Category: Design for Animation, Narrative Structures and Film Language

https://youtu.be/X0BkBDA6EJg

1. Research theme

2. Research intention

3. Research objectives

4. Reference Information

5. Research process

6. Research results

7. Reflection and harvest

8. Bibliography

1. Research theme

The Guiding Significance of Uncanny Valley Theory to 3D Animation Characters

—- How 3D Animation Can Better Survive the Curves of the Uncanny Valley?

2. Research intention

With the continuous improvement of computer technology, more and more 3D animation films are coming out, and 3D animation is more widely used in various fields. Such as medical care, education, architecture, advertising, etc. It illustrates the advantages of 3D animation over 2D animation and flat images and shows a trend.

(

3D Animation makes the visual more attractive and engages the viewers more effectively.

Realistic 3D Animation explains faster and much more efficiently than Texts, Images and ordinary video.

We can present more information in less time with the help of Animation.

Research suggests that retention of information is higher when it is communicated using both visual and verbal communication.

)

However, the IMDB’s ranking of The Best Animated Movies of the 2010s and 2020S shows that more audiences prefer 2D animation to 3D animation. Whether it is a 2D or 3D animation, there are more animations with high human-likeness, but the film reviews show that the evaluation’s polarisation is severe. And the word that appears frequently is that some characteristic of a character is uncomfortable.

For these discomforts, because the audience has fallen into the Uncanny Valley. When the character’s degree of human likeness cannot be completely comparable to the natural person, it may cause these uncomfortable reactions when it is in this curve range.

(

Mortality salience: Viewing an “uncanny” robot elicits an innate fear of death and culturally supported defences for coping with death’s inevitability.

Pathogen avoidance: The more human an organism looks, the stronger the aversion to its defects. Motivate the release of potential sources of pathogens by eliciting a disgust response.

Sorites paradoxes: Stimuli with human and nonhuman traits undermine our sense of human identity by linking qualitatively different categories, human and nonhuman, by a quantitative metric, the degree of human likeness.

Violation of human norms: If the entity looks almost human, it elicits our model of a human other and its detailed normative expectations. The nonhuman characteristics are noticeable, giving the human viewer a sense of strangeness.

Conflicting perceptual cues: Perceptual tension occurs when an individual perceives conflicting lines to category membership, such as when a humanoid figure moves like a robot or has other visible robot features.

Threat to humans’ distinctiveness and identity: The increase in the anthropomorphic appearance of a robot leads to an enhancement of threat to human distinctiveness and identity. The more a robot resembles a real person, the more it represents a challenge to our social identity as human beings.

Religious definition of human identity: humans construct psychological defences to avoid existential anxiety stemming from death. The experience of the very humanlike “living” robot can be so rich and compelling that it challenges humans’ notions of “specialness” and existential defences, eliciting existential anxiety.

The uncanny valley of the mind or AI: people might experience intense feelings of aversion if they encounter highly advanced, emotion-sensitive technology.

)

Therefore, we need to study how to make 3D animation better survive in the Uncanny Valley according to the research and theory of predecessors. What aspects should be paid more attention to in character design to avoid an uncomfortable viewing experience for the audience?

3. Research objectives

This time my research mainly wants to explore

1. Whether the consistency level between the degree of the realism of the scene and the human-likeness of the character is related to the audience’s likeability of the character.

2. Whether the complexity and form of the character’s actions impact the audience’s liking of the character.

In my opinion, both are related to the audience’s likeability of the character. Therefore, two experiments were developed using characters with different realism degrees and mixing different character characteristics.

4. Reference Information

Because according to the conclusion of Valentin Schwind & Solveigh Jäger‘s study, the more realistic character, the longer it takes to judge the realism of the character. I reasoned that this conclusion would apply to moving characters. So I set the length of each animation used in the research to be 30 seconds.

In addition, due to likeability and attractiveness are positive correlations. So I did not break down the favorability into specific emotions that may be included during the research. Instead, I only gave a rating range of 1-10.

5. Research process

Because, I think the complexity and morphology of the action are related to the character’s age. The younger humans have a lower complexity of the action and a lower degree of exaggeration. Young adults have the highest degree of complexity and hyperbole in their forms. When in older age, the complexity of the movements is minimal. So in the second set of experiments, four different age characters’ animated short movies were selected to be used.

6. Research results

In this study, 15 men and women aged 16-29 and 21-50 were invented.

According to the survey results

The first set of experiments shows that the consistency level between the degree of the realism of the scene and the human-likeness of the character has yet to relate to the audience’s likeability of the character.

According to the second group of experiments, regardless of the age group, they liked the role of younger babies more than other ages characters. The affection for the other three age groups is basically the same.

7. Reflection and harvest

None of the people surveyed this time gave very low scores. And everyone didn’t fall into the Uncanny Valley. It perhaps due to the characters in the research examples I gave are not extreme enough for realism. Everyone has a high tolerance for characters with moderate degrees of realism.

It gives me and others in the industry a suggestion for the character’s direction. If the film doesn’t produce for a specific group of people or a specific age group, setting the protagonist as a younger character and not being too imitative is a good choice. The acceptance and likeability of the audience should be higher than that of other ages and realistic settings.

In addition, this study found that many factors will affect the audience’s viewing experience of animated films. For example, even if a formula with the highest acceptance has been found for the characters. But characters only come alive when they live in a story or a situation. All the settings cannot be separated for discussion and research.

This evidence will:

➝add substance to your own ideas

➝allow the reader to see what has informed your thinking and how your ideas fit in with, and differ from, others’ in your field

➝demonstrate your understanding of the general concepts and theories on the topic

➝show you have researched widely, and know about specialist/niche areas of interest.

What is the difference between paraphrasing and summarising?
Paraphrasing and summarising are two similar and related ideas, so it makes sense that they’re often confused with each other. 

To tell them apart, think of them like this: Paraphrasing is putting an individual passage into your own words while summarising is putting a text or passage’s main idea, theme, or story into your own words. 

Summarising deals with the big picture, such as an entire body of work or a complete chapter, while paraphrasing deals with specific passages, from a few words to a few paragraphs, but nothing terribly lengthy. Summaries are always shorter than their original source, but paraphrases are typically around the same length as, if not slightly shorter than, their source. 

Another distinction is that summaries tend to gloss over the details, whereas paraphrases can still incorporate everything, as long as it’s reworded. 

How to summarise others’ work
Summarising is providing a condensed version of someone else’s key points. When summarising other people’s work, make sure that you:

➝identify the relevant points of the idea or argument, depending on your purpose

➝write a shortened version, in your own words, to show your understanding

➝include an in-text citation and reference to the original author.

Common pitfalls include:
➝describing an author’s idea/argument but not explaining the significance to your own argument or point you are trying to make

➝providing too much detail such as examples, anecdotes, unnecessary background information rather than being selective and applying the information to the question you are trying to answer.

How to synthesise others’ work
Synthesising involves combining different information and ideas to develop your own argument. When synthesising others’ work, make sure that you:

➝Group sources into relevant categories, for example, authors with similar viewpoints or research that reveals the same results

➝Write about these in your own words. Do not discuss each author separately; you must identify the overall points you want to make

➝Include references to all the original authors.

Common pitfalls include:
➝Not distinguishing clearly which viewpoint/s belong to which author/s

➝Listing authors separately or one by one, thus not grouping relevant authors or points together

➝Giving too much detail about different perspectives rather than being selective of the key features relevant to your line of argument

➝Describing the idea/argument but not explaining the significance to your own argument or point you are trying to make.

How to quote from others’ work

Quoting is where you copy an author’s text word for word, place quotation marks around the words and add a citation at the end of the quote. When quoting others’ work, make sure that you:

➝copy the quote exactly from the original, as the author has written it, taking care to include quotation marks

➝show where you have made any changes to the text

➝include an in-text citation and reference to the original author.

Common pitfalls include:

➝Using too many quotes throughout your work

➝Incorporating a quote without explaining the significance to your own argument or point you are trying to make.

How to paraphrase others’ work

Paraphrasing is using your own words to express someone else’s ideas. When paraphrasing, make sure that you:

➝identify a relevant theme or point, depending on your purpose

➝write the point in your own words

➝focus on the meaning of an idea or argument

➝include a reference to the original author.

Common pitfalls include:

➝describing an author’s idea/argument but not explaining the significance to your own argument, or the point that you are trying to make

➝using too many of the original author’s words, this includes using the same structure

➝not distinguishing between the author’s point and your own viewpoint

providing too much detail.

When paraphrasing:

➝DO NOT use paraphrasing software–it does not create accurate paraphrases and can create meaningless communications.

➝Read the text carefully. Be sure you understand the text fully.

➝Put the original text aside and write your paraphrase in your own words. Considering each point of the original text, how could you rephrase it if you were explaining it to one of your classmates who hadn’t read it?

➝Do not simply replace every third or fourth word of the original passage. This is a form of plagiarism.

➝Review your paraphrase. Does it reflect the original text but is in your own words and style? Did you include all the main points and essential information?

➝Include an in-text citation in the expected formatting style

➝Explain why the paraphrased information is important. To do so, ask yourself the following questions:

What am I trying to show or prove with this information?

Why is it important to what I am saying? What is its significance?

How does this information add to what I am trying to prove in this paragraph?

Language

Academic writing is concise, clear, formal and active. It does not need to be complex or use long sentences and obscure vocabulary.

In formal academic writing it is important to be concise. This helps your reader to understand the points you are making.

Here are some tips to help you:

➝Only include one main idea per sentence.

➝Keep your sentences to a reasonable length (generally not more than 25 words). Long sentences can be difficult to follow and this may distract from your point.

➝Avoid repetition.

Use a blend of active and passive verbs
Most verbs can be used in either an active or passive form. It is usually appropriate to use a mixture of passive and active forms within academic writing. Always check with your department to see what form of writing would be most appropriate for your subject area.

Active voice

The active voice places the subject of the sentence in charge of the action.

For example: “The research assistant designed the survey.” Here the research assistant (the subject) designed (the verb) the survey (the object).

It is usually more direct and easier to read than the passive voice.

However, sometimes you may want to emphasise what is happening rather than who is doing it. To do this you can use the passive voice.

Passive Voice

The passive voice places the subject at the end, or may leave it out completely.

For example: “The survey was designed by the research assistant.” Here the survey (the object) was designed (the verb) by the research assistant (the subject).

The passive voice is more formal than the active voice. It is often used in academic writing as it is seen as more impersonal and therefore more objective. However, it is not always easy to read and it may add unnecessary words.

Convey your opinion

Answering the Question

There is rarely one answer to a question or assignment. Research, ideas and arguments should always be open to being challenged, so it is important that the language you use acknowledges this. In your academic work, you should not present something as a fact that might not be.

In academic writing, you can use language to show how confident you are about an argument or claim you are discussing. The common ways to do this are often referred to as hedges or boosters. You can also use different reporting verbs to convey your feelings or attitude towards a topic

Hedges

When writing, be careful of using words such as “definitely” or “proves”. Ask yourself whether your statement is a fact or whether there may be some doubt either now or in the future.

Some useful hedging words and phrases to use in your work are:

“This suggests…”

“It is possible that…”

“A possible explanation…”

“Usually…”

“Sometimes…”

“Somewhat…”

Example

1 “Research proves that drinking a large volume of fizzy drinks containing sugar leads to the development of type II diabetes.”

2 “Research suggests that high consumption of fizzy drinks containing sugar may contribute to the development of type II diabetes.”

In sentence 1, the statement is presented as proven fact: that a high volume of sugary fizzy drinks will definitely lead to type II diabetes. This leaves no room for doubt or criticism or the fact that some people may drink large volumes of fizzy drinks and never develop type II diabetes.

In sentence 2, the writer has used ‘hedging language’ – ‘suggests’ and ‘may contribute’ – to show that while there is evidence to link sugary drinks and type II diabetes, this may not be true for every person and may be proven to be incorrect in the future.

Take the same sentence as used in the previous section:

1 “Research suggests that high consumption of fizzy drinks containing sugar may contribute to the development of type II diabetes.”

2 “Research indicates a clear link between the high consumption of a large volume of fizzy drinks containing sugar and the development of type II diabetes.”

In sentence 1, the writer has used the hedging language ‘suggested’ and ‘may contribute’, to show that while there is evidence to link sugary drinks and type II diabetes this may not be true for every person and may be proven to be incorrect in the future.

In sentence 2, the writer still uses language to allow for doubt and argument but it is clear that this writer is more convinced by the research.

The Manchester Academic Phrasebank provides many more examples that you can use in your written work.

Reporting verbs

Reporting verbs can be grouped into the three main categories of strong, neutral and tentative:

Strong verbs convey a degree of certainty about an issue.

Neutral verbs do not indicate any value judgements on the part of the author. They are rather descriptive in tone.

Tentative verbs show that the writer tends to feel a certain way about an issue but is not wholly sure.

Below are common examples of strong, neutral and tentative reporting verbs.

CGI charcacter  motion capture techology

①Visual appearance     

②Visual perception  

③Motion        

Aim goals

e.g.《The Lion King》

➝ 1994 Animated Edition & 2019 Creating a Live-Active Film

➝ What did you get?

➝ What was lost?

➝Whether this gain or loss is consistent with the target effect (including the filmmaking effect and audience experience)

➝ The viewing goals and expectations of most audiences are not necessarily consistent with the goals of the producer

➝ Because the viewer’s experience is uncontrollable

➝ Therefore, the producer needs to reduce the possibility of inconsistency between the two parties

➝ Control the direction of production

1) Audience

Have a clear audience: (1) age group

                   (2) Cultural background

                   (3) Social background

                   (4) Background of the times

No clear audience: universal values, truth, goodness and beauty

• amplify the characteristics you want to output so full that you can enter regardless of whether the audience’s pre-viewing ideas and objectives are consistent with the producer’s

The function of animation for an animated film is an essential element to show the characteristics of the film, and what needs to be considered in the design is the function that the producer wants the film to do.

The function of animation for other industries (such as medical treatment, construction, and robotics) is to use visual effects to assist in achieving a more efficient communication of intentions. Therefore, the design needs to consider the user or audience experience.

Image perspective, which has already crossed the Uncanny Valley.

Motion not yet realized.

The uncanny valley theory has always been controversial, and there are many experiments to prove its authenticity. But because it involves a variety of possible variables, it isn’t easy to get a definite and comprehensive answer.

Mori&Minato, McDorman&Kageki

self-survival instinct, protect yourself from threat, disease, danger, and death ➝ survival instinct

Goldstone&Hendrickson

Different things classification induction, whether it is human ➝ category perception

Category classification ➝

Many factors affect how people are classified.

The more content the work displays, the more complex it is, and more factors may affect the classification judgment.

The appearance, scenery, action and static and dynamic content can be entirely realistically simulated to show excellent work. They influence each other, and other factors also affect them, such as editing and hearing. The importance of hearing is more critical for animation than for static works of art.

When conducting a survey experiment, the audio can be removed so that the hearing does not negatively impact the experimental results.

Different people have different perceptual sensitivities to varying categories of content ➝ resulting in different results when variables are the same

①Assume that the uncanny valley has been established, and if it falls into the uncanny valley➝, the perception of the National People’s Congress will also be affected

② Personal likes and dislikes are different, and different people have different emotions, expectations, and desires for different characters

Formulate the characteristics of the experimental materials

1) Static

(1) Pure portrait

(2) Add a pose

(3) Add pose and background

2) Dynamic

(1) Single character dynamics

(2) Two-person character dynamics

(Three-person character dynamics)

Short movement  ( can see the most outspoken characteristics of the character)

Long movement  ( can see more and more subtle characteristics of the character)

An experimental subject: 1) “not anthropomorphic enough” ➝ its human-like characteristics ➝ conspicuous & easily recognizable ➝ ➝ produce empathy.

2) “Very anthropomorphic” ➝ Its non-humanoid characteristics ➝ conspicuous ➝ produces quirkiness

                         ➝ Its high fidelity ➝ People are not sure if it is real or fake ➝ Treat real people as dummies / Treat dummies as real people ➝ ➝ Frightened (uneasy)

                                       ➝ Very similar to humans but non-human ➝➝ Potential threat

Differences in approximate vocabulary (identity, affinity, likability) for dependent variables

The influence of usage context and age on experimental results

The age range set by the target audience of the 3D animation ➝ Whether it is necessary to accurately target the range of objects in the title to “adult” ➝ Because adult-oriented films and television will have more complex settings and factors

Week6

“Information designers” Alan. D. Manning’s paper mentions the Icon Theory.

Animation design can also be included in information design, which conveys a specific or series of information to the audience.

Icon Theory – developed by C.S. Peirce, an American semiotician

1）

2) Iconic sinsigns Realistic images that resemble real things, such as photographs or realist paintings

3) Iconic legisigns abstract abstraction from what it looks like, but still a lot like something tangible, like diagrams or comic cartoons

Scott McCloud <Understanding Comics> pp.51

“Focusing on specific details➝stripping down on the image to its essential “meaning” ➝amplify that meaning➝in a way that realistic art can’t.”

“A photograph is the imprint of one and only one object.” ➝ Corresponds to characters who are too realistic.

“A sketch potentially represents all objects of a general conceptual type.” ➝ Corresponds to abstract characters

Alan. Example of a dragonfly in D. Manning (Fig.3.& Fig.4.)

➝ Explain that you should see the purpose you want to express or produce➝ Show the points you want the audience’s attention to and omit other points ➝ so that the audience is not disturbed by other content that enters the line of sight

➝ If too much content enters the line of sight, the audience will not be able to distinguish helpful elements➝. This will lead to a decrease in the perception

Although the content of the expression needs to be simplified and focused, it is also necessary to pay attention to logical coherence

➝ If the front expression is insufficient, the audience does not know the target behind

➝ The audience needs to take time to find out the message that the director wants to convey ➝ In this process if the author does not expect to let the audience look for himself, there will be no time for the audience to look for it ➝ This will cause the audience to miss some content due to the search that is not in the director’s plan ➝ Resulting in a decline in the audience’s perception

“thoughts and ideas likewise exist mainly as vaguely sketched forms”——McCloud teams.

This sentence should also follow not only in character design but also in expressing the main idea, story, and other aspects. Every aspect, action, and picture must have meaning, whether related to the “purpose” or needed.

What is the charm of 3D Computer Animation?

➝ The difference between 3D and 2D

  ➝ Essentially (production) ➝ 2D – 12fps; 3D——24fps

  ➝ Visually ➝ 3D can better depict movement

Why manufacturers in all industries prefer 3D animation

➝ Pursue perspective effects

➝ 3D animation has many advantages over flat 2D

  ➝ 3D animation is faster and more effective than text, image interpretation, or expression content

  ➝ More intuitive, more accurate, lower cost

  ➝ Studies have shown that information retention is higher when visual and verbal communication is used

Because “3D can better depict movement” & “higher retention of information when communicating visually and verbally” ➝ Audience reception is higher

（《Advantages of 3D Animation》http://www.animationkolkata.com/blog/2019/02/15/advantages-3d-animation/）

Inventor of William Fetter’s 3D image

Why have big-name logos begun to change from personalized designs to unified fonts in recent years? As:

YVES SAINT LAURENT

BALENCIAGA

BURBERRY

BERLUTI

BALMAIN

Searching and reading articles containing “Uncanny Valley”, after reading literature, I have improved the ideas and thoughts I had generated before knowing the Uncanny Valley theory and found the same content and what I didn’t know.

After reading the article titled Research on Digital Virtual Character Design Based on the Uncanny Valley Effect, I found a new way of thinking. I realized that considering a thing requires a more nuanced and comprehensive classification. This has a significant impact on actual surveys and measurements. The more meticulous, the wider the aspects considered, the more variables are measured, the higher the authenticity of the estimated data, and the higher the authenticity of the conclusions. For the classification of roles: In addition to the variety of two-dimensional and three-dimensional roles, it can also be divided into human and non-human roles, living and non-living roles. Non-living bodies can also be divided into realism and anthropomorphism for the impact of the outcome: the same feeling “comfortable”, but this term contains multiple specific feelings, such as character identity, liking, and affinity. Not all hypothetical feelings will affect it due to changes in the influencing factors. Based on the article, the following new inferences and conclusions are made.

(Research on Digital Avatar Design Based on the Uncanny Valley Effect, https://hanspub.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?paperID=58360&btwaf=69792636)

The more realistic the non-human 2D character, the more comfortable the viewer is

Human three-dimensional characters are highly anthropomorphic ➝ When there are too many differences in important details ➝ Cause the audience to compare the characters with real people ➝ The audience will feel uncomfortable

                         ➝ When a high degree of consistency in important details ➝ Reach the range of realism expected by the audience ➝ Viewers feel comfortable

Non-living three-dimensional characters & three-dimensional characters who are living beings but non-humans ➝ The higher the degree of realism ➝ The higher the audience’s love for the characters ➝ Because the audience is most familiar with humans and has the most understanding of themselves and humans, they can more quickly know the emotions that the work wants to output through actions and expressions.

The following phenomenon and viewing experience confuse me:

Nowadays, compared with 3D animation, many 2D animations do not have rich screen backgrounds and characters. Still, they can use simpler things to express the theme and hit the audience’s heart, and the expression form of 2D animation will be more innovative. The current trend in the industry is that more people choose to make 3D animations, but many 3D animations need to be more satisfactory. It shows that the filmmakers put all their minds on the visual effects of the film and some other aspects but could have told the story better. For the above, there needs to be some clarification about the different viewing experiences brought about by 2D animation and 3D animation.

I tried to analyze and answer these current situations:

Many human characters in 3D works are highly anthropomorphic and realistic in appearance (materials, lighting, textures, etc.)

➝ However, it does not achieve a highly consistent effect

➝ And the story is not well expressed, and the main idea is not expressed effectively, forcefully, and novelty

Most 2D works are not done with a focus on anthropomorphism

➝ Instead, it is expressed by simplifying, refining, stylizing, and leaving white space ➝ This part of the performance is vital to the central theme of the story

➝ Better expression of emotions

Why & what causes this feeling?

➝ Because of 2D white space, simplified, omitted parts (2D products such as photography are included in addition to 2D animation)

  ➝1) Will fill in the above according to the imagination ➝ This part is not important to the main theme of the story

  ➝ 2) A small number of authentic parts makes it easier for the viewer to relate the work to their own real life

➝ Because of the high realism in 3D

 ➝ Reduce or isolate the viewer’s communication between the work and their own life

 ➝ The viewer needs to be positioned in a new environment where the 3D work is constructed

   ➝ 1) When the content of the story is similar to the audience’s life and has high resonance, ➝ The audience will compare the characters in work with real people

   ➝ 2) When it is a fictional world ➝ The audience wants to reshape the world according to the work

                              ➝ To persuade the viewer to enter the built world

                                 ➝ 1) Different enough, new enough ➝ People will enter this world because of curiosity about the unknown

                                      ➝ 1) More new, less familiar ➝ ✅ Walk into the built world faster and smoother

                                      ➝ 2) Less new, more familiar ➝ Familiar aspects in line with human characteristics ➝ ✅ Acceptance, liking

                                                            ➝ Doesn’t achieve the same on important familiar details ➝ ❌ Walking into the built world doesn’t go well

                                 ➝ 2) Discover similarities with humans / with yourself ➝ Curious ➝ Walk-in

Searching the Internet with the keyword “high degree of human realism in animation” came up with the uncanny valley theory, a concept that I did not know about, and according to the explanation of this concept, I found that this is highly relevant to what I discovered and analyzed above.

There are three topics were initially developed in accordance with the requirements of Critical Repor’s proposed topics:

1. What feelings will the audience bring to the (three-dimensional) film and television works if they are too simulated

2. What different viewing experiences will be brought about by the other degree of character simulation in 3D computer animation

3. The guiding significance of the uncanny valley theory to character design in three-dimensional computer animation