Puget Sound and Motion

University of Washington Advanced Technology Initiative Cluster in

Computer Graphics and Digital Animation

Outline

Introduction

Recruiting plan

Affiliated faculty

Proposed curriculum

Schedule for proposed curriculum

Research

Budget

Status

 

Introduction

Breakthroughs in computing are fueling a revolution in digital media—the integration of text, sound, video, and computer graphics animation. New companies are springing up to provide digital media content, tools, and technologies. An entirely new kind of industry is being created. On the creative side, the digital media industry includes new forms of movie production, (e.g., Toy Story and A Bug’s Life), new forms of interactive art, virtual reality consumer products, 3D computer-assisted design for engineering, and interactive educational and reference products, to name just a few. On the technical side, the digital media industry will spin off tools and technologies for creating, editing, and manipulating all forms of digital media content.

Washington is poised for leadership in digital media

We already have strong industry players in many sectors of the new industry—content companies such as Starwave, Rainsound, Cyan, Nintendo, and Hyperbole and technology companies like Asymetrix, Equator, RealNetworks, and Microsoft.

The University of Washington has a core of outstanding people and programs in computer science, art, music, and other related programs—people with a proven record of excellence in education and research, and with a proven record of interdisciplinary interaction with one another and with industry.

The UW's two-quarter undergraduate course sequence on computer animation is nationally recognized for the unique way in which it brings together interdisciplinary teams of students from computer science, art, music, architecture, and other fields to create state-of-the-art short subjects. The course is co-taught by UW faculty and industry professionals from companies such as Pixar and Pacific Data Images. It was recently profiled in the Chronicle of Higher Education and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. In each of the past three years, the student production has been selected for screening at multiple prestigious animation festivals, including the Ottawa International Animation Festival, the Classical Festival of Animation, the London Effects & Animation Festival, and the Holland Animation Film Festival.

UW researchers are having a direct impact on the emerging industry. To name just one recent example, Pixar's recent short subject Geri's Game and feature-length animation A Bug's Life make extensive use of "subdivision surfaces" techniques pioneered by UW researcher Tony DeRose.

Our region's advantage is increased by a shift in the "platform of choice" for digital media applications from Silicon Graphics Unix-based systems toward the PC. There is a long record of companies in PC-oriented segments of the software industry locating near Microsoft. In addition, Microsoft has assembled one of the finest research groups in the world in computer graphics and has established close ties with the University of Washington in this field.

Relieving Washington’s workforce shortages

The software industry is a major employer in Washington. Microsoft is obviously the best known software producer, but the industry embraces 2,500 firms in the state, employs 47,000 people, and generates $20 billion annually in worldwide revenue. This initiative not only contributes to new industry, but also addresses one of our most urgent workforce shortages. Over 7,000 of the jobs in Washington’s software industry are vacant today because of the lack a trained workforce. Most of these positions require a bachelor’s degree or higher. Filling them would generate almost $13 billion in revenue over the next three years, according to industry estimates.

Seizing the opportunity…

We seek a national leader to build upon our institutional and regional advantages. We have already identified a very select group of candidates who are currently industry leaders and who have expressed interest in becoming part of the UW digital media initiative. Hiring such a leader will magnify our existing faculty strengths and industry collaborations to make our region a national leader. Indeed, there is every reason to believe that Seattle, along with New York and Hollywood, can become one of the national centers for computer graphics, animation, and digital media. Other regions are catching up, but our advantages can be decisive if we seize the opportunities before us today.

The state legislature of Washington shares our vision for creating a center for digital media and has funded an Advanced Technology Initiative to make it happen.  This center is to be called Puget Sound and Motion.

"The University of Washington is a catalyst for the high technology industry in Washington State. A high percentage of the employees in this industry come from the UW. Many of the technologies our industry is based upon were pioneered and refined at the UW. Simply having the University in our community is attractive to the companies and individuals who fuel the growth of high technology in our state."

                                                         - Jeremy Jaech, CEO, Visio Corporation.

 

Recruiting Plan

The state-funded ATI authorizes the hiring of one senior CSE faculty to head the center, one junior tenure-track faculty in CSE, and one junior tenure-track faculty in Art.  Before hiring any junior faculty, we will find the senior faculty member to lead the center and guide future recruiting.  Careful selection of this senior person is essential.  We have assembled a cross-disciplinary internal committee representing Architecture, Art, Music, and Computer Science & Engineering.  In addition, we have recently selected the members of the external committee, people from a variety of disciplines in industry and academia.  The first meeting of the full committee is scheduled for late January of 2000, and the primary objectives will be to hone the focus of the ATI and generate a short list of senior candidates to lead the center.

Internal Committee

Richard Karpen (Professor, UW School of Music)

Ed Lazowska (Chair, UW Department of Computer Science & Engineering)

Jeffrey Ochsner (Chair, UW Department of Architecture)

Chris Ozubko (Director, UW School of Art)

David Salesin (Associate Professor, UW Department of Computer Science & Engineering)

External Committee

Ed Catmull (Executive Vice President and CTO, Pixar)

Michael Cohen (Manager of the Graphics Group, Microsoft Research)

Glenn Entis (CEO, Dreamworks Interactive)

Vibeke Sorenson (Chair, USC Division of Animation and Digital Arts)

Biographies

Ed Catmull (Executive Vice President and CTO, Pixar)

Dr. Catmull is a co-founder of Pixar and has served as the company's vice president and chief technical officer of Pixar since the incorporation of the company. In 1979 Dr. Catmull brought his high-technology expertise to the film industry as vice president of the computer division of Lucasfilm, Ltd. During that time, Dr. Catmull managed four development efforts in the areas of computer graphics, video editing, video games and digital audio. He was also a key developer of RenderMan¨, the Academy Award-winning program that creates realistic digital effects for computer graphics and animation. Dr. Catmull was awarded the Scientific and Technical Engineering Award from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his work. He also won the Coons Award, which is the highest achievement in computer graphics, for his lifetime contributions. Dr. Catmull is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Science and Technical Awards Committee. Dr. Catmull earned his B.S. degrees in computer science and physics and his Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Utah.

Michael Cohen (Manager of the Graphics Group, Microsoft Research)

Michael F. Cohen, joined Microsoft Research in 1994 from Princeton University where he was an Assistant Professor of Computer Science. Michael received his Ph.D. in 1992 from the University of Utah. He also holds undergraduate degrees in Art and Civil Engineering from Beloit College and Rutgers University respectively, and an M.S. in Computer Graphics from Cornell. Dr. Cohen also served on the Architecture faculty at Cornell University and was an adjunct faculty member at the University of Utah. His work at the University of Utah focused on spacetime control for linked figure animation. He is perhaps better known for his work on the radiosity method for realistic image synthesis as discussed in his recent book "Radiosity and Image Synthesis" (co-authored by John R. Wallace). Michael has published and presented his work internationally in these areas. At Microsoft, Dr. Cohen has worked on a number of projects. The first focuses on the problem of image based rendering; capturing the complete flow of light from an object for later rendering from arbitrary vantage points. This work, dubbed "The Lumigraph" is analogous to creating a digital hologram. He has since extended this work through the construction of "Layered Depth Images" that allow manipulation on a PC. The second project is devoted to creating a runtime "Virtual Cinematographer" to act as an online director, editor, and cameraperson for interactive games and virtual worlds. This work encodes cinematographic expertise to provide automatic camera placement and sequencing of shots. A third project continues Michael's work on linked figure animation. In the current work, he and colleagues are focusing on means to allow simulated creatures to portray their emotional state (ie, a happy walk vs. a sad walk), and to automatically transition between verbs. Parts of all three of these projects were presented as papers at SIGGRAPH '96. Dr. Cohen has also served as paper's chair for SIGGRAPH '98.

Glenn Entis (CEO, Dreamworks Interactive)

Glen Entis joined Dreamworks in 1995. Previously, along with two partners, Entis co-founded Pacific Data Images where he co-wrote PDI's first animation system, earning a coveted Scientific and Technical Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is a founding board member of Los Angeles' Digital Coast Roundtable. During his twelve years at PDI, Entis wrote software, animated, produced and held key management positions as the company grew from three to 120 people. Entis graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1976 with a BA in Fine Arts and a BA in Philosophy, and studied computer graphics under Ed Catmull in the glory days of NYIT. In addition to heading DWI, Entis serves as chairman of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.

Richard Karpen (Professor, UW School of Music)

Richard Karpen is Professor of Music at the University of Washington in Seattle where he has been teaching composition and computer music since 1989. He is also Director of both the Center for Advanced Research Technology in the Arts and Humanities (CARTAH), and the School of Music Computer Center (SMCC). Karpen's works are widely performed in the U.S. and internationally. He has been the recipient of many awards, grants and prizes including those from the NEA, the ASCAP Foundation, the Bourges Contest, Newcomp, and the Luigi Russolo Contest. Fellowships and grants for work outside of the U.S. include a Fulbright to Padua, Italy, Stanford University's Prix de Paris to work at IRCAM, and a Leverhulme Visiting Fellowship to the United Kingdom. He received his doctorate in composition from Stanford University, where he also worked at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA). He is a native of New York (born in 1957), where he studied composition with Charles Dodge, Gheorghe Costinescu, and Morton Subotnick. In addition to Karpen's work in electronic media, for which he is best known, he has composed symphonic and chamber works for a wide variety of ensembles. His compositions have been recorded on CD by Le Chant du Monde/Cultures Electroniques, Wergo, Centaur, Neuma, and DIFFUSION i MeDIA.

Ed Lazowska (Chair, UW Department of Computer Science & Engineering)

Ed Lazowska is Professor and Chair of the Department of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington. Lazowska received his Bachelors degree from Brown University in 1972 and his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in 1977. He has been at the University of Washington since that time. Lazowska's research concerns the design, implementation, and analysis of distributed and parallel computer systems. He also has assumed significant national and regional leadership roles. He is Chair of the Computing Research Association and Chair of the NSF Advisory Committee for Computer and Information Science and Engineering. He is a member of the NRC Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, the DARPA Information Science And Technology Study Group, and the Microsoft Research Technical Advisory Board. Regionally, he serves on the Board of Directors of the Washington Software Alliance, on the State of Washington Information Services Board, and on the Advisory Board for Voyager Capital. He served on the NRC "Brooks/Sutherland committee" to evaluate the HPCC program, and currently chairs the ACM A.M. Turing Award Committee. Lazowska is a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery and a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He was selected to deliver the 1996 University of Washington Annual Faculty Lecture, and to receive the 1998 University of Washington Outstanding Public Service Award. He led his department to the 1999 University of Washington Brotman Award for Instructional Excellence. Eighteen Ph.D. students and twenty-three Masters students have completed their degrees working with him.

Jeffrey Ochsner (Chair, UW Department of Architecture)

Research interests include 19th and 20th century architecture; Northwest architectural history. Previously taught at Rice University and practiced as architect/urban designer in Texas. Responsible for architecture, urban design and preservation projects in Galveston and Houston, as well as historic properties surveys and other cultural resources documentation including determinations of eligibility, National Register nominations and Memoranda of Agreement under N.H.P.A. Section 106. Extensive list of publications in architectural history, urban design, rail transit, architectural criticism. Authored H. H. Richardson: Complete Architectural Works (1982, rev. ed. 1984), edited and co-authored Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects (1994), and numerous articles in professional and scholarly journals. Current academic/professional memberships: American Institute of Architects, Society of Architectural Historians, Vernacular Architecture Forum, National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Chris Ozubko (Director, UW School of Art)

Mr. Ozubko studied design at the University of Alberta, Canada under Walter Jungkind, past president of ICOGRADA. Upon receiving a B.F.A. in Visual Communications Design in 1977, he was invited to stay on to assist faculty members as a typography technician, including Hans Rudi Lutz, and Jorge Frascara, past president of ICOGRADA. After two years at the University of Alberta, Ozubko went on to study with Katherine and Michael McCoy at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. In 1981, Ozubko joined the faculty at the University of Washington where he is currently Professor and Director. His area of interest is in typography and design history. He is in the process of developing collaborations with European design institutions to allow for student and faculty exchanges. In addition to teaching, he established his own atelier, Studio Ozubko, which has garnered over one hundred regional, national and international awards, and his work has been published in all the major design magazines and exhibited in Canada, Czechoslovakia, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Poland and the United States. Mr. Ozubko is past president of AIGA, Seattle chapter. In 1994 he was selected for the Swiss publications "Who's Who in Graphic Design," which showcases the work and contribution of international designers.

David Salesin (Associate Professor, UW Department of Computer Science & Engineering)

David Salesin received his ScB from Brown University in 1983, his PhD from Stanford University in 1991, and joined the faculty at the University of Washington in the fall of that year. From 1983-87, he worked at Lucasfilm and Pixar, where he contributed computer animation for the Academy Award-winning short film, ``Tin Toy,'' and the feature-length film Young Sherlock Holmes. During his years at Stanford, he also worked as an intern at the DEC Systems Research Center and Paris Research Lab. He spent the 1991-92 year on leave as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Program of Computer Graphics at Cornell University. Since coming to UW, he has been a consultant at Aldus (now part of Adobe), Xerox PARC, Broderbund, and Microsoft Research. In 1996, he co-founded two start-up companies: Inklination and Numinous Technologies. Salesin received an NSF Young Investigator award in 1993. He received an ONR Young Investigator Award and was named an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow and an NSF Presidential Faculty Fellow in 1995. He received the University of Washington Award for Outstanding Faculty Achievement in the College of Engineering in 1996 and the University of Washington Distinguished Teaching Award in 1997. Most recently, he received The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education 1998-1999 Washington Professor of the Year Award. Salesin's research interests are in computer graphics, and include non-photorealistic rendering, multiresolution methods, and interactive systems, in particular.

Vibeke Sorenson (Chair, USC Division of Animation and Digital Arts)

Vibeke Sorensen is an artist working in experimental new media, including computer graphics and animation. From her early work with hybrid video synthesizers over twenty years ago, through her long engagement with three-dimensional computer graphics, to her present internet based pieces, she has created a series of prints, installations, films, and interactive works while also experimenting with and contributing to the development of new systems and methods. Her work has received many honors and awards, and has been shown internationally on broadcast and cable television, in galleries, in museums, and in live performance. Her pieces primarily focus on the exploration of consciousness through non-objective multimodal forms. They also explore personal and cultural identity ( Every Month a Lunar Count, 1991; Solstice , 1986), memory (Morocco Memory II, 1999; Morroco Journal, 1997), perception (Maya, 1993), light and space (Sanctuary, in-progress). Since the founding of the ACM SIGGRAPH Conference (the primary annual gathering of computer graphics artists and researchers) she has had an unprecedented presence for an independent artist, having works selected for the art and film shows 14 times, serving as a panelist, juror, and participating in a seminar in 1994 to discuss the future of the conference. Sorensen created programs and developed facilities for computer art at Virginia Commonwealth University (Assistant Prof. 1980-83), Art Center College of Design (Director of Computer Graphics Program 1983-85), and California Institute of the Arts (Director of the Computer Animation Laboratory , School of Film and Video, 1984-94). She also worked with Prof. David Dobkin of the Princeton University Computer Science Department. to create an interdisciplinary laboratory, and a course for art and computer science students which they team-taught in 1990, 91, and 93. She is currently Professor and Chair of the Division of Animation and Digital Arts in the School of Cinema-Television at the University of Southern California.

Affiliated Faculty

Many faculty across many disciplines will be affiliated with Puget Sound and Motion.  Below is a by-no-means-complete list of faculty who will participate:

 

Paul Berger (Art)

Michael Cohen (Microsoft Research)

Brian Curless (CSE)

Richard Karpen (Music)

Ed Lazowska (CSE)

Barbara Mones-Hattal (CSE)

Jeffrey Ochsner (Architecture)

Chris Ozubko (Art)

Zoran Popovic (CSE)

David Salesin (CSE)

Rick Szeliski (Microsoft Research)

Proposed Curriculum

The animation curriculum of the ATI is designed to provide both undergraduate and graduate students from many different departments several areas of study and specialization in computer graphics and animation. Two of these areas are animation production and animation research. Students are encouraged to participate in and contribute to both areas. The curriculum allows students the opportunity to explore new frontiers in computer animation with applications in the games, motion picture, web design, or television industries. As part of the production process, students have the opportunity to develop animated short films. Educational goals of the curriculum include interdisciplinary coursework, research applications, and the design and production of digital animations worthy of national and international recognition. Students are expected to meet the highest standards of technical and aesthetic excellence.


Core computer graphics curriculum

CSE457 Computer Graphics (4)

Prerequisite: CSE326

Level: Undergraduate

Department: CSE

Introduction to computer image synthesis and interactive computer graphics applications. Topics include computer graphics hardware, color image display, polygon scan conversion, texture mapping, image morphing, image compositing, curves and surfaces, hidden surface algorithms, local illumination models, ray tracing and photorealistic image synthesis, animation, physics based modeling. Instructor: Brian Curless, Zoran Popovic

CSE557 Computer Graphics (3)

Prerequisite: Knowledge of data structures and linear algebra.

Level: Graduate

Department: CSE

Geared toward CSE students. Introduction to computer image synthesis, emphasizing the underlying theoretical principles in preparation for undertaking computer graphics research. Topics include color theory, photorealistic image synthesis, affine and projective geometry, curve and surface design, numerical methods, sampling theory, physical dynamics. Instructor: Brian Curless, Zoran Popovic

CSE591 Current Trends in Computer Graphics (4)

Prerequisite: CSE326

Level: Professional masters

Department: CSE

Introduction to computer image synthesis and interactive computer graphics applications. Topics include computer graphics hardware, color image display, polygon scan conversion, texture mapping, image morphing, image compositing, curves and surfaces, hidden surface algorithms, local illumination models, ray tracing and photorealistic image synthesis, animation, physics based modeling. Instructor: Brian Curless, Zoran Popovic

 

Core computer animation curriculum

CSE458 Fundamentals of Computer Animation (5)

Prerequisite: CSE457, or ART380 or Music403.

Level: Undergraduate

Students enrolled in: CSE

Introduction to the basic principles of computer generated animation. Focus on the modeling and lighting of animated characters. Students from Architecture, Art, CSE and Music team up on projects to be built on commercially available modeling and lighting packages. Topics include fundamentals of modeling, lighting, shading, and animation. Instructor: Barbara Mones-Hattal

CSE490ca Computer Animation Production I (5)

Prerequisite: CSE458

Level: Undergraduate

Departments: Architecture, Art, Music and CSE

An introduction to the animation production process from start to finish in ten weeks. Students from Architecture, Art, CSE and Music apply the knowledge gained in CSE458. The entire class works together to produce a short animated film. Topics include scene planning, digital cinematography, creature and hard surface modeling, animatics and basics of character animation and rendering techniques. Instructor: Barbara Mones-Hattal

CSE490cb Computer Animation Production II (5)

Prerequisite: CSE490ca

Level: Undergraduate

Departments: Architecture, Art, Music and CSE

Students from Architecture, Art, CSE and Music design and produce their own individual animated works in order to produce professional quality demo reels. Topics include: 2 and 3D Animatics, 3D paint techniques and integration, shot design and sequence planning, non-photorealistic rendering options, interactive animation for pre-planning and advanced production techniques and strategies. Instructor: Barbara Mones-Hattal

 

Advanced computer graphics and animation curriculum

CSE490dc Digital Character Animation (3)

Prerequisite: CSE458

Level: Undergraduate

Departments: Architecture, Art, Music and CSE

The Digital Character Animation class focuses on the design, creation and animation of believable simulated characters. Architecture, Art, Music, and CSE students will study all styles of animation. The course will include in-depth motion analysis of both classical and computer generated works. Topics include: character design and pre-planning, design of model sheets, character rigging, character motion in action and acting, design for multiple characters, crowd scenes, lip synching  and principles of character animation. Instructor: Barbara Mones-Hattal

CSE490ve Digital Visual Effects (3)

Prerequisites: CSE458

Level: Undergraduate

Departments: Architecture, Art, Music and CSE

The goals of this course would be to study and experience first hand all of the aspects of computer animation that fit into the category of visual effects.  Students from Architecture, Art, Music and CSE will review case studies and learn some of the mysteries behind the production of convincing special effects. Topics include: compositing, dynamics and simulation, rendering approaches and algorithms, approaches to 3D painting techniques, digital tracking systems (matchmoving) and lighting and layout techniques. Instructor: Barbara Mones-Hattal

CSE490tf Technical Frontiers in Computer Animation (3)

Prerequisites: Digital Character Animation, Games Design, 3D Photography, Visual Effects or permission of instructor.

Level: Undergraduate and graduate

Departments: Architecture, Art, Music and CSE

This course will serve the dual purpose of introducing advanced students in the animation curriculum to new research results while providing student researchers in CSE with feedback to make more useful tools. Students will work in small groups and produce narrative animated short films suitable for national and international animation competitions. Sample topics for technical frontiers include: motion editing challenges, integration of keyframe animation with motion capture options for production, technical improvements to real-time character animation, interactive pre-production tools for character animation. Instructors: co-taught by Brian Curless, Zoran Popovic, Barbara Mones-Hattal

CSE490af Aesthetic Frontiers in Computer Animation (3)

Prerequisites: Digital Character Animation, Games Design, 3D Photography, Visual Effects or permission of instructor. 

Level: Undergraduate and graduate

This course will be co-taught and is geared toward Architecture, Art, Music and CSE students. It will serve the dual purpose of introducing advanced students in the animation curriculum to new tools for computer animation while providing student researchers in CSE with feedback to make more useful tools. Students will work in small groups and produce narrative animated short films suitable for national and international animation competitions. Sample topics for aesthetic frontiers include: an analysis of current digital notation systems for artists and musicians, non-photorealistic rendering, stop motion applications to computer animation. (realtime interactive fine art installations?) Instructors: co-taught by two or more of Brian Curless, Zoran Popovic, Barbara Mones-Hattal, Richard Karpen, Paul Berger, and other faculty.)

CSE490me/590me Motion Editing (3)

Prerequisites: CSE457 or CSE557

Level: Undergraduate and graduate

Department: CSE

This course is geared toward the CSE student. In the past 5 years, human motion capture has emerged as the primary way of acquiring realistic motion data. The rise of motion capture technology together with the ubiquitous need to edit animations rapidly evolved into a new field in computer animation: motion editing. This course will survey recent technologies for motion editing. Topics include: representation of character figures and motion, motion capture technology, markers to character degrees of freedom, signal processing and motion, motion warping, motion editing with spacetime constraints, interpolating the motion attributes and physically based motion transformation. Instructor: Zoran Popovic

CSE490sw Interactive Games (5)

Prerequisite: CSE457

Level: Undergraduate

Department: CSE

This course is geared toward CSE students. The design and implementation of a complete interactive 3D game. Writing and debugging of real-time reactive software emphasized. Topics include programming for interactive games, orientation and navigation, optimization, software and hardware compatibility and the realities of working under time and equipment restraints. Instructor: John Zahorjan

CSE558 Physics Based Modeling (3)

Prerequisites: CSE457 or CSE557

Level: Undergraduate and graduate

Departments: CSE

This course is geared toward the CSE student. This class focuses on animation and modeling methods that simulate physical laws in order to automatically generate computer animation. Some knowledge of numerical methods, computer graphics and elementary mechanics is required. The course follows a complexity progression from the relatively straightforward simulation of particle systems all the way to complex spacetime optimization methods for character animation. Topics include: particle systems, enforcing constraints, rigid body simulation, fluid flow, modeling skin and cloth, inverse kinematics & dynamics and spacetime optimization. Instructor: Zoran Popovic.

CSE558 3D Photography (3)

Prerequisites: CSE457 or CSE557

Level: Undergraduate and graduate

Department: CSE

This course is geared toward the computer science student. Animators, game designers, and auto  manufacturers all face the common problem of building detailed, functional, geometric models. In this course, we explore an increasingly popular avenue: build the model in clay or plaster and then scan it into the computer. The focus of the course is the technology behind the 3D scanners and the algorithms that take the resulting data to models ready for animation or manufacture. Topics include basic optics, image recording, passive vision, active vision, range image registration, surface reconstruction and fitting smooth surfaces. Instructor: Brian Curless

Seminars in computer graphics and animation

CSE490ap Animation Production Seminar

Prerequisites: permission of instructor

Level: Undergraduate and graduate

Departments: Architecture, Art, Music and CSE

Instructor: Barbara Mones-Hattal

The Animation Production Seminar is open to students from any area in the University who have an interest in digital animation. Short films ("shorts"), animated feature films and television commercials will be reviewed and analyzied in depth. Emphasis will be placed on the technical and aesthetic basics of animation production in commercial studio environments. Practicing animators and other guest lecturers from the animation industry will present topics ranging from character development and performance to compositing and post production.

Lecture topics:

  1. Production Planning for Animated Short Films

  2. Storytelling

  3. Storyboard and Layout

  4. Flipbook Design and Timing for Animators

  5. Character Modeling

  6. Character Setup

  7. Puppetry and Animation

  8. Character Animation

  9. Acting and Performance for Animators

  10. Facial Expression and Animation

  11. 2D Imaging and Feature Film Production

  12. Designing and Building Surface Shaders using Renderman

  13. Compositing and Post Production

  14. Animation and Technical Direction for Commercials

  15. Digital Special Effects

CSE590B Graphics/Art seminar

Prerequisites: permission of instructor

Level: Undergraduate and graduate

Departments: Architecture, Art, Music and CSE

CSE590B is an advanced seminar to discuss cutting edge research and ideas in computer graphics, animation, and the digital arts.  The topic and instructors change from quarter to quarter.  

 

In the winter quarter of 2000, the seminar will be "Digital and Electronic Arts: Issues in Visual Arts, Music and Computer Science.  Professors Paul Berger (Art) and Richard Karpen (Music) will conduct a graduate seminar that examines issues in the Arts that are invested in, or are a reflection of, digital technology. The seminar will be composed of graduate students from the School of Art, the School of Music, and Computer Science and Engineering. The format of the seminar will consist of a series of presentations by guest lecturers (installation artists, computer music composers, new media artists, a curator, a neo-Darwinian Anthropologist, and others involved in both the science and performance
aspects of the overlap between Art and Technology in the digital domain.

Schedule for Proposed Curriculum

The following is our current plan for rolling out the graphics and animation curriculum.  The plan is accurate for the academic calendar 1999-2000 and is subject to change for following years. 

Fall 99

CSE457 Computer Graphics (Undergraduate)

CSE591 Current Trends in Computer Graphics (Professional Masters)

CSE590B Seminar on recent progress in Computer Graphics

Winter 2000

CSE458 Fundamentals of Computer Animation

CSE490ap Animation Production Seminar

CSE557 Computer Graphics (Graduate)

CSE590B Seminar in Digital and Electronic Arts

Spring 2000

CSE457 Computer Graphics (Undergraduate)

CSE490af Aesthetic Frontiers in Computer Animation

CSE490ca Animation Production 1

CSE558 Physics Based Modeling

Summer 2000

CSE458 Fundamentals of Computer Animation

CSE490cb Animation Production 2

Fall 2000

CSE 457 Computer Graphics (Undergraduate)

CSE458 Fundamentals of Computer Animation

CSE490me Motion Editing

CSE490ve Visual Effects

Winter 2001

CSE458 Fundamentals of Computer Animation

CSE490ap Animation Production Seminar

CSE557 Computer Graphics (Graduate)

Spring 2001

CSE457 Computer Graphics (Undergraduate)

CSE490ca Animation Production 1

CSE490tf Technical Frontiers in Computer Animation

CSE558 3D Photography

Summer 2001

CSE490cb Animation Production 2

 

Research

In conjunction with instructional initiatives in graphics and animation, we are pursuing a number of related research avenues.  We intend to engage both graduates and undergraduates in this research (as we have in the past), and we will combine the results with instruction to bring cutting edge technology into animation production.  Below are short descriptions of a few of these research projects.

Non-photorealistic illustration

Illustrations have certain advantages over photorealism. They convey information better by omitting extraneous detail, by focusing attention on relevant features, by clarifying, simplifying, and disambiguating shapes, and by showing parts that are hidden. Illustrations also provide a more natural vehicle for conveying information at different levels of detail. In many respects, illustrations are also more attractive: they add a sense of vitality difficult to capture with photorealism. We are investigating a variety of algorithms for creating non-photorealistic illustrations automatically, starting from continuous tone images, three-dimensional computer graphics models, or communications from an on-line "chat room" as input. Our early results include, among other things, support for resolution-dependent pen-and-ink rendering, in which the choice of strokes used to convey both texture and tone is appropriately tied to the resolution of the target medium; the automatic "watercolorization" of source images; a system for representing on-line communications in the form of comics; and an approach for simulating apparent camera motion through a 3D environment using a moving window over a single 2D background image.

3D photography

In recent years, we have witnessed the rise of a new form of imaging technology: 3D photography.  Using lasers, motors, and conventional cameras we can capture the shape of real world objects to extremely high accuracy.  Research in this area led by people at UW and Stanford led to the first 3D fax of a complex object and enabled 3D scanning of sculptures down to the chisel marks within the Digital Michelangelo Project.   Many challenges in 3D photography remain, including capturing and representing architecture, modeling surface appearance as well as shape, and rendering enormous, detailed geometric models on consumer PC's.

Interactive computer animation

With the emergence of real-time motion capture systems we can efficiently represent and transmit the full body movement. We intend to combine the real time motion capture system with the video wall display unit. This will allow us to generate interactive animations on the video wall based on the human body movement coming from the motion capture system. Possible directions for this research include multi-user dance performances, full-body teleconferencing, remote tutoring, human-motion based interfaces.

Reusable motion libraries

Our goal is to give non-skilled computer users the ability to use computer animation as an expressive medium. Ultimately, the animations will be as easy to create as web pages. The fundamental paradigm behind our approach involves the creation of motion libraries which can be easily mapped onto different characters, or modified to fit the needs of a specific animation. We capture motion from the real world to We model the motion as an optimal dynamic process which allows us to preserve dynamic properties of the animation during editing. This formulation also enables us to intuitively edit high-level motion concepts such as the time and placement of footprints, length and mass of various extremities or joint arrangement. See some of our current results.

Digital clay

Geometric modeling interfaces often have the look and feel of pushing and pulling rubber. We are investigating methods for incorporating more physical behaviors into this process in order to mimic more realistic materials such as clay and stone. The resulting models would also be suitable for interactive, yet physically plausible, animations.

Analysis and synthesis of human skin

Current methods for modeling and animating human skin are unrealistic. Rather than derive the properties of skin from first principles, we will build empirical models from direct observation of the shape and appearance of skin in motion. This research entails designing a realtime shape capture system, as well as developing methods for analyzing the data and synthesizing new skin behaviors.

Secondary motion synthesis

In order to create realistic animated characters, we are interested in realistic modeling of passive physical structures such as fur, hair and cloth. We focus on the dynamic properties of these structures and design models that closely mimic their real counterparts.

 

Budget

The ATI budget will be spent on both people and equipment.  As noted above, we will hire one senior faculty in the coming year and two junior faculty in the year to follow.  Here are all of the personnel expected to be supported on this budget:

Senior faculty member (CSE)

Junior faculty member (CSE)

Junior faculty member (Art)

Barbara Mones-Hattal, computer animation lecturer (CSE)

Stephen Spencer, system administrator (CSE, due in February), 1/2 salary from ATI

Postdocs and visitors working in areas directly related to the center

In addition, we desperately need to update the equipment in the laboratory for the animation arts.  Computing and video editing have advanced dramatically since the inception of the laboratory three years ago.  Thanks to the "PC revolution," we can incorporate these advances in a cost-effective manner.  We are also planning to purchase special purpose equipment that will be partly funded under the ATI budget.  Here are the current expected equipment expenditures:

15 600MHz dual PC/workstations (purchased, $100K)

High speed file server (purchased, $30K)

Non-linear digital video editor (purchase imminent, $5-10K)

Digital video camera (purchased, $1.5K)

Computer projection for critiques (purchase imminent, $5K)

Furniture to accomodate more students in the lab (to be purchased)

DVD-ROM archiving equipment (awaiting drop in price)

Real-time motion capture system (purchase imminent, partly funded under ATI)

 

Status

Our current status and plans for the future:

The internal committee has met twice, agreed upon an external committee, and has scheduled a meeting of the entire committee for late January of 2000.  Purpose: hone the focus of the ATI and generate a short list of potential senior hires to lead the center.
We purchased 15 workstations and a high-speed file server to upgrade the laboratory for animation arts.  The first workstation has arrived, more to follow in the coming week.  We are currently configuring the first workstation with special-purpose animation and art software and will clone this machine once the others arrive.
We are researching non-linear video editing equipment, computer projection systems, and motion capture systems.  All should be purchased before or during the winter quarter of 2000.
We hired Stephen Spencer as system administrator for graphics and animation teaching and research.  He is due mid-February of 2000.
Barbara Mones-Hattal will ramp up the animation curriculum starting the winter of 2000 as described in the "Schedule for Proposed Curriculum" section.
CSE, Art, and music will hold a joint seminar on digital and electronic arts in the winter of 2000.
Zoran Popovic will teach a graduate course in physics based animation in the Spring of 2000.
Brian Curless will teach a graduate/undergraduate course in 3D photography the following year.
A number of the research projects are in progress, including non-photorealistic illustration, digital clay, and 3D photography.
David Salesin organized the Second Annual Conference of the International Society of the Arts, Mathematics and Architecture to be held at UW this summer.