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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
ARCHITECTURE & ΑΝΙΜΑΤΙΟΝ BACKGROUND DESIGN AND CONCEPT ART IN AN ORIGINAL ANIMATION CONCEPT VIKELOUDAS VASILEIOS (R.No. 601219) PROJECT THESIS 2016 Supervisors: Polyxeni Mantzou, Assistant Professor Anastasiou Maria, Assistant Professor Grigoriadou Maria, Teaching Instructor 407/80 DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING DEMOCRITUS UNIVERSITY OF THRACE SEPTEMBER, 2016
Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
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PROJECT PLANNING σ.4 INITIAL IDEAS RESEARCH
σ.4 σ.6 σ.10
CHARACTER DESIGN
σ12
ΧΤΙΖΟΝΤΑΣ ΤΟΝ ΚΟΣΜΟ PRE-PRODUCTION PHASE - CONCEPT ART PRODUCTION PHASE - 3D MODELS POST-PRODUCTION PHASE - RENDER, LIGHTING & ENHANCEMENTS
σ22. σ.24 σ.44 σ.56
ANALYSIS - PLOT AND DESIGN A HERO’S JOURNEY
σ.68 σ.70
SINGLE-PARENT FAMILIES AGE GAPS AN INCOMPETENT SUCCEEDS EXCEEDING THE LIMITS PCity Genre, Technique, Time, Location, Influences Individual Areas, Architecture, Land Uses, Ground, Sky Citizen Scale, Nature, Urban Scale, Render Transportation System Advertising System
σ.72 σ.75 σ.76 σ.77 σ.78 σ.80 σ.80 σ.81 σ.82 σ.83
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PRE-PRODUCTION PHASE PROJECT PLANNING Search: Concept
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
INITIAL IDEAS While creating scenarios and concept art for cartoons, we notice that the artists are inspired by a variety of everyday objects and from comprehensible and easy to understand concepts, since their first and most basic target group is the children’s audience. In order to find my own original idea, I traveled through many thoughts and inspirations. I started off with sketches of fantastic and original heroes, compositions and drawings without any reason or motive on my behalf and I was trying to craft it at the time I designed their details. As if to guess the personal story of everyone, as if they existed before, and I had just met them. None, however, had a powerful and fertile ground for developing a charming script, aimed for children but also to interest adults. Apart from all this, however, the first and most important selection criterion, which was not fulfilled, was the inspiration to develop interesting environments. When the dry original ideas did not help, since all the sketches or heroes I was creating were not as interesting as I wished them to be, I changed my way of thinking and followed the tactic of the experiences. I went out on the street and asked friends and passers-by to tell me stories. I searched songs that narrated novels and I even got in the process of illustrating one that again in the end did not create interesting architectural environments. I got to my temporary emotional state, which also produced a beautiful scenario, but it did not also require a special enviroment. I even fell into the temptation to illustrate an existing fairy tale, as well as renowned animation companies. The idea emerged completely randomly, after many painstaking attempts to find script and massive research on the internet. Until I stumbled upon a picture of circuits. These extremely interesting linear elements, that sometimes run parallel to each other and sometimes diverge, create special relations
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Σκίτσα από πρηγούμενα Storyboards και Concepts
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
between them that intenesly resemble corridors and roads The look of the motherboard, along with the other micro-devices and chips, if viewed from above, looks like an urban landscape. At that moment I decided that my story would take place in the “computer city”. Of course, having decided something that general, it does not mean that you have managed to solve the puzzle of creating your story, as it is not necessarily predetermined by the part you chose to produce. I started from simple and rough thoughts to make important decisions about the scenario. «What does the character have to do with the computer city?;» • Is the character a format dwelling in it? • Is the character human and discovers it accidentally? • Is the character relying on the city, or the city on him? And then I had to answer important questions about the characters and the evolution of their personal story. This is done by laying down fundamental concept and design conventions. • The city hosts text, music, image and multimedia files, executive files, cookies, and anything else that functions using a software program. • The files live in three-dimensional folders. • Διοικητής της πόλης είναι ο επεξεργαστής.
Sketches from Previous Storyboards και Concepts
• Performers of all processes are the mouse pointers. Cursors do not have a fixed form, but they transform to the respective tool according to the task they have to do.
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
• The whole world of the computer is fueled by the deity of the “Mother Board” which is found in the “Temple of Mother Board”. • The villain is found in the form of malicious software or virus. Just these elements created a very attractive parallel universe inspired by the computer. But my thirst for making a script that emotionally touches the audience was not satisfied with the simple quote of laws in a fictional world. All this thinking so far could stand as a concept for a series of cartoons, not so much for a magical and explosive cinematic experience. I felt that there was a need for a story that could easily be identified, moved and understood without effort. The existence of the human hero was the key to this effort, and so I started off from this man’s visit to the imaginary city. The reason why he bothered to visit it had brought me trouble for many months. The search for lost files, a romantic venture, and even a daydream were my first and unsuccessful scenario choices, which eventually did not match the world I was trying to create, nor did they satisfy me emotionally. I finally came up with the idea of rescuing a loved one from this universe. The most powerful relationship in human life is that of the child with his parent. It is so important that it can become an incentive for the parent to move earth and sky to protect his child, while also causing interesting conflicts of love and anger among them. At the same time, the gap between the ages concerns a variety of issues where understanding is not achieved because of different views or illiteracy. So we are talking about a father’s relationship with his son. The young man, born in the age of technology and computers, is a master in digital media, while the father, although techno-
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Sketches from Storyboards και Concepts
Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
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logically illiterate and raised with the old-school techniques, prefers tangible and analogical means, raising distaste and even hatred for technology. To reinforce this hatred, I added the tragic loss of his wife from an electric shock by a computer wire in the house. As a result, the father considers these diabolical machines responsible for the death of his wife.
Sketches from Storyboards και Concepts
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
RESEARCH In order to start designing something so complex and at the same time something so commonly used in our everyday life, I had to carry out continuous research on the operation of the computer, its individual parts, the circuits and devices functions and the procedures of the programs so that they can be transfered or manipulated in the world of the parallel universe I intended to draw. The freedom provided by the media is plenty, as we are talking about an imaginary world that is “wrong”, “false” in advance, so mistakes or misconceptions in favor of a script are made tolerable and legitimate. This means that the purpose is not to portray the various elements of a motherboard in the absolute perfection and order, but the identification of the symbol, through the sense of space resulting from the plan. As Nelson Goodman said in his book “Ways of Worldmaking,” the creation of a world follows from the composition and redistribution of pre-existing and through the use of symbols. From my research, “The City Model in Animation,” I discovered that, even in the most extraterrestrial scenarios - and thus environments - cities are recognizable to the human eye and mind in their exact sense, that of the “city”, as unrealistic and original as can be. There is no doubt that the depicted environment indicates a city. I ended up doing something similar too. I decided to combine the digital conventional symbols and icons on the computer screen with elements of the architecture of our world, all set in an unrealistic framework of a three-dimensional digital world that files and also two humans can visit freely.
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
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PRODUCTION PHASE CHARACTER DESIGN Search: Characters
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
Andrew Smith Andrew Michael Smith is an extremely practical man with mainly empirical knowledge only on issues that fully concern him. In everything that has to do with tangible instruments (constructions, handicrafts, inventions) he can be miraculously smart and fast. He also built his own family home with remarkable success. However, the other aspect of this feature prevents him from perceiving theories, notions, and invisible concepts, not to mention daydreaming. His relationship to technology is extremely poor. Everything that has more than one button looks like a “spacecraft cockpit”. His phobia was created from a younger age when he bought his first stereo system and it never played. A series of unfortunate coincidences throughout his life have made him believe he has the Omega Vibes, that is to say, the symptomatic obsolescence of devices that he owned. Andrew loved his wife. He admired her because she knew a lot of things and was interested in a variety of issues that he could not easily understand and did not quite interest him. She had a quick solution to everything in moments of crisis, but most importantly, she had an excellent relationship with technology, which complemented his own weakness. Everything at home related to a device was her responsibility and therefore had a big share in house chores, while he was responsible for more practical things, such as constructional corrections. And whenever he was doing a housework, he did it the traditional way. Although he loves his son very much, he did not have much time to spend with his son, as his work involved him many hours per day, thus leaving the biggest part of the child’s care to his wife.
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
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After his wife’s tragic accident, Andrew was feeling responsible for the wire that shocked her, believing that it had emerged due to his own manufacturing negligence. His psychology was shattered and felt incompetent and useless; that everything happened because he did not really know anything at all. At the same time, all the responsibilities of the home were loaded on his shoulders, which meant he would have to face his technological phobias. The most difficult of all throughout this chaos was to manage his teenager son who developed symptoms of depression and anger after his mother’s accident. Despite that their relationship on a daily basis is not good, when he loses him, he is willing to move heaven and earth to rescue him.
Selection for Voice Casting: Jeffrey Dean Morgan
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
Tobias Smith Tobias Andrew Smith loved his mother but has a very special bond with his father. He likes him as a role model and he cares very much for his opinions about things, even if sometimes they are possessed with negativity. Until his mother’s accident, little Toby did what he did by his father’s words and always aimed to make him feel proud of his son, especially the days he saw him very little because of his work. Since his mother fell into a state of coma, Toby changed his behavior. His mother had the ability to build bridges and motives in the relationship between the two male figures of the family and to turn their weak moments into games, enhancing them ultimately, rather than cutting them off. Her loss brings the gaps to the surface. Together with Toby’s critical age and later depression, his exaggerated reactions increase, cyclothymia dominates and reactivity and introversion appear. The teenager fully engages himself in computer games and devotes most of his time to his computer. The evolution of his relationship with his father disturbs him, but the need to fortify himself by such a powerful pain becomes a priority after the tragic event. In order to not feel bad and get hurt everytime such an important person is lost so unfairly from his life, he prefers to lead himself to an emotional freeze, to an insensibility that protects and prevents him from pain and sorrow. He reconsiders all of his attitude when he realizes the feat of his father to save him and decides to finally take on the share of improving his relationship with his father.
Selection for Voice Casting: Josh Hutcherson
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
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Virus: “Digimise” - Draxx A virus is the reason to jeopardize the fate of a whole city and its inhabitants and two people who barged suddenly in it. Draxx, a sneaky digital insect-monster, was designed exclusively with the ability to transform into any file and hide inside it by killing it internally. This undermining and manipulative file mobilizes all game heroes to ally with him, aiming to destroy the city by kidnapping the user and the processor and cut the power supply from the mother’s temple. The shadow that transforms into individuals and has a virtual form of a monstrous insect that slowly kills the souls symbolises nothing more than the hatred between people and therefore the gap created between the father and the son, because of the misunderstandings between them. It poisons their relationship with quarrels and selfishness and causes disgust and disrespect. To defeat the virus, they have to become a team and cooperate, finally defeating the controversy between them.
Selection for Voice Casting: Laurence Fishburne
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
Theodosia Weaver / Mother Board Theodosia Weaver is a sweet and pleasant woman with intense parental instincts and an extremely emotional character. It is often possessed by intense feelings and gets deluged, but is extremely agile and has a lot of personal interests. She loves to chat with people and can express opinions on various topics of varying content. What she admires her husband’s amazing stable personality. This feature gives her an emotional security that soothes her anxiety and negative emotions, thus calming her. Their balance in everyday life is impressively easy because of their personalities and abilities. She has always been trying to improve her husband’s relationship with what he did not understand, and especially his contact with technology. She loves her son and does everything so he can be safe, healthy and cheerful. She acts as a catalyst in quarrels and selfishness among the men of the house and can often understand both sides, finding ways to improve the weak points of their relationship. The only certainty is that the weakness and love that she nourishes for her child is so great that not evem death can eliminate it.
Selection for Voice Casting: Lena Headey
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
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The deity of the digital city “PCity” is a woman who voluntarily offered her body to the system, which supplies it with energy so that the computer and thus the city itself can operate. The so-called “Mother Board” is not randomly named and obviously does not have a much different form and behavior. The parallelism of the spirit of the divinity with Theodosia is profound, as they are both devoted mothers whose bodiesare fully out of use but their spirits and love are so strong that they haunt and give energy, to the computer and the protagonists’ relationship. She is a mother struggling with death to protect and take care of her son.
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
“PCitizens” - File Formats Documents, pictures, music, videos, multimedia are some of the residents who live in PCity. Other files are not replicated, however, they are built to run programs and software such as DLLs. The most prominent residents of PCity are the cursors, who are all around and are responsible for delivering the commands from the user from the real world, to the executive files of the programs. They are responsible for the smooth and correct operation of all functions, and there is one for each program. Their special feature is that their form may change accordingly with the task they have to do. Therefore, the arrow can be their most commonly seen form, but it’s not rare to find brushes, buckets scribes and anything else.
Top: Document format. Right: Image format.. Left: Video format.
Bottom: Sound format.
.dll format
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
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Top and Bottom: Image Grooming Procedures - How an image acquired its content. Left: Incorporation of the USB symbol.
The different form the cursors take depending on the task they are asked to perform.
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CREATING THE WORLD STAGES OF BACKGROUND DESIGN Search: Production Phases
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PRE-PRODUCTION PHASE CONCEPT ART Search: Buildings
Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
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FOLDERS The first question I had to answer when I started designing the city was “who are the inhabitants of my city” and “where do these inhabitants stay?” The decision did not take long to be made, as it was predetermined by the software companies. The citizens of my city would clearly be the formats living in folders. The use of the concept of “the folders” is not accidental, since in the real world it is the first and foremost means for sorting and grouping tangible files. We do not have tangible material on the computer, but this does not mean that digital material does not need to be sorted and grouped for easier file searching in times of need. Different softwares use different file formats and designs, but the logic is similar. Starting from computers, the same system continued on all types of memory (memory cards, floppy disks, drives), but also on devices (mobile, stick, tablet, etc.) resulting to pages on the internet, culminating in the connection of a device with the internet. Communication and file sharing over the Internet is now achieved by sharing, exchanging and copying folders from one device or network to another.
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
The yellow folder is the most common folder symbol in the most widespread software, so resemblance to that symbol was the first thing to do. The challenge of this job was its performance as a unit in which a character can live. The composition of this unit had to express an atmosphere and a feeling of real architecture, kind of like a building that its multiplication could resemble a part of a city/society. I analyzed the unit on floors and assumed that more than one file can live in one unit. By circularly multiplying this unit towards a center, an interesting floor plan and an interesting open space seemed like an entrance. The development of this floor plan by height gave a rudimentary form of building. The gaps created between them, are random and leave the impression that these units are moving or can detach themselves from the overall structure, as it is very easy to move a folder from one place to another.
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Another folder unit, larger in size than the yellow folder. Its tall height was inconvenient in repetition vertically. On the contrary, it enables itself to stand alone and be able to create an essence of a street facade, as long as it is multiplied in length. A bridging passageway connects the units lengthwise and allows files to access one folder from another through a protected tube that protects the passers-by from falling down the “.zip funiculars”. It also offers impressive views of the city.
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
Other variants of folder designs with different composition. The general concept in all designs attempts to integrate this stack or array of folders into our computer in architectural forms. The final designs leave the impression of condominium blocks and skyscrapers, structures that contribute to the atmosphere of a big city and leave the impression of dense habitation.
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FLYING DISCS AND RECORD CASES Search: Buildings
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“MEDIA PLAYER” MANOR It is the three-dimensional merger of an analogue record player with an architectural structure. This Manor hosts all types of files that want to display their work and their internal content. Concerts, events, parties, theme nights, performing events are all going on, all of which have a common theme: the reproduction of music. The building is accompanied by two massive, yet stylish speakers that spread the music throughout the region. The building has a bracket which, when set in random mode, selects the music disc. Finally, behind the building stands a tall giant display showing the details of each file that is playing music at that time, or in cases of inactivity, showing advertisements, voted songs by the residents, new releases, foreign guests, etc. From this building, the heroes go by walking on the way to the library. Later, heroes visit it in their quest to calm the infuriated father who has failed to find his son. On the screen of this building, as on every screen, the .exe file theft from the System Guard is publicly transmitted.
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
THE LIBRARY The city center of PCity is dominated by the most important public building for its residents and guests. Its emblematic and imposing existence is mainly due to the huge height of the tower, compared to the rest of the city’s heights. Residents use it to know the location of the absolute center. Its transparent face serves to the supervision of the whole city, and functions as a panoptikon. On the top floor of this building there are special binoculars communicating with a database. By typing the type of file that interests the visitor, the system scans the entire city and displays all the files within its areas with the corresponding name or type.
The building of the library is based on the logic of the spider web. The center of the web can be found easily and all the threads and elements are connected to each other. This also helps the searching of files and folders. They are subjected to a perpetual secret connection that the computer uses to display them when searched for in the homonymous application.
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At the top of the tower there is a spacious terrace, where the final battle with the virus takes place. This area is not easily visible as it is hidden in a cloud of data (“Cloud”).
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
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“MY COMPUTER“ TOWN HALL In the center of PCity, along with the library, lies the Computer Town Hall. It is responsible for software upgrades and managing the welfare and system prosperity of PCity. It is also the home and workplace of the Processor. In this building, the father uses the Processor and the Cursor after he is informed that there is a strange element in the city that is considered malware. Later on, the Virus invades this building and kidnaps the processor. The building plays no other role in the story except for a brief moment, once the virus has captured the city and the screen displays the threat message of the system.
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The shape of the building is inspired by the icon symbolizing “My Computer”, which represents the screen and the tower. If you look at it with an abstract look, you can imagine the tower as a building that, on the face of its long side, hosts a huge billboard. This thought has evolved then to integration of this screen in the body of the building. It comes from a sequence of individual tiles forming one gigantic screen, which emits messages and updates for the whole city.
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
TEMPLE TO MOTHER BOARD Below the city’s surface, lies a large underground network of chambers and mechanisms, like catacombs. Various circuits transfer energy to the rest of the city. At the end of these corridors a temple can be found devoted to the deity of PCity, the Mother Board. This deity is a woman who has offered her body into the system. The body, connected to a generator, operates as a battery and provides energy across the city through the circuits. Her soul, however, circulates perpetually throughout the temple as a holographic spirit. This place is terrifying and forbidden for the rest of the formats. They visit it only in cases of extreme crisis, by sending an ambassador. The belief is that this mysterious woman needs her space for self-concentration and serenity so she can provide the energy that the city needs and should not be bothered by software and functional issues that are the responsibility of urban management and the user. In this building, the father uses the cursor in search of help and guidance to save his son and the Processor. The mother board was ignoring the state of crisis and allowed to search through the circuits until the virus interrupted them with malicious intentions.
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The motherboard is the physical classification of the most basic components, circuits, and subcomponents that a computer requires (memories, processor, BIOS, and interconnect circuits). These circuits are usually located on the surface of a rectangular plate.
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Page 44 Σελίδα 44 Ο Ναός της Μητρικής Κάρτας είναι βασισμένος στη μορφή της μητρικής κάρτας ενός υπολογιστή. Υπάρχουν μονοπάτια σε διάφορα επίπεδα με τη μορφή κυκλωμάτων που χρησιμοποιούν οι ήρωες για να περπατούν πάνω τους σαν προβλήτες. Αυτά ελίσσονται μέσα σε μια ορθογωνική δεξαμενή γεμάτη με παχύρρευστη διαλυμένη ψηφιακή ύλη με φωσφορίζον τιρκουάζ χρώμα. Αυτή η φωσφορίζουσα ουσία είναι η μοναδική πηγή ημιφωτισμού μαζί με ένα κυκλικό άνοιγμα στην οροφή του ναού. Όλα τα κυκλώματα οδηγούν σε ένα ατσάλινο τετραγωνικό βάθρο, στο οποίο γίνεται και η συνάντηση των ηρώων με τη θεότητα. Αποτελεί, σαν να λέμε, τη σκηνή στην οποία θα διαδραματιστούν όλα τα γεγονότα. Στη μία από τις μικρές πλευρές του ναού βρίσκεται η είσοδος, από την οποία οι ήρωες εισέρχονται στο χώρο, ενώ στην ακριβώς απέναντι πλευρά υπάρχει υπερυψωμένος ο θρόνος, οπου κάθεται το παραδομένο σώμα της γυναίκας. Στον τοίχο και στην οροφή συνεχίζουν και ελίσσονται διάφορα κυκλώματα, ωστόσο χωρίς να έχουν την ίδια χρήση και λειτουργία όπως αυτά του πατώματος, παρά μόνο αυτή της μεταφοράς της ενέργειας. Η παρουσία τους προσφέρει περισσότερη δραματικότητα στο χώρο και ενισχύει την ψηφιακότητα στη μορφή του. Οι κολώνες που υπονοούνται, δεν έχουν τη χρήση στατικότητας όπως το ανθρώπινο μάτι συνήθισε να αντιλαμβάνεται αλλά αποτελούν τις γεννήτριες που διαχειρίζονται την ενέργεια που παρέχεται από το σώμα και τη διανέμουν στα διάφορα κυκλώματα.
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
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The visual development of the temple required the capture and creation of each circuit from the very beginning, with the rationality of directing everything to the central pedestal, upon a reflective surface that would function as a liquid. Then, their endings clung to the walls, with some continuing on the roof. After that, the generating columns were added. The illumination was achieved with neon, and the reflection enhanced the glow with a gentle turquoise mist, added to enhance the antiquity of the temple. The first materials were placed abstractly in SketchUp while the final render was made in Artlantis in combination with Photoshop.
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
PRODUCTION PHASE VISUAL DEVELOPMENT Search: 3D Models
Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
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District: “MULTIMEDIA DOWNTOWN”
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
District: “IMAGEA”
The area where images live. As files they take up little amount of space in digital memories, thus they need smaller “houses” to live, and therefore the smallest folder unit.
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
District: “MUSICALIA”
“Musicalia”
The area where audio and music files live. These types of files do not need the ground and that’s why they stay on swinging discs. Envelopes are lined around the center of the disk creating neighborhoods. In the evening, these neighborhoods party and flash lights along the rhythm creating the overall impression of a giant outdoor disco.
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
District: “DOCUMENT SUBURBS� The area where the text files live. One would say that it feels like a simple building, but in reality it is a huge hatchery of ideas. At the final level there is a cloud that converts ideas into small textbooks or pages. This is how baby-docs are born. The cursors pick them up and put them on small shelves to evolve and become multi-page formats: articles, works, books, researches, artwork,
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
Building: “LIBRARY”
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
Building: “TEMPLE TO MOTHER BOARD”
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POST-PRODUCTION PHASE ENHANCEMENTS Search: Render
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
District: “MULTIMEDIA DOWNTOWN”
3D Design
Render
Color Correction
Lighting and Enhancements
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
District: “IMAGEA”
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
District: “Musicalia�
3D Design
Render
Color Corrections and Background
Lighting and Special Effects
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
District: “DOCUMENT SUBURBS”
3D Design
Render
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Color and Lighting Programming
Background and Effects
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
District: “PCITY TOWN HALL”
3D Design
Render
Background and Additions
Lighting and Color Correction
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
Building: “TEMPLE TO MOTHER BOARD”
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ANALYSIS PLOT AND DESIGN DECISIONS Search: Scenario
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
“A HERO’S JOURNEY” (J.Campbell) The case and by extension the scenario adapted to the imperatives of the Joseph Campbell Theory “The Journey of a Hero” and its intermediate transition stages. Campbell’s heroic archetype is nothing but the story’s father who accidentally starts a trip to PCity to save his son from the malicious abductor virus. According to Campbell’s stages, we find the following points: 1. ORDINARY WORLD: The single parent family of our protagonists, following the tragic death of the mother, appears to have a large gap between its two members. This polarity in the relationship between father and son is mainly about technology, since the little one is familiar with computers and gadgets while the father has complete ignorance and aversion to digital media. 2. CALL TO ADVENTURE: The virus that was downloaded along with the computer game abducted the young protagonist. The father must decide to save his son and reverse the situation. 3. REFUSAL OF THE CALL: The father’s hatred for technology is a temporary inhibiting factor in his approach to the computer, but it soon overcomes it with determination and courage. 4. CROSSING THE TRESHOLD: the father leaves the usual world and travels into a world of non-familiar laws and values, the one that is PCity.
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
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5. TESTS, ALLIES, ENEMIES: The new unprecedented characters and residents of PCity, the processor, the cursor and the various formats face and judge the father as a suspicious file that has emerged from nowhere. 6. MEETING THE MENTOR: The processor running PCity allies with the father and tries to teach him the laws of PCity and help him in his son’s quest. 7. APPROACH TO THE INMOST CAVE: The father and his allies are preparing to deal with the malicious virus. 8. ORDEAL: The father is called upon to respond to the blackmail dilemma for his son’s life or to destroy a whole city. The only solution is to defeat the virus. 9. REWARD: The father wins his son back and saves the city from the terror of the virus. 10. THE ROAD BACK: Foreigners to the digital world return to the real world. The father wants to be sure his son is safe again in his home. 11. RESURRECTION: The two humans after their incredible adventure decide to eliminate their dogmatism and selfishness and bridge the gap in their relationship. The father is interested in learning to use the computer while the son takes the responsibility to teach him. 12. RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR: The son, a student now in a foreign city, talks through a computer with his most technologically familiar father.
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
SINGLE-PARENT FAMILIES The term “single parent family” means the family in which children under the age of 18 grow up with only one parent, either because the other parent died, or they got divorced or even because the parent never got married. Since 1950, the number of single parent families has increased internationally. In 1970, almost about 11% of children in the world lived in single parent families. In 1996, the quantum had reached 31%. It also appears that as time passed, changing social conditions also modify the prevailing reasons why single-parent families are commoner. In the middle of the 20th century, most single parent families were due to the death of a spouse, while in the 1970s and 1980s, most single parent families came as a result of divorce. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the number of parents who are not getting married is constantly increasing. The most common type of single parent family is that of the mother and her biological child. The number of families, made up of fathers and children, has increased since 1980, and these families are usually made after the death of the mother. A plethora of fairy tales and cartoons show similar patterns of broken families, in which one parent or two parents disappear due to various accidents or reasons. Walt Disney himself in his films avoided matrices, feeling responsible for his own mother’s loss. The form of this type of family seems to be touch the audience and leads it to sympathize with the unlucky protagonist of fairy tales or stories. I made a short study of a variety of famous animated films from Hollywood’s most famous production companies, examining families from 75 feature films by Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, Fox, Focus and Universal films.
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
31%
ΟΡΦΑΝΟΣ
31%
ΜΗΤΕΡΑ ΠΑΤΕΡΑΣ 2 ΓΟΝΕΙΣ 18%
20%
35%
35% κηδεμονας συγγενής κηδεμόνας άλλος χωρίς κηδεμόνα
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The results, although homogeneous, are worth-commenting. The first survey is about characters and their biological parents. Families are analyzed based on whether there are both parents, one of the two or none. It is noteworthy that these three family percentages are almost equal, with the percentage of single-parent families being superior (38%). Equally, the percentage between orphaned characters in both parents is the same as that of the characters with a traditional family (with two parents). Looking at the results at a different scope, we see an overwhelming majority of “mutated” families that reach 69% compared to 31% of traditional ones. The truth is that in most classic animation films we rarely get the picture of both parents. First, Walt Disney in his works broke off the parental standards, as he considered himself responsible for his mother’s loss. This stream continued in the future not only in the films of the homonym society but also in more others, enhancing the heroic tragedy and their sympathy from its audience. The second research concerns the orphan heroes of both parents. Several of them may not have grown up with their biological parents, but they had a guardian who either had some biological affinity with them (Uncle-Aunt, Siblings / or Distant Relative) or was a foster parent. The results of these families also maintain a balance, and therefore we see that 35% have a relative as a guardian while 30% grew up with a foster parent. A 35% has never had a protector or a guardian.
30%
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
Why use a Single Family?
tangible results.
I chose a single parent family because I wanted to bring the gap between the father and the parent in the front. These two heroes express a very specific difference: their familiarity with technology. This feature creates an opposing polarity between them and so the gap emerges. The gap between them intensifies when there is no third person to take a stand on the behaviors, opinions and attitudes of the heroes who constantly plummet and thus relieve their fight. Therefore, when the two sides cannot both accept the position of the other, the relationships are injured.
Why “Father” and not “Mother”;
Why should such polarity should be defined in the relationship between a parent and a child? This polarity could relate to any kind of characters in the project, without necessarily having a biological affinity and even a parent-child. The choice of the relationship of the protagonists was made for many reasons. The most important one is that, as much as a injured the relationship with his child is, the parent would do everything to protect it and save it, even if he sacrifices himself for that purpose (Tarzan, The King of the Lions , The Good Dinosaur, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, etc.). The adventure begins due to this parental instinct, the incredible love that is able to move heaven and earth to fortify the child. Another reason, is the fact that, more or less, highlights the generation of our parents as technologically illiterate or cumbersome. Information technology has sharply pounded into our everyday life and it has evolved incredibly quickly, to the point where many people are still having trouble keeping up with it. Others have adapted to this mindset faster, since they have no choice but the general feeling shows a technophobia or a denial of modern means. Such a character is the father of our story: a practical practitioner with a need for
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Alternatively, the question could be: “Why a son and not a daughter?” The answer is common to both sexes. In relations between the same sexes there is an undercurrent competition that always excites situations in excess. Although love is reciprocal, most of the time, these relationships conceal a bipolarity of concurrent sympathy and dislike. The younger one sees the older as a model of either imitation or avoidance, and the older one is burdened by this responsibility and often falls into the comparison trap. With the comparison, which is anyway subconsciously perceived by the viewers, the aforementioned contrasting polarity in their relationship is profound. “Not Mother” for purely technological reasons. I wanted to identify the real mother with the deity of the “motherboard”. As it is known, there are no “parent” boards. But beyond that, boys who lose their maternal role model have more chances of depression. Mother’s role in our minds is felt as something that relieves the moments of male absurdity, supports and carries out housework and takes care of family members daily in matters of feeding, cleanliness, health and sleep. One could say that it is the connection point that holds the whole family united. So, when this person is missing from the environment, experience says that there is a chaos that is difficultly manipulated. The father does not know how to manage the house and hence the relationship with his son, and on the other side, the son himself is not in the mood to venture to improve it.
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AGE GAPS The gaps between our protagonists appear quite often. The very first impression is appearing to their daily lives after the mother’s loss: the father’s poor relationship with home appliances, the son who locks himself in his room and deals only with his computer. Their quarrels mostly express their very important common feature that they miss the mother. Later, the gap is seen in a different way when the father tries to defeat the virus with his hands, while the son is thinking of the corresponding digital way. In the end, the gap is bridged when the father shows the intention of trying the use of the computer and his son is willing to teach him.
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
AN INCOMPETENT SUCCEEDS In all attempts for an interesting scenario, I did not take into account of the magnitude of interest caused by a character’s story depending on his abilities. I was just trying to create a story about a random character. In Glen Keane’s book - Directing the Story, I discovered a variety of ways and tips for creating a story. The best stories contain characters with internal conflicts dramatized as an external war. Only if they win their internal struggle can they win the external war. The audience is reborn along with the hero. This message has an extraordinary power while receiving it as it is under the influence of the film and the safe distance from the events that take place. In many films we see the contrast of the hero’s capabilities with those he is called upon to acquire due to the war. A bird that can not fly, a lazy panda that needs to learn the disciplined art of Kung Fu, a mortal to become god. The drama of the oppositional nature of heroes with what they are called upon to achive dramatically enhances the plausibility of history and leads to sympathy for the hero.
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EXCEEDING THE LIMITS A PARENT WILLING TO DO EVERYTHING TO SAVE HIS SON The father of our story is a technologically illiterate person who has difficulty handling appliances and electronic gadgets. He also has difficulty managing his teenage son who is depressed and indifferent to everything, locked up in front of his computer and playing games. Despite his fear and predisposition for the electronic and digital world, and especially since the cause of his wife’s accident was a computer, the father takes the courage to invade the digital world and look for his missing son, defying the rules and laws of the city, fighting a virus and destroying the system and eventually succeeding in it, and instead of letting much bigger psychological traumas to be created, decides to learn the use of the computer just to come close with his child. We are referring to a father who, over his ignorance and immature irresponsibility, recognizes that the world is not given around us, relations are lost from one moment to the next and our responsibilities are not always specific with autistic consistency but need to change to cover the tragic losses.
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ANALYSIS “PCity” Search: PCity
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
“PCITY” TYPE
DESIGN TECHNIQUE
Μη-Ρεαλιστική Πόλη
CGI
The city of PCity does not abide by the laws of reality. It does not have gravity for its inhabitants. Files or any other form having access to it retain their properties virtually. For example, the people who visited it step on the ground, as if they were magnetized by gravity, without meaning that there is truly gravity. There is also no deterioration in the city. Time is only shown through the progress of processes and files, or by samples of music or video reproduction. The perception of the respective day and night is shaped by the monitor and when the system is operating or is in sleep mode. Folder condominiums refer to real structures as a whole, reminiscent of buildings and apartment blocks, but there is no clear indication of whether a person can live in one of them. The two buildings that one can feel as humanly are the library and the town hall. Finally, the materials are not distinctive. We see transparent and reflective faces and solid structures, but there is no clear indication of actual materials.
The city and its frames were designed by computer in a three-dimensional design software. All textures, materials, enhancements and lighting were also added digitally.
Monster-city The inhabitants of PCity are files, characters that can be characterized as monsters. They have movement, senses, their own intelligence, and operate as the user instructs, only when he requires it. At moments when the computer is closed, the files move freely.
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TIME Contemporary The story evolves in real time, contemporary to our times - perhaps a few years earlier, due to the rapid development of the media. The parallel universe of the city is also positioned at the same time as the real world.
LOCATION Inside the Computer The city is digital and only files have access to it before a human visits it.
INFLUENCES New York / Computer Symbols The “Imagea” district gives a sense of Times Square. Generally, the whole city was based on file and folder icons.
Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
INDIVIDUAL AREAS Multimedia Downtown, Document Suburbs, Imagea, Musicalia District, Navigation Airport, USB Port, Fire Wall, Temple to the Mother Board
ARCHITECTURE
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CITIZENS: File Formats CITIZEN SCALE: Tiny CITY SCALE: Microscopic
-Dense inhabitation, spread along length- and heightwise. Files with smaller capacity live in smaller and shorter folders. -All roads lead to a library center. -The construction and placement of the modules refer to the order and organisation in which the folders are placed in the system.
LAND USES Residences, Town Hall, Library, Temple, Concert Hall, Offices, Airport, Harbor, Wall
CITY NATURE:
GROUND There is no clear ground indication. The files move on circuits and flow in linear structures that point to paths. Audio files can also fly.
SKY
RENDITION:
It is either White or Black depending on whether the system works and therefore the screen.
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Democritus University of Thrace - Project Thesis - Vikeloudas Vasileios - September 2016
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM Files are transferred through libraries of compressed form, known as .rar and .zip. These act as a cable car: they automatically move at a regulated speed via a fixed axis and make several predetermined stops in neighborhoods and points. They operate either on their own or in rows as train wagons, depending on the population or dimensions of the passengers they transport. Through their transparent surfaces they offer views to the city along the way.
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THE ADVERTISING SYSTEM The city has a constantly up-to-date advertising system for the services that its software provides, its programs and natural works and creations from its famous inhabitants, such as books, pictures, songs, videos and whatever other art can be found in digital form. Large screens or billboards show these ads for the purpose of consuming these services, programs or files from others. Ads give a bit more liveliness in the city, a sense of more plausibility than the simple 3d model. It implies an ever-evolving society that indicates the existence and movement of inhabitants, who have options and judgment and are informed by such advertisements. By taking famous brands, movies and songs from our modern real world, I first uncover the time we discover the city. Secondly, some of these data give information of Tobias’ age as a user according to the default selection of the ads displayed. Thirdly, they include humor and intelligence, as famous companies can be advertised through their symbols and fonts in a more alternative way, forcing the viewer to guess the original one.
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