Samantha Boscarino

Brittany Snow

Hilary Duff

Emily Osment

Vanessa Hudgens

Amanda Seyfried

Chelsea Kane

Playing Dog Animation

How conventional 2D animation works:

Before computers started playing their indispensible roles in the animation industry, everything was done manually by animators, who were essentially artists. They would create a series of slides having images on it, where each slides image is the continuation of the previous one in the sequence. For example if an animator wanted to simulate a ball falling down, they would create a sequence of slides where first slide would portray the ball at the top. The next slide will show the ball, may be 1 cm lower than that in the first slide. In the next one, again lower and so on, till the last slide shows the ball hitting the ground. When the whole sequence of slides are shown in front of the viewer in a fast rate, it creates the feeling of the ball falling down.

The whole process was tedious and time consuming. When computers came into play, the frame redrawing works had been minimised since, copying and pasting duplicate elements between successive frames was very easy with the computers aid. The artist has to make only the necessary changes that should exist between successive frames. As technology advanced, softwares evolved that again minimised the work of a 2d animator, in such a way that several things started getting automated. Using motion tweening and other techniques, an animator can set the initial position or shape of an object and then its final position and shape and the computer would generate the intermediate frames automatically. The artist even has the freedom to make corrections to that.

Cool Boy Animation

Making of Animations

Storyboards preparation is the first document work that conveys the list of task to be done sequentially. Making shapes body, faces, hands, legs, dress up and putting color are sequential steps. You can use some common shape, alphabets for making of face, flower, tree, house etc. Based on the distant of objects you have to draw the sizes of the objects or character. In computer you can repeat a partial drawing using mirror images effects. There are many effects, layer works can be designed for animating objects. Flip Book is a sample that can be used while making animation graphics in computer. You can draw frame by frame graphics and change in each frame like flip book sequential images. You will find a good animation of your drawing object.

Think of some funny sounds that match to your animation object movements or character movements. Funny sounds like laughs, claps, chains clanking, footsteps, doors creaking, whistle, wind, rain, thunder and lightening, barking dog etc. can be collected from libraries and incorporate in specific frames. To be a good funny animator, you need to think about how shapes can change and move with humorous way.

Dancing Animation

Popular Usage of Funny Animation:

In User Interface design in software, web applications and websites, many funny animations are popularly used. The buttons, pop up stuff, comment box, help (like MS word help and search dog) are designed with animations that give a pleasure look at the animation. There are numerous funny animations are used in electronic advertisement on Internet and television media. Advertisers can make funny animation advertisement film without a human model. They can redirect the animation character to any extent. There are many cartoon animation films have been made in Hollywood film industry.

Cat And Dog Animation

Techniques used for Funny Animations:

There are three different techniques types of cartoon animation:

1. Cel Animation cartoons are made on transparent sheets (celluloid) laid on top of each other to combine characters and backgrounds.
2. Stop Motion Animation is model or cartoons or puppet (or shadow) is shot a frame at a time, with tiny changes in positions.
3. Computer animation where computer is used for creating the shapes and colors of animated action, working from a series of mathematical codes, or can be drawn frame by frame cartoons.

Cat Caught Light Animation

Animation is a very special media form. It allows the complete re-presentation of reality. Funny animation attracts attention of viewers to get into the purpose. Website, presentations, product demos, advertisements, public show must have some funny animation stuff to attract the reader or viewers. This is a very easy now with the help of computer, software and tools. Generating animation graphics and making it animated is also funny work. Animation may not be so powerful but widely used and appreciated. Funny animations are popular in computer games, Cartoon channels, blockbuster movies etc. Funny Animation is used to fill in the gaps when reality simply doesn't look real enough.

Funny Animation is the process of linking a series of slightly different funny cartoon drawings together to simulate a movement. There are normally 24 or less frames per second in moving film and it happens similar in animated GIFs you see on websites.

Girl Wig Animation

Computer and Animator

Computer helps the animator for designing graphics, frame settings, color compositions, compilation of files. The computer technology brings the update methods through software that helps the animator putting his enormous ideas.

Circle Animation

Stock animation comes in different formats like animated gifs, flash animation, and composite animation. The gif format, also known as the graphics interchange format, is used for some Web page animation. They can be found in literally thousands of Web sites on the Internet. These animations are considered annoying by some. The next most common form of Web animation is Flash, which is perhaps the most versatile and widely used form of animation as far as the usage. Stock animation for Flash, though expensive, is time saving and makes for excellent creative output. Composite animations are created by combining different animations together to create a single finished animation. They are used in television to a great extent

Game Animation

Animation projects are time consuming and require a lot of creative output. With this being the case, the use of stock animation helps reduce the time and aids in increasing creativity required for completing an animation project. Stock animation is often the start for a project, as far as an animator is considered. Stock animation also goes well with other creative elements. You can now make your own DVD using stock animation. One can use stock animation for backgrounds, making certain sequences more interesting to view.

Fool Animation

Stock animation is one of the more popular forms of animation. Anyone looking for help with a project that needs animation can use stock animation. Stock animation has grown in popularity due to the increasing reach of the Internet and television. Stock animation is used to entertain and present information in an interesting way, so as to sustain viewer interest. In fact, many a company owes its profile presentation to stock animation.

Fight Animation

Animation Awards
The animation has become so widely accepted that at the beginning of the XXI Century (2001), the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences introduced the Oscar for best animated film. The two main rivals for the first year of this award were two CGI films: "Shrek" from DreamWorks and "Monsters Inc." Disney-Pixar. The award was for "Shrek." However, there were complaints that the award seemed to be geared more toward family movies to animated films, "The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius" was the third nominee, not the innovative and critically acclaimed adult film "Waking Life" or visually innovative "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within." Hayao Miyazaki's critically acclaimed "Spirited Away" won in 2002 and the Disney-Pixar film "Finding Nemo" received the award in 2003.
The Annie Awards were presented at the Los Angeles branch of the International Animation Society (Association international du film d'animation or ASIFA), known as ASIFA-Hollywood, the month of February competing animation for film and TV.

Boy Break Wall Animation

Outsourcing animation

The main reason for increasing the quality of American animation is the ability to outsource the heavy lifting to cheaper animation houses in the South and Southeast Asia gaining a large number of frames at low cost. The script, character design and storyboarding is done in American offices. The storyboard, models and color books are mailed abroad. Sometimes causes problems because no final product can be completed until the frames are mailed to the U.S.. Although budgets have been reduced, foreign productions houses are chosen per episode, or even per scene, depending on the amount of money available at that time. As a result there is a big difference in quality from one episode to another. This is particularly evident in shows like "Gargoyles" and "Batman": The Animated Series where, sometimes, the characters seem completely different from one episode to the dismay of its directors.

Hours Animation

Spielberg and Bluth

While Disney gave new life to animation, Steven Spielberg was making his own way. Animation amateur life, Spielberg was also interested in making high quality animation, and worked with his rival, Don Bluth animation producer to produce "Fievel and the New World." The box office success of this and Bluth's next film, "In The Land", Hollywood made him realize that Disney did not hold a monopoly on animated features. The other Hollywood studios resumed production of its own animated features, but still falling into the trap of trying to imitate Disney's 1997 film Don Bluth, "Anastasia", produced by Fox, is mentioned as the one launched the Fox Animation Studios and Disney's rival, however, these studies failed to succeed after "Anastasia" and closed in 1999. Like most successful productions of Disney, "Anastasia" was attended by Thalia, who played the central theme of the soundtrack in its versions in Spanish, English and Portuguese.

Spielberg and Warner Bros.

Spielberg, meanwhile, switched to TV and worked with animation studio Warner Bros. to produce "The Tiny Toon Adventures," a high quality animated series that paid homage to the great cartoons of Termite Terrace. "The Tiny Toon Adventures" had a good rating thanks to its young viewers, which inspired the Warner Bros to resurrect his dying animation studio and once again a contender in the field of animation. The Tiny Toon Steven Spielberg were continued by presenting "Animaniacs" and "Pinky and the Brain". The latter not only attracted new viewers to Warner Bros., but also captured the attention of viewers adolescents and adults.

Mr Bean Animation

Disney's return

In the mid 80's, the American animation industry fell into disgrace. Toy commercials masquerading as entertainment programs cartoons dominated the evening and the morning of Saturday, and the only experiment was carried out by independent developers. Even animated films were projected in theaters at times, but the glory of the old days was gone. Even the animation giant Disney, which had fought a corporate acquisition in the 80's, was considering abandoning the production of animated feature films.

Both the enthusiastic audience, critics, and the animators were taken by surprise when the long-awaited renaissance of animation began in the oldest and most conservative corporation, Disney.

Disney had a drastic change in the 80, its new chief Michael Eisner the company relocated to his feet, returning to its roots and revitalizing their studies. With great fanfare, in 1988 the study worked with Steven Spielberg to produce the animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, directed by Robert Zemeckis. The film was a success, and gave to the animation industry awaited push for that time. Roger Rabbit not only earned him a pile of money for Disney, but also sparked the popularity of the classic animation that continues to this day. The history of animation suddenly became an object of study (and their fans). Several directors, business legend, such as Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng were suddenly in the spotlight, being acclaimed after decades of being virtually ignored by audiences and industry professionals.

Disney continued the success of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? with "The Little Mermaid", the first of a series of animated films that seemed to recapture the magic of the golden age of Walt Disney himself. The studio invested heavily in new technology of computer animation for such purposes, but could do super-productions like "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin," which attracted audiences that were not seen in decades, and Once provided a visual feast that has not been exceeded since the 40. The peak of the hit Disney was in 1994 when his film "The Lion King" exceeded all expectations of the study to become one of the most successful of all time. Even later Disney films as "Pocahontas," "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", "Hercules," "Mulan" and "Tarzan" was blockbusters.

Disney has also made inroads into the neglected area of the animated TV series. With the success of shows like "The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh", "The Adventures of the Gummi Bears Disney" and "Duck adventures", the "new" Disney made his mark in TV pictures. Through association and repetition, Disney can provide high quality animation for TV. A series of large diffusion was conducted in mid-nineties, with some critics designating "Gargoyles" as the Disney animation project for TV's most ambitious and best done artistically. The soundtracks of each of these animated films were an important part of its success, because Disney was including in each of these projects a loud voice from the world of music, such as Elton John (The Lion King), Luis Miguel (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), Ricky Martin (Hercules), Christina Aguilera (Mulan), Celine Dion (Beauty and the Beast), Ricardo Montaner (Aladin), Jon Secada (Pocahontas), among others.

Child Crying Animation

In the past, many companies were quoting animations based on a dollar per second rate for finished footage and there appears to be a trend away from this method of pricing. Part of the reason is that the amount of work involved in producing one second of animation can vary enormously depending on what is required and the level of realism. The advances in computer visualization technology available today are mainly responsible for the widening gap between what was possible and what is possible today.

The best thing one can do is educate themselves on what parts of the animation process are the most time intensive and where they can expect to pay the most (or least) for the requirements.

Below is a breakdown of several cost factors that are "tangible". As with any outsourced service, you also pay for reputation, experience and overhead costs, but these are more difficult to quantify. The greatest cost in a forensic animation is the number of man-hours required to prepare, assemble, edit and finalize the animation. Since vehicle collisions are the most common forensic animations, most of the examples used below will reflect this particular example, however, the process and cost factors are more or less the same regardless if the animation being produced is of a crime scene, personal injury case, or medical procedure.

1. Information Gathering and Preparation

During the initial stages of a forensic animation, it is imperative that the animator be brought up to speed on the details of the case. This often means that all photos, video, drawings and reports must be provided to the animator and they must subsequently go through all the materials of the case. Initially, it is helpful to bring the animator into the initial discussions about the trial strategy and what is the objective of the animation. Further, it is useful to have the animator contact the accident Reconstructionist as applicable to go over details of the accident report and if there will be any transfer of other data such as a digital site survey or simulation data.

Where applicable, the animator may be required to travel to the location of where an accident or crime may have occurred. This is to obtain subsequent images and information that may not have been obtained or was not available in the existing scene materials or reports.

2. 3D Models - Recreating the scene assets.

Normally, it is very rare that a forensic animator can reuse the main 3D models in a scene. In the case of an automobile collision, there could be some "standard" 3D models reused such as a stop sign, traffic lights or electrical poles, but there are often times when even these smaller objects must also be built from scratch in order to obtain the highest level of realism.

There are typically three types of 3D models in a forensics animation. These are classified by their level of importance, accuracy and necessary level of detail. Primary objects are those that are directly involved in the animation. Think of them as your primary characters. Secondary objects are those which may not be directly involved, but their movement or relative position plays some part in making the animation accurate or credible. Tertiary objects are those which are strictly for the benefit of visualization and do not play a direct role in the animation. An example could be a tree off in the distance which would not affect the animation if it were removed except for the level of realism.

Creating accurate and realistic primary 3D models is still a time intensive task which has not changed very much over the years. The quality of the models and options associated with the level of realism are greater and therefore, there is an equivalent amount of time required to create the models. Where possible, it may be possible to purchase an existing 3D model and tailor it to suit the needs of the animation. This should only be done when the accuracy of the model is not a requirement and it may be a secondary or tertiary object in the scene.

In the case of a vehicle collision, the ground terrain is a good example of a large scale model which is required to be accurate and a true likeness of the actually area where the collision occurred.

Often, modeling may come from other sources such as CAD files, 3d scanning or photogrammetry. In each case, the model normally requires subsequent work to get the correct look or to adjust the surface topology of the object.

3. Mapping - Preparing and adjusting images

Although this could be classified as part of modeling, it is in fact a separate part of the 3D modeling process which involves the use of photo imaging software. If you were to consider a simple example of a stop sign, there is the geometrical portion of the model and there is the "textured" or "mapped" portion of the object. The red colour of the sign with the letters S-T-O-P is normally not modeled but need to be mapped. Mapping can be accomplished by taking an existing photo of the stop sign and extracting only the portion of the image that relates to the sign itself and not the background. In some cases, photos need not be used at all and the entire image map of the stop sign could be made with a program like Photoshop.

Since photos are often taken at various angles and depth of fields, the image needs to be rectified (i.e. any depth removed such that the image becomes orthographic or "flat") so that it can be pasted like a sticker onto the model.

However, in each case, there is a considerable amount of time committed to the process of editing photo images to extract usable maps for models and the more accurate, and realistic one wants their models to look, the more it will cost.

4. Assembling the Scene

Once all the scene objects have been created, there comes the task of assembling them accurately in the scene. Since accuracy is the single most differentiating point between any animation and a forensic animation, there is a considerable emphasis on the placement of objects and positioning of all the scene elements. In some cases, there are automated utilities to help the animator reduce the amount of time to place objects, but unfortunately, since each forensic animation is different, this is normally done through manual means. Hence, if there are many objects to be accurately placed in a scene, the amount of labour involved increases.

5. Animating the Scene

There are two ways to animate a scene. One is through the import of simulation data and the other is through keyframing. Keyframing is a manual technique where an object is fixed at a certain location at a certain time of the animation. At each point in the animation where the object is "fixed", this is called a keyframe. The 3D animation software interpolates between keyframes to distribute the motion.

A complex scene involving 5 or 6 vehicles would be more involved than a simple animation of 2 vehicles crashing since there are many more vehicles and positions to keep track of. Since there are many clients who request different collision scenarios, there may be several iterations or versions of the animation.

6. Lighting and Special Effects

Once the entire scene has been animated, this is normally the time to adjust the lighting and prepare any effects which might be required in the animation. When trying to replicate the exact lighting of a scene based on reference photos it can often be very difficult to achieve. Consider the range of lighting and weather conditions such as fog, rain, snow or night scenes.

When appropriate, it may be necessary to show breaking glass or skid marks. Creating accurate looking effects is a time consuming process. Normally, it is difficult to quantify something as "accurate" unless it is verified by an expert. For this reason, there could be several iterations of the lighting and special effects in order to match the expert's report/testimony.

7. Rendering

The act of rendering is how the 3D animation software converts the entire scene into a set of images which run (typically) at 30 frames per second. Depending on the complexity of the scene (i.e. complexity of items 1-6 above), a computer can render a single image at anywhere from a few seconds to an hour or more for each frame. Considering that a 1 minute animation has 1,800 frames, the time involved can be as little as 5 hours to 60 hours on a single computer.

Additionally, if there are 5 or 6 different views to be rendered and not taking any edits into account, the rendering portion can take a considerable amount of time.

Fortunately, many animators make use of either render farms (i.e. network of computers strung together that divide the work of rendering) or invest in high powered workstations. There are firms which specialize in providing rendering resources to animators and when a quick turnaround is required, this is an additional expense which is normally translated to the client.

Normally, rendering only makes up less than ten percent of the total cost of an animation. The actual time is dependent on the type of hardware used and this is part of the reason why companies have been moving away from quoting animations based on their length or dollar per second of completed footage.

8. Video Editing and Final Packaging

As the animation approaches the final stages of completion, the last few steps are the editing and compositing of the animation. The addition of any text, title screens, overlaying images and making any adjustments to the colour take additional time which is normally associated with how the animation is to be packaged and presented.

Most people today are finding that downloads and CD's are quite useful for viewing on a computer, however, if a client requests a self running DVD with menus and sound then this is obviously another involved step.

9. Changes and Edits

One of the most overlooked parts of creating a quality animation and avoiding constant changes is to ensure that clear objectives are understood by all parties up front.

Changing the animation half way through a project can substantially affect the total cost and may delay the delivery considerably. Knowing exactly what needs to be shown and limiting the number of edits keeps things on track and limits the risk of cost overruns.

The basic rule of thumb for the cost of a forensic animation is that as the level of detail, realism, accuracy and number of scenarios increases , so does the cost. A complex animation with many details means more preparation, production and verification hours for the animator.

A forensic animation can range widely from $3,000 to $30,000 depending on each of the factors explained above. There are no hard rules to pin down the price of an animation since each one is "custom built".

Be sure to get a clear idea of the costs by providing the initial case information to the animator. Most reputable forensic animators will supply an initial consultation at no cost in order to provide an accurate quotation or to tell you if an animation is even feasible. Also, ensure that clear objectives are set prior to embarking on a forensic animation. This will avoid unnecessary changes, increased cost and will keep projects on track.

Boy Jump In Car Animation

In this article I will explain in simple terms, what goes behind the 3D animation that you watch in movies and what makes it different from conventional two dimensional animation.

What is that extra 3rd dimension? 

Take a piece of paper and sketch a simple figure on it (a cat, a dog or anything that comes to your head). Lets say it is a cat and it is facing you from that sheet of paper. So you have the front view of the cat in front of you. Suppose if you feel that you want to see the cat from a side, will it help if you rotate the paper or flip it? No. Why? It is simply because the sketch you have drawn has the 3rd dimension missing.

Every real world object that you see around has a 3rd dimension and that is the reason why you can take it and rotate it to watch it from different angles. The sketch you have drawn had a length and a width, since the paper you used to draw also had a length and a width. But it lacks a thickness (3rd dimension) and hence your sketch also didnt have that extra dimension.

Suppose instead of sketching your imagination down on the piece of paper, you decided to sculpt it on a handful of clay. Since the medium you used (clay) had volume, you had to define the cats shape from all angles during the sculpting. Hence you unknowingly added that 3rd dimension to it and that is the reason you have the freedom to rotate it any way you want.

How conventional 2D animation works:

Before computers started playing their indispensible roles in the animation industry, everything was done manually by animators, who were essentially artists. They would create a series of slides having images on it, where each slides image is the continuation of the previous one in the sequence. For example if an animator wanted to simulate a ball falling down, they would create a sequence of slides where first slide would portray the ball at the top. The next slide will show the ball, may be 1 cm lower than that in the first slide. In the next one, again lower and so on, till the last slide shows the ball hitting the ground. When the whole sequence of slides are shown in front of the viewer in a fast rate, it creates the feeling of the ball falling down.

The whole process was tedious and time consuming. When computers came into play, the frame redrawing works had been minimised since, copying and pasting duplicate elements between successive frames was very easy with the computers aid. The artist has to make only the necessary changes that should exist between successive frames. As technology advanced, softwares evolved that again minimised the work of a 2d animator, in such a way that several things started getting automated. Using motion tweening and other techniques, an animator can set the initial position or shape of an object and then its final position and shape and the computer would generate the intermediate frames automatically. The artist even has the freedom to make corrections to that.

What was missing in 2D animation?

The 2D animation always lacked the essence, since all the real-world sceneries and objects are 3D and when they gets transformed to 2D, they lose their reality. Later stage cartoons started to simulate the 3D effect by using gradients, and varying highlights, but it required huge extra effort from the part of the artist.

How 3D Graphics works:

The stages in 3D animation are more in number compared to the 2D animation. The first part of 3D animation starts with character sketching and 3D modeling. In the next stage the characters are rigged for animation. In the next stage they are animated. This is in fact a too compact form of what happens in the background. Lets see each of them in a little detail.

· Character sketching: This is the stage where an artist sketches how the character should look from various angles. Usually the sketch will be done on paper or canvas. As many variations in poses are created so that it would help the 3D Modeler to sculpt a 3D Model out of it.

· Character Modeling: A 3D artist, who is expertised in a 3D modeling and animating tool, will examine the sketches and starts sculpting the figure using his imagination and skill. I used the word sculpting because the process is much similar to the real sculpting we do with raw materials like clay. The software tool that the artist uses provides various approaches to perform the modeling. Usually organic modeling techniques like Polygonal Modeling (a polygon is subdivided to get the desired shape), NURBS modeling (curves are arranged to create a surface flowing through them), Subdivisional Modeling (A hybrid blend between polygonal modeling and NURBS modeling) are used. In these modeling techniques, the 3D modeling artist will sculpt out the characters shape in 3D using a set of tools provided by the 3D modeling software, by following any of the above mentioned approaches.

The 3D Model obtained finally will be in an editable form and the model will be dependent on the approach used. For example a NURBS technique will yield a 3D Model in the NURBS representation (curves and surfaces). Once the modeling is complete, the artist converts it into the basic polygonal mesh (vertices alone). The polygonal mesh is nothing but a huge number of polygons that are arranged so as it forms the whole character. This conversion to polygonal mesh offers many advantages like faster rendering speed, and multi-software compatibility.

· Scene building: In addition to the characters the animation will have an environment and related objects. The 3D modeling software provides methods to simulate the environment, model the world , sun etc. For example in the 3d modeling and animation software called Maya, the artist have a huge library of Paint effects that contains Trees, leaves etc from which he can drag and drop into a scene and customize it in accordance to needs.

· Texturing: During this stage, all the objects in the scene are given suitable textures using the 3D animation tools specific facilities. Some tools provide only facilities for mapping an image texture on to the 3d model, whereas advanced tools even let you paint on the 3d meshs texture surface.

· Lighting and Camera setup:

This process is much like that in a real world movie making. The 3D animation software provides different types of lights which you can place in the scene in any direction you want. You can adjust the intensity, cone angle or even the shadow cast by the individual lights. Camera also is the replica of the real camera we use for shooting. We can place multiple cameras in a scene; adjust its focal length, aperture size and almost every parameter that you can find in a real camera.

· Animation: Once the static elements have been set, the 3D artist applies motion to them. This process, called animation is performed by setting keyframes. In order to animate a ball falling, the animator would set the first key frame at say 0th second with the balls position at the initial top position. He would set the next key at say 5th second with the balls position touching the ground. The 3D animation software interpolates the balls falling action between the 0th and 5th seconds. The animator can customize the interpolation behavior using graphs or by setting intermediate keys.

In Character animation, similar principles are applied. The skeleton will be animated by the animator and the 3d mesh skinned to the skeleton gets animated automatically. Character animation is often aided by plug-in tools (e.g.: biped) that has been created specifically for creating character animation sequences like walking or running cycles. The various scene elements, cameras and lights are animated using basic key-frame animation, based on the story board requirements.

· Rendering:

Once the scenes are animated, it will undergo a process called rendering, in which the 3d representation is converted to a video format, which can be read and edited using professional video editing software.

· Editing and mixing:

The rendered scenes are imported into video editing software and edited. In the case of movies where the human characters need to interact with an animated character, proper mixing is done at this stage, though the 3D scene creation would have been done with that aim in mind, using techniques like motion tracking.

The advantages of 3D animation:

You might have wondered why we should go after the 3D animation, when the whole process itself takes a number of stages and appears to be very complex. Apart from the complexities involved, it does offer a lot of advantages. Once the modeling process is completed, the 3D software allows very flexible control over the scene and animation. You can rotate the model in any angle you want (unlike 2D). 3D animation software also gives a rich collection of tools that aid the process of modeling and animation. You can choose from a wide variety of modeling techniques based on your requirement. Lighting and camera setup is the exact replica of a real world movie shooting environment. Apart from all these, the ultra realism offered by the 3D rendered scenes makes 3D graphics the best solution for the emerging animation industry.

Dog Watch Television animation

There seems to be many preconceived notions about forensic animations and their overall use in litigation. Many times, lawyers or accident reconstructionists will say that "An animation can show whatever the animator wants" or "Animations are difficult to admit in a court of law". However, to a forensic animator, this is also like saying, that your accountant can "fix your books". In reality, it is far from the truth.
Misconception #1 - "An animation can show whatever the animator wants"
Perhaps it is the fact that so much of what we see on television and in films is altered with lifelike special effects that we tend to associate anything with 3D visualization with more than a hint of skepticism. Ironically, much of the same software used to animate films such as "Spiderman" or "Lord of the rings" is also less known to be used in scientific visualization, research and forensic animations. People may associate the fact that an experienced special effects animator is capable of creating surreal, yet realistic looking effects. Therefore, it must not be accurate.
The greatest difference between a forensic animation and just any other type of animation is the "forensic" part. This implies that there is a large effort in understanding the details of what is being animated and that there is a large emphasis ensuring a high level of accuracy. An animator can spend more than 70% of his time on activities related to the verification of data and ensuring accuracy in the animation.
An experienced and qualified forensic animator would tell you that a large effort goes into building and checking each step of the animation process to the correct and accurate dimensions. In fact, very little is left to the imagination since most recreations are based on accurate data typically provided by the expert witness. A simple example is the terrain data of a particular scene. This can be obtained by means of a total station along with the positions of important features such as signs, traffic lights, debris or tire marks on the roadway.
Even the animation and motion of objects in a 3D recreation is typically based on information or data provided by the expert witness. This data is often obtained through careful calculations or through the use of simulation software. In the case of simulation software, the data can be directly converted or imported directly into the 3D animation software, leaving little room for error.
There may be cases where the forensic animator is provided with less than ideal information, however, even in these rare instances, an experienced forensic animator will have enough knowledge to ensure that the basic rules of geometry and physics (i.e. motion) are applied and adhered to.
Misconception #2 - "Animations are difficult to admit in a court of law"
Somewhere along the way, there have been animations which were so poorly constructed or erroneous they simply could not have been allowed in court. It would seem that these cases tend to stick in the minds of litigators and cause reluctance for future use of what is a perfectly acceptable and effective use of technology.
Normally, it is an inexperienced animator or lawyer which does not follow some of the basic rules of demonstrative evidence.
Some key points to consider when considering a forensic animation are:
1. The animation needs to support the testimony of the expert witness and should be considered an extension of the witness' report. The expert witness should be directly involved in authenticating and reviewing the animation.
2. Disclose the animation well in advance of the trial date. Evidence needs to be disclosed in a timely manner and the opponent requires time to cross examine the evidence.
3. The animation fairly and accurately conveys the data or matter that it purports to convey or depict. The animation should not be prejudicial in that it outweighs the probative value.
4. The animation should be relevant.
5. The forensic animator should be prepared to testify that the works created are based on sound technology, process and algorithms such that the final works are a reflection of the expert witness' opinion.
There are, of course, many other factors to consider which may be case dependant. Further materials and references are available for review including a paper entitled "The Admissibility of Demonstrative Evidence in Jury Trials:" Written by Barbara Legate of Legate and Associates and available at the AI2 forums (www.ai2-3d.com/Forums).
Today, most forensic animations are admitted into court since there are greater considerations and groundwork taken into account to ensure the accuracy, validity and quality of the animations. By choosing an experienced forensic animator and by adhering to the rules of demonstrative evidence, the risks associated with inadmissibility are greatly reduced.
Misconception #3 - "Animation and Simulation are the same thing"
There are two distinct ways to develop an animation and although the end result may try to achieve the same thing, they are fundamentally different in the means by which they are created.
A simulation is typically the output of a program which is operated by a qualified accident reconstructionist. The program has a set of key behaviours (i.e. mathematical equations) which define the movement of objects when given a set of known parameters. It is up to the accident reconstructionist to define all the input variables and ensure they are accurate. Once this is complete, the program is initiated to calculate all the positions of objects through some specific time.
The simulation software may also output the motion of objects in the form of exportable tabularized data and/or animation. However, most manufacturers of simulation based software programs have not been able to achieve the same level of realism as most animators are able to do with 3D visualization software. There may be a number of reasons to this which deal with further complicating already complex software or that perhaps the time spent on development is in the mathematics behind the simulation software and not primarily in the visualization or presentation of the data.
Another important issue which is common with simulation software is the validity of the data available. The old saying "garbage in, garbage out" is applicable. Since a simulation would typically be used as substantive evidence, it can get difficult to prove something is accurate without having solid data to back the animation up.
Animation
Demonstrative Evidence - illustrates how something works or how something happened based on the testimony of the expert or eye witness. The animator, not the software is responsible for accurately moving and positioning objects over time.
Does not try to prove anything, but just facilitates the account or testimony of a witness.
Simulation
Substantive Evidence - Takes actual dynamics and physics into account. The objects are not animated by "hand", but by software based on calculated inputs or data.
Tries to prove that something may have occurred a certain way.
Visually, an animation is more eye catching and realistic.
Simulations are improving in their presentation, but are still lacking realism.
On the other hand, an animation may be based on an eye witness testimony, calculations of the accident reconstructionist or from data output by a simulation package. All the events of an animation in a typical 3D visualization package are calculated and setup by the animator. Animations are almost always disclosed as demonstrative evidence and they do not try to "prove" anything. They are merely another form of expressing the opinion of the expert witness and are always presented as demonstrative evidence.
Misconception #4 - "We need it yesterday".
There have been many advances in the technology that forensic animators use which has improved the speed and efficiency of their work. Computer processing speeds have grown exponentially and the advances in software have allowed animators to do things which were simply not possible several years ago. There are even tools provided to animators which allow them to write custom scripts for repetitive tasks and specialized functions.
These advances in speed and ability would make one think that the time to complete an animation should also have been greatly reduced; however, this is not the case.
Part of this reason is simply the nature of the animation process. Much work needs to go into the understanding of the case, reading reports, taking measurements and verifying accuracy. This part alone can take a large part of the man-hours to create the animation.
Also, creating the 3D models ("scene assets") necessary to populate the animation is still a time consuming process. There are some advantages when a "library" of standard models is used (i.e. stop signs, light poles, traffic signs), however since each case is different and the specific details need to be reflected in the animation (such as the scene topography or specific damage to the vehicle), time must be spent to customize or create models from scratch.
Technology has effectively brought many more options to the realm of visualization which means that more work is being done in a similar amount of time. If one were to compare the time to produce an animation which was done 15 years ago to the same animation done today, there would be a noticeable decrease in the time to complete. However, the overall quality of presentation would certainly not be as appealing to the eye.
Due to media such as television and film and video games, people have become accustomed to a higher level of realism. The same animation which was used 15 years ago in a court of law, may not be as appealing or credible to an audience today.
It is important to leave as much time as possible to get a high quality animation and to allow time for the opponents to cross examine the animation. On average, a typical animation from a reputable forensic animator requires anywhere from a few weeks to months to complete depending on the availability of information, number of scenarios/views requested, level of realism and complexity of the animation. Unfortunately, there are still no "magic buttons" to do the manual work of a forensic animator.
Misconception #5 - "It's much too expensive"
Perhaps the most important piece of advice is to use a reputable and experienced forensic animator. There are some animation houses which specialize in advertizing or graphics which like to take on forensic work, but without a qualified and experienced forensic animator, there is a higher risk that the entire animation may be inadmissible.
A qualified forensic animator will bring to light all the options available, provide sound advice and set clear objectives up front. Setting clear objectives is possibly one of the most overlooked points. Without knowing the expectations, the goals of the animation are often missed or not well communicated resulting in last minute changes and edits which further increase the cost.
It is important the lawyers and accident reconstructionists understand the animation process and where the amount of man-hours are typically invested. Most forensic animators estimate or charge based on an hourly rate; however there are some which still prefer to quote by the case/project.
The general rule of thumb is that as the level of realism, complexity, number of scenarios and camera views increases, then so does the cost. This is why it is important to understand what is being requested of an animator. For example, changing a camera view slightly has a smaller impact on cost than does adding different animation scenarios with objects in different locations.
By taking a second look at forensic animations and their misconceptions, it is clear that there needs to be some understanding of the animating process by the client. Having an up front and open discussion about the objectives of the animation are imperative to having a positive impact on the case.
Drawing on the experience of a professional forensic animator who can explain the options available to a client and can discuss their associated costs removes the risk of falling short of the goals and ensures animations will be admissible in court.

Eugene Liscio is the owner of AI2- 3D Animations which specializes in forensic animations for litigation support. AI2 actively promotes the use of Forensic Animations, 3D Virtual Models, photogrammetry and other visual strategies for the courtroom. Eugene is a registered engineer in the province of Ontario, Canada.

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