Finally…..

…Finally applied for a PhD in Realistic Realtime Animation. Wow, its scary to think that I am going to be studying at this level. But on the other hand it is cool that I have found something that I have an interest in to make a PhD out of it.

It will be a long 6 years of study, BUT I am hoping it will pay off well and I will make a difference in the world of animation and motion capture.

I wrote a couple of case studies of the past year, one on Web 2.0 and Second Life and the second on Using a Virtual Environment and video for teaching. I found out so much that I think my PhD is viable.

We will have to wait and see.

Where I am at….

…I have finally decided on what university I want to be doing my studying at. It has been a long a boring process, trying to find out what would be best for me both with support and financially. I have decided that the University of Wales, Bangor (North Wales).

I will be studying part time and distant, while I am still working full time. It will mean that I need to make sure that my time management skills are top and that I plan for when I do what.  So basically I need to make sure that I use a diary, both on my phone and paper based.

I have filled in the application and sent my form off to an old lecturer from university where I am hoping he will give me a good reference, just waiting to see how that goes now.

I have started to make a list of the books and academic papers that I have finished reading and are currently reading. It’s starting to get long.

Why the sudden bust or work and planning, well that is partly down to needing something else to focus on when I’m not in work and mainly down to a friend from work who has given me the drive to get stuck into this.

Until I hear anything from the university, I think I will try and keep reading and updating this think. I need to get better at writing my blog.

Update…

I have made a couple of changes to my idea because I have been talking to a couple of universities and decided that I want to tween the idea that I have, so instead of it being a a plug-in for animation software, I am going to write a new piece of software that does quiet a lot of other things that current software doesn’t.

The software that I will create will NOT rival software such as Maya or 3D Studio , but this will be a piece of software as an additionality to. So you would still create the models in Maya or 3D Studio and then open the file in my software and it will allow you to rig and apply realistic movements to your character.

I am also in contact with a large numebr of universities to find out where I should undertake my research. I will keep you posted on that.

Case Study

Wow, its been quiet a while since I last posted anything on this site, I guess I’ll have to try and be a bit more active on here.

As part of my teacher training that I am doing at the college, I am going to have to write 2 case studies on areas that cover teaching etc.

So with what I am teaching, most of the modules require you to tell the students about new and up coming software developments, so with that in mind, I am hoping to write a case study covering this piece of software.

I am only going to be working on 2 case studies and hopefully explore this idea more. Check back in about 8 weeks for the completed case study.

Research Papers

Its been a while, but here is a list of the current research papers that I am reading to develop my project.

Realistic Animation of Human Figures

Realistic Facial Modelling & Animation Based High Res Capture

An Active Multi-camera Motion Capture for Face, Fingers & Whole Body

Speech Driven Facial Animation with Realistic Dynamics

Discovering Realistic Dynamics for Animation

Real-Time Animation of Realistic Virtual Humans

Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants

 I will be adding more research papers as time goes on.

If you are interested in what I am doing for my PhD, then contact me and I can either tell you or I could show you my proposal.

Research

I have started getting some research papers to read and find out some more information in the area that I am very interested in. I know that realistic animation and motion capture are to massive areas that go off in different tangents, but I am trying to build a bridge between the two.

The area that I am interested in and want to develop is realistic computer animation with the use of a motion library. This will contain a number of movements, such as walk/run cycles, arm movements and some other pre-determined movements. This will be in a motion library, similar to the shelf in Maya, you apply this to the rig of the character and set the parameters to suite the character. This will then last for a set time or cycles and the character moves in a realistic way.

This is something that I am hoping to develop and something that I will be spending about 4 years of my life developing to make sure it’s right. So the understanding of motion capture and realistic animation is paramount.

I have recently had my idea accepted for me to develop at NEWI, so I will be able to work on my research.

I’ll make another post that will be updated regularly with the different research material that I am reading that is helping with the development of the motion library.

Notebook

I have now purchased a nice new notebook. I decided that I need a nice piece of equiment to use for my research and decided that a nice Fujitsu Siemens notebook, good value for money. I have also purchased a T-Mobile modem so that I can get on the internet anywhere, anytime.

Motion Capture

I have been reading recently about the new Motion Capture studios, nice to see that things are being developed. One of the systems was created by a company called Organic Motion, they use a system of a 12×12 area with camera’s at different points but instead of using the Lycia outfit, the actor works in the area in their own clothing and the camera’s capture the movement and the software cleans it up and gives out a nice finished piece of motion ready to apply to a character developed in 3D software.  The second piece that I have recently heard about is a Gypsy-6 Mo-cap system by Animazoo. This is a system where the actor needs to wear a Lycia outfit and then the actor puts on this robotic looking mo-cap system. This system then picks up the movement of the actor and the software processes the movement and gives a nice piece of mo-cap that can again be used with a 3D character.  Well these are some of the things that I am looking into and WOW!! It’s amazing to see how the industry is changing and developing so quickly.

Welcome

Welcome to MattRT, this site is for people to find out information about myself and also to see what I am up to and what I have been up to. With the ever changing madness of my life and jobs, this is an easier way to keep track of what I am up to. Currently I am working at Coleg Llandrillo Cymru (Llandrillo College) where I am a lecturer in media; specialising in digital media (graphic design, 2D/3D Animation/etc.  I am also keeping busy with my freelance work, I have been involved in Star Trek – The Continuing Mission and hopefully within the next few months I will be directing one of the episodes.When I have got a free moment; I am researching into animation, motion capture and the human body for my PhD research. (I might as well keep busy and do something interesting, lol)Please feel free to have a look around and see what I am up to, keep checking back to see what has changed and what I am doing next.Matt