers, we anticipate the following social impact:
- To explore how the proposed innovative techniques and methodologies can affect the artistic processes of character creation and narratives through prototyping in artistic and educational workshops
- To explore how data like biosignals can enrich digital character’s personality in more abstract, unusual, or unrealistic effects like visuals or sounds, adding in that way extra artistic value to the final result, shape new ways of character/user interaction and lead the research on animation techniques one step further.
