ChrisFL
Premium Member
Yeah and that's the first time I've seen that concept art for Epcot
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Eddie Sotto's take on the current state of the parks (Part II)
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
Yeah and that's the first time I've seen that concept art for Epcot
Eddie Sotto
Premium Member
Judging by the format and negative space in the sky, it looks like a magazine cover illustration.
WDW1974
Well-Known Member
I would have loved that. Even joined D23 for that ... especially if it had been in ... well, Paris.
Eddie Sotto
Premium Member
Dream on.
the.dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
Eddie, wasn't sure if you had seen this yet, but I instantly thought of Encounter.
http://www.thecampuscompanion.com/party-lab/2011/10/21/aurora-drink/
Just out of curiosity though, what do you think the main problem with the Magic Kingdom's TL's eating establishments (Besides the fact that one is almost never open)? Do you think it's part of the area's bipolar theming identity (Buck Rogers/Eero Saarinen)? Or perhaps an inability to draw crowds to it as a destination like the Crystal Palace or Liberty Tree Tavern (I'm leaving Cinderella's Royal Table out of this because it's inside the castle)?
http://www.thecampuscompanion.com/party-lab/2011/10/21/aurora-drink/
Just out of curiosity though, what do you think the main problem with the Magic Kingdom's TL's eating establishments (Besides the fact that one is almost never open)? Do you think it's part of the area's bipolar theming identity (Buck Rogers/Eero Saarinen)? Or perhaps an inability to draw crowds to it as a destination like the Crystal Palace or Liberty Tree Tavern (I'm leaving Cinderella's Royal Table out of this because it's inside the castle)?
Eddie Sotto
Premium Member
I wish we could all meet in Paris and do a D23, that would be awesome.
Eddie Sotto
Premium Member
Jeanine
Member
That would be beyond awesome. When I toured DLP with the Disneyana Fan Club, we had one day of talks with Tony Baxter, Tracy Eck, and all the park ambassadors, but to hear the stories all you guys would have there would be mind-blowing.
mickeysbrother
Well-Known Member
It appears that there is at least one technology which could produce something similar to what you want, it is called "Stone Spray", they spray probably a mixture of dirt/sand and probably some sort of binders onto rebar and use computer modeling to make it structurally sound. I guess you could make it whatever shape you want, and fill in the voids with whatever material.
http://www.designrulz.com/architect...-robotic-3d-printer-that-turns-sand-to-stone/
If WDI built a futuristic building that looked like that, plussed it with LED lights and maybe a few cool plants that would look way futuristic to my eyes!
Actually, if they filled in the voids with transparent stuff, you'd be able to get an interesting view of Tomorrowland from the inside, at least for part of the ride.
I had no idea what you were talking about. All i could read was look at that girl in the bikini.......
Eddie Sotto
Premium Member
I like the direction they are heading in. It is kind of a digital adobe kind of feel too. This could be something you could use to build a moon colony if you knew you could dredge the soil and then robotically build a foundation or a shelter.
Eddie Sotto
Premium Member
I think this is a fun App. Especially if you have an iPad and love HD video.
http://echographapp.com/?utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=starter#prettyPhoto/2/
http://echographapp.com/?utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=starter#prettyPhoto/2/
Eddie Sotto
Premium Member
This story about cloning faces for AA figure puzzles me. Blaine Gibson, WED's star sculptor used exaggeration to create expression in the Pirates so they read theatrically. Maybe Lincoln was a direct lift of his real face. I don't get why the cloning story is such a big deal when you can just take a mold.
http://tampa.cbslocal.com/2012/08/16/disney-developing-physical-face-cloning/
http://tampa.cbslocal.com/2012/08/16/disney-developing-physical-face-cloning/
flynnibus
Premium Member
I think it's not to get the facial structure statically - but to be able to record the facial movements and expressions. Effectively.. motion capture for the face and being able to systematically transfer that to AA style accuators and programming automatically.
But I totally hear you on the intentional exaggeration.
But I totally hear you on the intentional exaggeration.
Eddie Sotto
Premium Member
I get that. The only thing is that AA's don't have a fraction of the subtle moves a real face does, which can set up up for the young Jeff Bridges in Tron thing where it's looks perfect, but it just misses the mark for a reason only you can sense. It may help in programming, but it depends on what you are trying to achieve. I applaud them for continuing to invest in AA as it was on the ropes a decade ago.
Eddie Sotto
Premium Member
Here's today's Miceage article that has a transcript of the highlights of our D23 "Animating the Disney Parks" panel discussion and an interesting post show interview Tony Baxter, Tom Morris and I all did dealing with in park technology, Main Street and the historically based attractions.
http://micechat.com/9931-destination-d-disneyland/
http://micechat.com/9931-destination-d-disneyland/
flynnibus
Premium Member
I think the portion at the very end of the clip where they show the face.. and all the inputs being moved around kind of drives the point. How does anyone program that many inputs with that high of sampling rate manually? I kind a skipped through the middle of the presentation, but the end effect didn't scream 'real' to me.. but could have been other factors too. And I'm of the type that didn't have a problem with the CGI in tron for Clu.
I think Disney's best solution is DISTANCE
Everyone thinks the presidents look great in HoP for that reason
Eddie Sotto
Premium Member
I think Disney's best solution is DISTANCE
Well put. As Herb Ryman did so many times in his paintings, make things "specifically vague". That allows us to imagine what we think they really look like. It is far more satisfying. How many times have you seen a celebrity and thought that they don't look like we thought but it is really them? Lincoln only works because of distance and the right lighting allowing the hard shadows to sculpt his distinctive face. Take a flash photo of any of those HOP figures and it's pretty ugly. They don't look like what we want or believe they should look like. That is why you make the faces expressive in their sculpts as it is all theater. When they are slightly caricatured they read as more of a resemblance. Johnny Depp in Pirates works because of the eye makeup and the hair,etc. He looks pretty much like we recall him because his character in the film is so over the top and all the cues are there.
Pixiedustmaker
Well-Known Member
They didn't explain upfront in the introduction how the app works, just how it will be a "new artform" and be more than an app, then later it's like "oh, you take a video and a picture and "animate" the part of the still photo with the video image shot concurrently".
An interesting novelty, though not sure I see the advantage over just straight video as it is really just an edited video file I guess.
Pixiedustmaker
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the link. I think I can provide some background why cloning will produce a much more animated animatronic:
There are dozens of muscles in the human face. The combined movement of these muscles produces an almost infinite range of facial expressions. This new animatronic will have what looks like about a dozen little "deformation" points in the face, probably little linear actuators or something, much, much, more complex than what animatronics currently have.
If you look at figures like Lincoln, yes he moves his mouth and eyes, . . . but the expression is always solemn. Similar to how some animatronics in Pirates are always jovial/drunk.
With this new technology, the animatronic can alternate between a grimace, laugh, . . . a whole range of emotions! They will obviously use actors, maybe well known ones, and have them act out a short scene. For example, the auctioneer in Pirates could be smiling, then get real nasty when he thinks somebody is stealing his rum, and then laugh. It will add deep to an attraction, but you could also have much more realistic shows like Hall of Presidents, only the characters could almost put on a play, which requires a range of emotions.
Also, the materials science is beyond what they currently have in the park, they are making sure the latex matching what the actor is doing.
Exaggerated expressions can, and will, still be used because actors are experts at making things look good theatrically.
I think that reason why they made the latex mask, instead of just doing a mould, is that it looks like they need to vary the thickness of silicone, to help make "wrinkles" and probably so that the little pullies, or whatever the actuators attach to, can properly deform the mask. A lot more complex than a simple mould, really amazing actually. A simple mold would be more, or less, uniform thickness and wouldn't deform in a predictable manner when the actuators are doing their job.
Plus they want the computer generated model to exactly match what is physically made. I would assume that a mould of a person's face would have imperfections, and such, and this might be enough to effect the final product. Also, a computer, I guess "printed" mould, means that one actor could do the face movements for several different looking animatronics.
Pixiedustmaker
Well-Known Member
That's true, but even with these new animatronics, I am sure they will put them a ways back from the audience, and still use dim lights, its just that these animatronics will trick the senses even more. The young Flynn looks fake on the silver screen because you get a real close look, if you meet him in a dark alley from fifteen feet away, you might think it is a real person.
But I think it will drastically improve show, instead of the red head woman being auctioned off by the auctioneer just smiling, she'll be able to scowl and roll her eyes when he's not looking at her, and maybe send a wink or two at the audience, or make other silly gestures.