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People implicitly generalize the actions of known individuals in a social group to unknown members. However, actions have social goals and evaluative valences, and the extent to which actions with different valences (helpful and harmful) are implicitly generalized among group members remains unclear. We used computer animations to simulate social group actions, where helping and hindering actions were represented by aiding and obstructing another's climb up a hill. Study 1 found that helpful actions are implicitly expected to be shared among members of the same group but not among members of different groups, but no such effect was found for harmful actions. This suggests that helpful actions are more likely than harmful actions to be implicitly generalized to group members. This finding was replicated in Study 2 by increasing the group size from three to five. Study 3 found that the null effect for generalizing harmful actions among group members is not due to the difficulty of detecting action generalization, as both helpful and harmful actions are similarly generalized within particular individuals. Moreover, Study 4 demonstrated that weakening social group information resulted in the absence of implicit generalization for helpful actions, suggesting the specificity of group membership. Study 5 revealed that the generalization of helping actions occurred when actions were performed by multiple group members rather than being repeated by one group member, showing group-based inductive generalization. Overall, these findings support valence-dependent implicit action generalization among group members. This implies that people may possess different knowledge regarding valenced actions on category-based generalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complex spatial and temporal structure of cumulus clouds complicates their representation in weather and climate models. Classic meteorological instrumentation struggles to fully capture these features. Networks of multiple high‐resolution hemispheric cameras are increasingly used to fill this data gap, and provide information on this missing multi‐dimensional spatial information. In this study, a path‐tracing algorithm is used to generate virtual camera images of resolved clouds in large‐eddy simulations (LES). These images are then used as a camera network simulator, allowing reconstructions of three‐dimensional cloud edges from the model output. Because the actual LES cloud field is fully known, the combined path‐tracing and reconstruction method can be statistically analyzed. The method is applied to LES realizations of summertime shallow cumulus at the Jülich Observatory for Cloud Evolution (JOYCE), Germany, which also routinely operates a camera network. We find that the path‐tracing method allows accurate reconstruction of up to 70% of the visible cloud edges. Additional sensitivity tests show that the method is robust for changes in its hyperparameters. The sensitivity to cloud optical thickness is also investigated, finding a cloud boundary placement error of approximately 182 m. This error can be considered typical for cloud boundary reconstruction using real stereo camera imagery. The results provide proof of principle for future use of the method for evaluating LES clouds against camera network imagery, and for further optimizing the configuration of such camera networks. Plain Language Summary: We propose an algorithm to make camera images from clouds as simulated on large and fast computers. The algorithm relies on so‐called path‐ or ray‐tracing techniques as often applied in modern gaming or computer‐generated imagery in movies. This method not only yields beautiful cloud visualizations, it also enables the emulation of scientific camera networks such as the one currently operational at the Jülich Observatory of Cloud Evolution (JOYCE) in west Germany. From the images, three‐dimensional structures of the simulated cloud fields can be reconstructed. This technique allows the scientific evaluation of the model clouds against images from real camera networks. This would mean a significant step forward from the use of common vertically pointing meteorological instruments such as lidar or radar. However, before such an effort is undertaken, the accuracy of the method still needs to be determined. For this purpose, the cloud edges, or outer hulls, are reconstructed for selected days in summer. These reconstructed edges are then compared to the original clouds in the simulation. We find that the method satisfactorily reproduces the high‐resolution geometry of clouds, providing proof of principle for this approach and opening a new way of comparing high‐resolution meteorological models with camera measurements. Key Points: Pairs of hemispheric ray‐tracing renderings of shallow cumulus fields in large‐eddy simulations are used to reconstruct cloud boundariesThe method robustly reproduces close to 70% of the visible cloud boundariesThe results provide proof of principle for its use as a stereo camera simulator for evaluating convective clouds in high‐resolution models [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study explored how a computer-generated animation (CGA) illustrating a defendant's version of events affected jurors' judgments in a mock second-degree murder trial. We hypothesized that mock jurors who viewed a CGA illustrating the defendant's testimony would be more likely to acquit compared to those who viewed static visual images or did not view a visual aid, and that this effect would occur regardless of whether the narrative depicted in the CGA was corroborated by pertinent testimonial evidence. In this 2 (testimony congruence: incongruent vs. congruent) x 3 (testimony modality: no-aid vs. static visual aid vs. computer-generated animation) between-subjects design, undergraduate students (N = 238) read a transcript from a fictitious trial and heard the defendant's testimony in one of three modalities. Across congruence conditions, participants were significantly more likely to acquit the defendant when his testimony was accompanied by a CGA (OR = 5.08), compared to a static visual aid or with no-aid. Our results suggest that CGAs may have a disproportionate impact on jurors' judgments compared to traditional forms of demonstrative evidence. Whether this impact is facilitative or prejudicial, however, depends on whether the content of the animation is congruent or incongruent with other case evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurately quantifying an animal's movement is crucial for developing a greater empirical and theoretical understanding of its behaviour, and for simulating biologically plausible movement patterns. However, we have a relatively poor understanding of how animals move at fine temporal scales and in three-dimensional environments. Here, we collected high temporal resolution data on the three-dimensional spatial positions of individual three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus), allowing us to derive statistics describing key geometric characteristics of their movement and to quantify the extent to which this varies between individuals. We then used these statistics to develop a simple model of fish movement and evaluated the biological plausibility of simulated movement paths using a Turing-type test, which quantified the association preferences of live fish towards animated conspecifics following either 'real' (i.e., based on empirical measurements) or simulated movements. Live fish showed no difference in their response to 'real' movement compared to movement simulated by the model, although significantly preferred modelled movement over putatively unnatural movement patterns. The model therefore has the potential to facilitate a greater understanding of the causes and consequences of individual variation in movement, as well as enabling the construction of agent-based models or real-time computer animations in which individual fish move in biologically feasible ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital technology currently allows, both photography and computer images, to be equivalent graphic formats in terms of technical resources and evocative values related with the built heritage. Likewise, the balance between reliable surveying, visual expression and social contextualization, as general purposes of these images, has given rise to three basic categories: realistic documentation, post-edited views and reconstructions, and reinterpretation exercises. Both approaches are discussed through a brief historical review, as well as some images by contemporary authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After visiting the Disney studios in 1930, Sergei Eisenstein wrote several texts about a characteristic that he detected in the animation cinema of the time: plasmaticness. With this adjective he tried to define the ability of animated bodies and objects to alter their original form throughout the story. Recently some authors (Cook, 2018; Väliaho, 2017; Rebecchi, 2020) have dusted off these texts and have analyzed animation and its by-products through the plasmaticness proposed by Eisenstein. This text aims to analyze productions of all times of animation cinema to see if the presence of plasticity has decreased, or increased. The intention is to find out if this feature that Eisenstein saw as characteristic of early animation is maintained over time and if it is still present in current productions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tense/aspect morphology on verbs is often thought to depend on event features like telicity, but it is not known how speakers identify these features in visual scenes. To examine this question, we asked Japanese speakers to describe computer‐generated animations of simple actions with variation in visual features related to telicity. Experiments with adults and children found that they could use goal information in the animations to select appropriate past and progressive verb forms. They also produced a large number of different verb forms. To explain these findings, a deep‐learning model of verb production from visual input was created that could produce a human‐like distribution of verb forms. It was able to use visual cues to select appropriate tense/aspect morphology. The model predicted that video duration would be related to verb complexity, and past tense production would increase when it received the endpoint as input. These predictions were confirmed in a third study with Japanese adults. This work suggests that verb production could be tightly linked to visual heuristics that support the understanding of events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the movement naturalness and coordination of computer animation virtual idol characters, a virtual character interaction control method in virtual rehearsal is analyzed and proposed. Then, an artificial neural network motion controller based on motion capture data is proposed. The motion data are used as a priori information to guide the learning of the virtual character motion controller, and the whole learning process uses a progressive return function. Finally, an artificial neural network motion controller based on motion capture data uses the motion capture data as prior information and constrains the original motion capture data as part of the reward function, thereby limiting the motion pose of the virtual character. The virtual character produces a motion effect consistent with the posture of the original motion data, and the original motion data of different postures are used for experimental analysis. The experimental results show that adding spatiotemporal constraints to the return function can effectively prevent the bad motion posture of virtual characters (half cheetah and hopper) and make their motion more natural. The integration of motion data not only ensures the consistency between synthetic motion and original motion but also accelerates the learning process of network parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blendshape technique is an effective tool in the computer facial animation. Every character requires its own unique blendshapes to cover numerous facial expressions in the Visual Effects industry. Despite outstanding advances in this area, existing techniques still need a professional artist's intuition and complex hardware. In this paper, we propose a framework for customizing blendshapes to capture facial details. The suggested method primarily consists of two stages: Blendshape generation and Blendshape augmentation. In the first stage, localized blendshapes are automatically generated from real-time captured faces with two methods: linear regression and an autoencoder Han (in: IEEE International Conference on Big Data and Smart Computing (BigComp) 2021) (2021). In our experiment, face construction with the former outperforms that of the later method. However, generated blendshapes are slightly missing the source features, especially mouth movements. To overcome this, in the last stage, we extend Han (in: IEEE International Conference on Big Data and Smart Computing (BigComp) 2021), (2021) by adding a blendshape incrementally to minimize erroneous expression transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we present a novel approach to performing engineering simulation in an interactive environment. A synesthetic design approach is employed, which enables the user to gather information about the system's behaviour more holistically, at the same time as facilitating interaction with the simulated system. The system considered in this work is a snake robot moving on a flat surface. The dynamic simulation of the robot's movement is realised in dedicated engineering software, whereas this software exchanges information with the 3D visualisation software and a Virtual Reality (VR) headset. Several simulation scenarios have been presented, comparing the proposed method with standard ways for visualising the robot's motion, such as 2D plots and 3D animations on a computer screen. This illustrates how, in the engineering context, this more immersive experience, allowing the viewer to observe the simulation results and modify the simulation parameters within the VR environment, can facilitate the analysis and design of systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In computer animation, the creation of believable and engaging virtual characters has been a long-lasting endeavour. While researchers investigated several aspects of character design, not many studies focused on the qualities of biological human motion itself. We approached the perception of motion from the perspective of distinct movement patterns which can be observed on people with neurotic and emotionally stable personality traits. We designed an experiment in virtual reality, using a photo-realistic metro scenario, where we studied the avoidance behaviour of participants when encountering these two types of virtual characters in a constrained environment. We also make a contribution by successfully implementing two behavioural measures in particular: a choice task, and a novel 'turning point' metric, which calculates the point in the trajectory when people turned to avoid the character. Our results indicate that users' behaviour is affected by character's motion and we propose the use of these behavioural measures to investigate other aspects of character motion in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars have theorized the use of chance processes in modern art in general, and in computer‐based art in particular, as the expression of an aesthetics of nonintention and authorial abnegation. Although writers of computer‐generated poetry in the United States make extensive use of computer‐based randomization, their creative adventures with computational indeterminacy do not lead them to endorse an aesthetics of nonintention or authorial abnegation. Rather, they cultivate different forms of authorial intentionality and pursue different and often‐conflicting goals. These tensions result from computational indeterminacy's affordances in relation to the different and often‐conflicting cultural currents that inform contemporary US liberal subjectivity. These currents include calls to advance social justice and inclusivity; an emphasis on self‐determination; a willingness to approach technology as an inscrutable, autonomous, and self‐determining form of creative agency; and the celebration of rarefied aesthetic abstraction and experimentation as a form of expressive freedom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graph grammars can be used to model the development of diverse graph families. Since their creation in the late 1960s, graph grammars have found usage in a variety of fields, such as the design of sophisticated computer systems and electronic circuits, as well as visual languages, computer animation, and even the modelling of intricate molecular structures Replacement of edges and nodes are the two primary approaches of graph rewriting. In this paper we introduce a new type of node replacement graph grammar known as nc-eNCE graph grammar. With this new class of graph grammars we generated certain graph classes and we showed that these class of graph grammars are more powerful than the existing edge and node controlled embedding graph grammars. In addition, these graph grammars were used to model several common protein secondary structures such as parallel and anti-parallel β -sheet structures in different configurations. The use of these graph grammars in modelling other bio-chemical structures and their interactions remains to be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this article is to determine the contexts and the methods of information processing related to the terrorist attacks Burkina Faso suffered from in 2021. The corpus includes 5 major reports shot during the year 2021 and shot in areas affected by terrorism. The study shows that different types of illustration images are used in the major studied reports: images shot on the ground, archive images, computer-generated images or animated images. The study reveals the use of the speakers' faces blurring, the modification of the voices of some of the interviewees and the expression under cover of anonymity of interlocutors. However, sterling reportage broadcast propaganda images of terrorist groups and thus creates visibility around the actors of terrorism. The study also underlines that in terms of effects, the broadcasting of sterling reportage has modified the agenda of the Minister in charge of Security (support visit to the populations in Solhan), the Procureur du Faso in Mangodara (initiation of an investigation about the death of a Homeland Defense Volunteer (VDP) and individuals (Contribution to the war effort and the care for the wounded VDPs). In terms of the social responsibility of the journalist, the study highlights the practice of self-censorship by journalists and the censorship body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most realtime human pose estimation approaches are based on detecting joint positions. Using the detected joint positions, the yaw and pitch of the limbs can be computed. However, the roll along the limb, which is critical for application such as sports analysis and computer animation, cannot be computed as this axis of rotation remains unobserved. In this paper we therefore introduce orientation keypoints, a novel approach for estimating the full position and rotation of skeletal joints, using only single-frame RGB images. Inspired by how motion-capture systems use a set of point markers to estimate full bone rotations, our method uses virtual markers to generate sufficient information to accurately infer rotations with simple post processing. The rotation predictions improve upon the best reported mean error for joint angles by 48% and achieves 93% accuracy across 15 bone rotations. The method also improves the current state-of-the-art results for joint positions by 14% as measured by MPJPE on the principle dataset, and generalizes well to in-the-wild datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most realtime human pose estimation approaches are based on detecting joint positions. Using the detected joint positions, the yaw and pitch of the limbs can be computed. However, the roll along the limb, which is critical for application such as sports analysis and computer animation, cannot be computed as this axis of rotation remains unobserved. In this paper we therefore introduce orientation keypoints, a novel approach for estimating the full position and rotation of skeletal joints, using only single-frame RGB images. Inspired by how motion-capture systems use a set of point markers to estimate full bone rotations, our method uses virtual markers to generate sufficient information to accurately infer rotations with simple post processing. The rotation predictions improve upon the best reported mean error for joint angles by 48% and achieves 93% accuracy across 15 bone rotations. The method also improves the current state-of-the-art results for joint positions by 14% as measured by MPJPE on the principle dataset, and generalizes well to in-the-wild datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of computer animation games, now many animation games use the automatic generation of animation game levels method to generate animation game content. Using the automatic generation levels of the animation game method can quickly generate many different levels, saving labor costs in manual production. And with the combination of other fields, more accurate results can be obtained. In this paper, the goal is to automatically generate the level of the animation game. This research proposed animation game objects and victory conditions to derive the concept of the clearance path and uses artificial intelligence genetic algorithms to obtain the clearance path that best meets the needs of the developer to recombine new levels. In addition, since the generated levels are regenerated from the clearance path, there are still too many blank areas. In order to make full use of these blank areas, this research provides a level complete system. The system has formulated its placement rules for existing animation game objects. These rules fill in these blank areas and produce a more complete level. The contributions of this search proved that the genetic algorithm can converge quickly due to the correction effect in the mutation. In the complete system, it has successfully achieved a complete and playable level. In the system running time, this research adjusted the method of selecting elites and the use of permutations and combinations to mate, so that the system's operation can be stabilized on an average value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that human infants address the challenges of optimizing, recognizing, and interpreting collaborative behaviors by assessing their collective efficiency. This hypothesis was tested by using a looking-time study. Fourteen-month-olds (N = 32) were familiarized with agents performing a collaborative action in computer animations. During the test phase, the looking times were measured while the agents acted with various efficiency parameters. In the critical condition, the agents' actions were individually efficient, but their combination was either collectively efficient or inefficient. Infants looked longer at test events that violated expectations of collective efficiency (p =.006, d = 0.79). Thus, preverbal infants apply expectations of collective efficiency to actions involving multiple agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keyframe extraction is a widely applied remedy for issues faced with 3D motion capture -based computer animation. In this paper, we propose a novel keyframe extraction method, where the motion is represented in linear rotation invariant coordinates and the dimensions covering 95% of the data are automatically selected using principal component analysis. Then, by K-means classification, the summarized data is clustered and a keyframe is extracted from each cluster based on cosine similarity. To validate the method, an online user study was conducted. The results of the user study show that 45% of the participants preferred the keyframes extracted using the proposed method, outperforming the alternative by 6%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is presented on challenges and problems on adopting the metaverse for learning environments means more use of deep learning artificial intelligence (AI). Topics include popular metaverse games such as Roblox and Minecraft allow users to build artefacts and create environments to share and experience with players; and potential metaverse offers a grander model of a computer-generated universe than virtual reality with several supporting technologies such as blockchain and AI.

In the computer group animation creation technology, the artificial life method of computer animation overcomes the defects of traditional animation creation technology and greatly improves the animation creation efficiency. However, due to the increasing complexity of the animation character modeling technology used in this method, the coupling degree between the models of the animation system is also increasing, which makes the animation creation increasingly difficult. Especially, when the number of characters' increases, the computation will increase rapidly in a nonlinear way, which greatly affects the real-time animation creation and limits the wide application of this method. In this paper, we have conducted an in-depth study and implementation of the design of the animation character model and its implementation technology, analyzed and designed the group animation character model, and designed the space separation perception algorithm to effectively reduce the design difficulty of the character biomechanical model, reduce the amount of computation, and further ensure the real time of large-scale group animation creation. Therefore, the research reduces the coupling between animation system models without reducing the animation effect and real-time performance. It reduces the amount of computer operation, meets the real-time requirements of large-scale group animation creation, and has important significance and value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the improvement of people's living standards, people's pursuit of clothing is becoming more and more diverse. As the main way to shape the external curve of the human body and reflect the texture of clothing materials, pleating technology is widely used in clothing. Different wrinkle expression techniques can often be seen in garment production and press conferences. Many designers are inseparable from the use of folding technology in their creation. The decoration of clothing is also constantly enriched. Diversified and multitype fabrics will bring great differences and influence to clothing and even affect the trend. Based on the computer animation technology, through the analysis of the principle of three-dimensional folds, this paper explores the formation of geometric patterns from two-dimensional plane fabric laying to three-dimensional, mainly through the techniques of pleating, kneading, lattice pleating, and pleating, so as to knead, stack or stack the fabrics orderly or randomly and naturally. The folded intersection area and nonfolded area are formed to form the basis of three-dimensional geometric folds. The simulation results show that the computer animation technology can effectively support the three-dimensional fold garment pattern design, select different materials for regional folding, present obvious three-dimensional geometric pattern folds, understand the expression forms of folds, and explain the application of folds in garment design, so as to provide some reference for fold garment design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors investigate how teaching art and astronomy together has the potential to inspire new art forms, enhance scientific public outreach, and promote art and science education. The authors teach an astroanimation class at the Maryland Institute College of Art in partnership with NASA scientists. The animations explore science in creative ways. Astrophysicists, educators, students, and the general public were surveyed to evaluate the experiences and benefits from this project. The responses were very positive—the program is an effective way to stimulate art students to learn science, share an artist's viewpoint beyond the classroom, and engage with the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the question of whether the Jacobi preconditioner can be made to run faster by including a few additional outlying diagonals, for the case of mesh-based implicit clothing simulation. For the given N × N block system matrix A , we investigate two regularly striped (RS) preconditioners: (1) 3-RS which has two symmetric outlying diagonals with offset N 2 from the main diagonal and (2) 5-RS which has four symmetric outlying diagonals with offsets N 3 and 2 N 3 from the main diagonal. This paper finds that both 3- and 5-RS preconditioners are consistently superior to the Jacobi preconditioner in the performance. Based on the loop iteration count and time measurement, we finally recommend 5-RS rather than 3-RS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"The Disney Animation Renaissance: Behind the Glass at the Florida Studio" by Mary E. Lescher explores the intersection of Disney Studies and the theme park industry during the Eisner Era. The book focuses on the Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida studio from 1989 to 2004, examining major productions like The Lion King and the art and culture of the Disney Renaissance. Lescher also discusses the frictions between the parks and animators, as well as the development of the attraction "The Magic of Disney Animation." The book offers insights into the operations of the studio and its role in Disney's branding strategies, making it a valuable resource for Disney scholars and fans. [Extracted from the article]

Simple Summary: Films offer a rare opportunity to share messages with a wide audience, although the messages provided can have negative effects on animal conservation, such as direct negative effects on animal welfare, increased illegal trade, and negative percepts among the public. Here we aim to understand how the medium used in film can impact the films gross profit worldwide and film critic consensus scores using 101 English-speaking films that portrayed any primate that debuted between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2019. We found that films with computer-generated imagery (CGI) primates were more likely to have higher profits and critic scores. We suggest that the use of the CGI medium can positively impact the general public perception of primates, and this has the potential to create positive implications for conservation. For over 100 years, non-human primates (primates) have been a part of the now hundred-billion-dollar global film industry in a variety of capacities. Their use in the film industry is of concern due to the negative welfare effects on individuals, the potential for increased pet trade, and the conservation impacts of public perception. While the effects on human perception of using live primates in film have been studied, little research has been performed on their appearance in animation and none in computer-generated imagery (CGI). We aimed to investigate how the portrayal of primates varied between depiction medium types and how this related to the films' performance with critics and in the box office. We observed 151 primates in 101 different English-speaking films that debuted between 2000 and 2019. For each appearance we recorded aspects of primate portrayals based on accuracy, anthropomorphism, environment, and agency displayed, along with the depiction medium. We used structural equation models to depict the highest likelihood of the portrayal aspects on the medium's relationship to the films gross profit worldwide and film critic consensus scores. We found that over the 20-year time frame, use of live primates has decreased, CGI has increased, and animations have remained relatively steady. While animation had no significant relationship to gross profit or critic consensus, both were significantly lower for films that used live primates and were significantly higher for films that used CGI primates. Due to the steady increase in the use of the CGI medium and its positive relationship with gross profit and critic consensus, it could have great effects on people's perceptions of primates and implications for conservation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motion capturing is used to record the natural movements of humans for a particular task. The motions recorded are extensively used to produce animation characters with natural movements and for virtual reality (VR) devices. The raw captured motion signals, however, contain noises introduced during the capturing process. Therefore, the signals should be effectively processed before they can be applied to animation characters. In this study, we analyzed several common methods used for smoothing signals. The smoothed signals were then compared based on the smoothness metrics defined. It was concluded that the filtering based on the B-spline-based least square method could achieve high-quality outputs with predetermined continuity and minimal parameter adjustments for a variety of motion signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The counterfactual thinking cannot be only developed in early childhood, but it also could be a requirement for the causal reasoning. In this research a replica of German (1999) was made using counterfactual stories with Latin American kids between three and four years, demonstrating the possible main role counterfactual reasoning, by using computer animations. This was a different approach to the most recent made by Nyhout and Ganea (2020). Nonetheless, the participants of the study evidenced counterfactual reasoning to the relevant choice and the negative consequence conditions shown on the stories that represented the choices made by a starting role (McNemar, N = 40, k = 11.53, p =.001). Although some of the results were not totally conclusive under the analyzed conditions. Lastly, some possible not controlled effects are discussed from stories shown to the children, that could have motivated the counterfactual thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents visual effects and their importance in the creation of visual media and film industry. After defining the field and the term visual effects, the reader is introduced to the techniques and approaches used to create visual effects, i.e., computer-generated Imagery, 3D computer graphics, motion capture, matchmoving, chroma key, rotoscoping, matte painting, and digital compositing. This is followed by a presentation of the history of visual effects from its beginnings to the digital age, taking in the most successful examples of film production such as Terminator, Toy Story, The Matrix, and Star Wars. As an example of the most representative production, the paper includes a more detailed description of the techniques, methods, and approaches used in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, focusing on the creation of the visual appearance of the Gollum character, his movement, and facial expressions, the creation of crowds with autonomous agents and the introduction of digital duplicates. The review concludes with an overview of trends for the future of the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animating human face presents interesting challenges because of its familiarity as the face is the part utilized to recognize individuals. This paper reviewed the approaches used in facial modeling and animation and described their strengths and weaknesses. Realistic face animation of computer graphic models of human faces can be hard to achieve as a result of the many details that should be approximated in producing realistic facial expressions. Many methods have been researched to create more and more accurate animations that can efficiently represent human faces. We described the techniques that have been utilized to produce realistic facial animation. In this survey, we roughly categorized the facial modeling and animation approach into the following classes: blendshape or shape interpolation, parameterizations, facial action coding system-based approaches, moving pictures experts group-4 facial animation, physics-based muscle modeling, performance driven facial animation, visual speech animation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Squids can rapidly change their body color using chromatophores that are controlled by electrical signals transmitted through nerves. The authors transform a squid's skin into an audio visualizer called Chromatophony. This is accomplished by sending an electric tone signal composed as music to the skin. Although Chromatophony's appearance is similar to that of computer-generated images, it is based on a natural phenomenon with a colorful mosaic display. By comparing chromatophores with pixels, the authors propose Living Images to expand the potential of visual expression from the perspective of bioart theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]