Compositing Spaces

Compositing Spaces The Transferring of Space Relevant Film Elements into Computer-Generated Architecture-Related Animation Martin Wiedmer, Doris Agotai, Rolf Lenzin, Fabian Kempter Institute for Research in Design and Art IDK, Academy of Art and Design, University of Northwestern Switzerland FHNW, http://www.idk.ch; http://www.fhbb.ch/hgk/af/architektur_und_film/ The representation of architecture is to an increasing extent expressed by means of computer-generated animation. The medium of architectural animation thus gets closer to the film without taking into consideration its specific design possibilities. Here the research project “Compositing Spaces” starts. It reveals in which fields architectural animation can get an impact from filmic design instruments. On be- half of film analysis precise stage directions to the virtual camera could be devel- oped. In collaboration with visualizers, film professionals and psychologists the project has taken an unexpected turn and led to a form of expression that involves compositing technique. The project takes with the animation of high-resolution visualizations a most promising and low-priced approach. Keywords: architectural animation; film; spatial perception; rendering; compositing Questions and Research Objectives Along with theoretical exploration of the inter- section between these two media, the investigation This research project investigates the potential of is about working elements of cinematic expression computer-generated architectural animation. Cur- into architectural animation. The research objec- rent practice suggests this mode of representa- tive, then, is to ascertain whether architectural tion to resemble closely that of cinematography, animation can by these means be made to approxi- while making no use of the latter’s specific means mate conventional visual experience and, indeed, of expression. Which begs the question whether whether a new spatial language may eventually the reworking of architectural animations with develop. the benefit of cinematic know-how, i.e. its specific The project under the title of “Architecture und techniques, might be able to create an effect upon Film. The Transferring of Space Relevant Film Ele- receptive behaviour of the viewer and to shift ar- ments into Computer-Generated Architectural Ani- chitectural animation close to conventional view- mation” is supported by the Swiss National Founda- ing patterns. tion SNF. 604 eCAADe 24 - session 13: visualisation & time-based media Starting Point sion, with lasting effects upon receptive habits of the viewers. Whereas film composes the image along The way architectural animation is actually practised classical patterns, on the diachronic level it has im- suggests that something ought to be done about plemented new techniques, such as cutting, and it. Computer animations are the work of architects. narrator’s perspective, that took some time conquer- When it comes to the applying of motion, they fall ing the visual habits of the viewers at large. Thus, cin- back upon their familiar, well-tried representational ematographic evolution appears as a learning proc- vocabulary; this, however, is an outgrowth of ar- ess. Its vocabulary, in continuous development and chitectural plan design. As standardized, abstract seeking for each period and each genre its own new and accurate two-dimensional representation has visual idiom, is not be ignored by architectural ani- evolved towards tri-dimensional projection, CAAD mation. The use of cuts and montage in managing software increasingly came equipped with visual- scenic space, e.g., has become established practice izing tools, such as camera tools and rendering en- and is widely responsible for our way of apprehend- gines, giving the architect access to a completely ing space in an immersive frame of mind. new media – cinematography. The extent and man- Yet, these very elements are largely ignored by ner of implementation of this new communicational architectural animation, either due to software limi- media into architecture is largely defined by soft- tations or to a lack of cinematic or receptive compe- ware development. The technical learning curve for tence. animated design might seem quite flat, the more so This is where the present research project comes if film is perceived as just a simple lining up of stills. in. It proposes to borrow from the tool-box that cin- In architectural animation work these perceptions ematography commands so effectively and strategi- show up as shortcomings. While CAAD has gradu- cally for rousing intended moods and emotions in ated to producing moving pictures, it takes hardly the viewer, and to bring it to bear upon architectural any advantage of the possibilities that distinguish animation. cinematography as a medium and are the result of a long visual tradition. The visualizers, a highly spe- Methodology cialized, self-taught group, in their films conjure up spatiality through apparent objectivity and as spe- The job spans the trans-disciplinary junction be- Figure 1 cious reality. tween the differing research fields of film – or rather Manipulation of a cutting se- These premises call for research that, in analogy cinematographic production process and space-re- quence of „Il deserto rosso“ to the “iconic turn” in pictorial research (Maar/Burda, lated theories – and of visual perceptional theory, (Antonioni 1964). Single 2004), takes a transdisciplinary approach to visual which both contribute to the areas of computer- shots are being cut, spatially arranged in a modeling pro- representation of space, with a view to integrating generated modelling, visualization and animation in gram, looped and rendered cinematic specificities into architectural animation. architecture. as a long take. Part of the re- Film production looks back upon a tradition of This is an applied research project. So, along search project is the analysis of film sequences methodolog- more than 100 years of dealing with visual expres- with theory formation, the involvement of private ically following the concept of „research through design and art“. It can be shown that compositing software programs for film editing, post production and 3D-modelling are getting closer to each other and that the borders between film and modeling are shifting. session 13: visualisation & time-based media - eCAADe 24 605 business partners seemed indicated. We were suc- the cutting sequence is the opposite of the long take. cessful in bringing together a team of firms from the It is subject to cutting rules, which both regulate the fields of architectural visualization, software devel- viewers visual orientation and secure spatial consist- opment, film production, and corporate identity. In a ency. Cuts and re-cuts, long shots and close-ups are joint effort with these partners, a body of animations part of narrative techniques that are comprehended was put together that exemplify the evolution in visually by the viewer. They seem, however, to be ab- architectural animation and lend themselves to fur- sent from computer animation (Emele, 1997, p. 192). ther working over. Subsequent to cinematographic On the premise that space perception is not a analyses, we established a framework of criteria for continuous process but is made up of individual systematic re-working. Together with visualizers, visual impressions that are cognitively combined and under the expert guidance of film specialists, we into a coherent view of space, we wondered what tested new ways of visual representation and opti- the architectural equivalent of a cutting sequence mization. might be. Thus we began cutting architectural animations Results and Conclusions following cinematographic rules. It was important to understand how such alterations were perceived In contrasting architectural animation with spatial by the viewer and in what form a qualitative change representation in feature films, one is looking at two might be taking place. We therefore teamed up with distinct media, each with its media-specific form of a research group of psychologists, for investigating expression. However, in either of them we discover this question through empirical methods. In a sec- the same phenomenon, i.e. the long take. In cinema- ond, related project we sought to find the visual tography, a long take means a long, single sequence momentum (Hochberg/Brooks, 1978; Kraft, 1986) for without any cuts, most often with travels, replacing cutting. multiple shots. Without changing the shooting an- The financial requirements of visualizing caught gle, the camera traverses the room in one continu- up with our project and forced a change of direction. ous motion. Long takes extend over a much longer We discovered that only rarely did visualizers land time than normal shots. For film directors, long takes orders for animation, because the jobs were beyond in feature films are often a means of demonstrating the financial means of the prospective clients. This their mastery. realization led to a new vista with promising poten- Architectural animation lives in close phenome- tial. We took another look at the composition of film nological neighbourhood to the long take, inasmuch scenes and added fixed camera position as an extra as it comes generally in sequences with no cuts, i.e. link to the chain. long takes. However, while long takes in cinematog- This turned up another analogy to architectural raphy reflect a director’s free creative intent, in ar- animation – the equivalence of both fixed camera

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