While previous movies like Sin City have done a great job borrowing static elements of graphic novel design, this is the first film I’ve seen that makes such fine use of dynamic elements. Speed and impact lines are used to convey energy in many of the battle scenes, sound effects are enhanced with fleeting text and graphic representations to give them more impact, and intangible forces are stunningly visualized as they become devastatingly tangible for the characters involved.

And these are all enhancements that pull the audience into the alternate reality of the film when they could have been overdone or done poorly and resulted in the opposite (similar to the uncanny valley effect I wrote about earlier). I’m looking forward to learning how the special effects were thought up and pulled off in the behind-the-scenes goodies.

And speaking of graphic effects, we’ll be showing a variety of animated films at an event called Generations of Animation this weekend in The Toby. The techniques used in the films varies from traditional cell drawing and stop-motion to computer generated imagery. We’ll also have hands-on activities in the art labs and three experts in the field demonstrating their skills.

Comment below to let us know what other movie effects you’ve been impressed by lately.

IMA Summer Intern Steph Gray

After spending almost 8 weeks of my summer at the IMA, I cannot believe that it’s almost over. This summer has been a busy one for us interns and everyone at the Museum. From the opening of 100 Acres to working diligently to bring you (yes you!) the most exciting exhibitions and art around, I believe that the staff drank enough coffee to water a nation.

If you haven’t been to the IMA this summer, take a moment to see what we’ve been up to:

The opening of 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park

Around 10,000 visitors came out on July 20th to check out the opening day of 100 Acres. Even though it was incredibly hot outside, everyone seemed to be having such a great time interacting with the art. The islanders were giving tours, music was playing, a giant grasshopper was walking around and some of the artists were even watching how the public interacted with their work. Alfredo Jaar stood by me while he was waiting for the trolley…I was star struck.
We’re glad that everyone has been enjoying the park so much and it’s gotten such wonderful press! New York Times, Wall Street Journal, plus our great local news stations and papers as well. If you haven’t been to the park yet, check it out ASAP!

VTS & Tara Donovan: Untitled

A part of our internship included weekly program that allowed for the interns to experience different sides of the Museum and the art “world”. Learning about all the different aspects of the museum and how exhibitions and artwork comes together has become incredibly useful in both my internship and how I now view visual art. The one of the programs I enjoyed most was the Visual Thinking Strategies tour of Tara Donovan: Untitled that allowed us to effectively talk about and analyze Donovan’s work in the exhibition. Through a facilitated discussion we were able to learn so much more about the work than just a regular stroll through the gallery.

Summer Nights

If you haven’t been able to come out and see a film on Friday evenings at the IMA, there is still time! Summer Nights films are fun and you can view them outside on our amphitheater or in the Toby with your family, friends and tons of food (obviously, the best part.) PLUS, if you buy a membership you get discounted tickets and priority seating! It’s a win/win.

Some other great tidbits

Joshua Mosley’s A Vue is amazing. Go see it immediately. Jeppe Hein takes champion of the summer, not only for creating Bench Around the Lake that can be seen in 100 Acres, but also for Distance, the ball roller coaster located on the fourth floor of the museum! PLUS, we have tons of amazing art in all of our galleries from Asian Art all the way to Design. There is something for everyone!

And coming soon…

Andy Warhol Enterprises will be opening October 10, 2010 (or 10/10/10) to the public. This will be your chance to experience the work of Warhol up close and personal at the Museum! “But Steph,” you may be thinking, “that’s almost THREE MONTHS AWAY!” Don’t worry; we’re hard at work to bring Warhol to you all the time. Stay Tuned!

Also, do you have plans for Friday, August 13, 2010? The Public Affairs team has been working diligently to bring you a SURPRISE EVENT at noon on Monument Circle! I’m not at liberty to say what it is, but I promise it will be worth your while if you show up downtown a little before noon…

I’m guessing this blog post has inspired you to immediately stop what you’re doing and head to the IMA…after all, it’s free! Get ready to be amazed (like this guy).

Without further ado, here is the list!

• June 4 Across the Universe / 2007
• June 11 Rebel Without A Cause / 1955
• June 18 The Usual Suspects / 1995
• June 25 Pee-wee’s Big Adventure / 1985
• July 2 Stella Dallas / 1937
• July 9 North by Northwest / 1959
• July 16 The Rocky Horror Picture Show / 1975 (midnight showing; gates open at 10pm)
• July 23 Monty Python: The Holy Grail / 1975 (midnight showing; gates open at 10pm)
• July 30 The Muppets Take Manhattan / 1984
• August 6 A Fish Called Wanda / 1988
• August 13 Stand By Me / 1986
• August 20 L.A. Confidential / 1997
• August 27 O Brother, Where Art Thou? / 2000

We also have exciting news for members:

• Presale Tickets Beginning April 8, members will have exclusive access to online tickets for all Summer Nights films. This means no waiting in line on the day of the movie!
• Priority Seating Members get the best spots on the terrace! Gates open for members a half-hour earlier than for the public (6 pm).
• Big Savings Members receive tickets for 50% off the public price (Public $10 / Members $5)

I am thrilled we can offer these savings to our most devoted fans. I have attended several Summer Nights films that have sold out, and it’s hard when we have to turn people away.  Become a member and get your (half price!) tickets early.

Also, I will be here for the midnight showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show.  I guarantee it is going to be a wicked good time.  Won’t you come join me?

Photo by Listen Missy! on Flickr

The term actually refers to a phenomenon experienced with robots designed to look human, in which a person’s emotional response to robot design is increasingly positive as the design becomes more human-like, but only to a point. Designs that are very close to human but fall short tend to have an eerie quality, and these are considered to be in the uncanny valley. Both in robots and animation, the response can be different depending on whether the robot or character is in motion.

Let’s start at the safe end. There are many great examples from Pixar where humans are rendered in a cartoon style, perhaps most notably The Incredibles and Up. The artists at Pixar also excel at portraying human emotion and storytelling via non-human forms.

The Incredibles, Pixar Animation Studios, 2004

To come a few steps closer I’ll take a side step into the video game arena, where we have fine examples of anime-style characters rendered in 3D from Square Enix’s Final Fantasy series. There are many fan sites that have screenshots from the full motion video sequences in these games. Being familiar with anime, these characters don’t seem as strange to me as they might to someone else, but I think that the use of this style does place them in an intermediate zone that isn’t quite at the valley, but perhaps approaches it.

When the Final Fantasy brand hit the big screen with The Spirits Within, Square Pictures had done a fantastic job with the digital models, particularly for Aki, the main character.  At the time, though, we still hadn’t perfected the look of skin, and to do that well also requires significantly more computation. I also think this was about the time when we were just starting to develop face tracking algorithms to capture the facial motions of actors, so the lip syncing also was not as good as it is today. These close-but-not-quite qualities are what give viewers an eerie feeling.

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, Square Pictures, 2001

I’ve heard some people say that Beowulf didn’t look right either, but I thought it was amazing. I hadn’t seen this movie until it came out for rent and hadn’t read about it much, so as I was watching I didn’t realize that it was an entirely CG film until a minute or so after the camera was focused on the characters in the first scene. After that point the fact that it was entirely digital never distracted me from the story. This makes me wonder if the effect is reduced if you’ve seen enough CG films.

No matter how many CG films you’ve seen, though, I think that the work done by Weta Digital on Gollum in The Lord of the Rings surpasses the valley. State of the art face tracking, motion capture, and rendering algorithms combined in the hands of that team to integrate a highly compelling digital character with a real environment. Although… I guess Gollum is supposed to be eerie, so maybe he’s not a great example.

Gollum, Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Weta Digital, 2001-2003

Avatar showcases what the state of the art can do today. From what little I’ve read so far, the motion capture system used here afforded James Cameron a real-time virtual rendering of the scene, allowing him to adjust the camera and order new takes as if they were working on a real set. There were also improvements to face tracking and rendering algorithms that might make you wonder if you’re watching real actors in makeup. It’s really amazing how far this craft has come.

Avatar, Lightstorm Entertainment, 2009

What do you think? Have you seen other movies that have (or even exploit) that eerie quality, or are great examples of avoiding or surpassing the valley?

Monsters vs. Aliens © Dreamworks Animation

I’m an avid NPR listener and I was intrigued by a segment a few weeks back that discussed the resurgence of 3D in the movie theater. The Dreamworks film, Monsters vs. Aliens, saw a $58 million opening weekend of which $24 million was from 3D screens (ref). Over 40% of the film’s revenue came from less than 10% of the screens. When 3D glasses first hit the big screen it was a less than desirable experience.  The alignment was less than par and many movie goers would leave feeling queasy. This is a far cry from the experience of today. People are more than willing to pay extra for the immersion and they will have many more chances in the near future.

“….G-Force on July 24, Final Destination: Death Trip 3-D on August 14, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs on September 18, the reworking of Toy Story in the 3-D format October 2, Astro Boy on October 23, Disney’s A Christmas Carol on November 6, Planet 51 for Thanksgiving and, finally, James Cameron’s long-awaited Avatar.” – from Slashfilm

Another 3D project caught my eye yesterday as well. A Google employee has leveraged his 20% time by creating a 3D video viewer for YouTube. You can see one view in the video below. Click the video and visit it on YouTube to see a dropdown of many different 3D option (e.g. anaglyph red/blue).

Artists have been capitalizing on perception for thousands of years, so I set out to find examples in our collection.  My esteemed colleague, Ed, pointed me to a technique called Trompe-l’œil (French for “trick the eye”). A quick search of the collections yielded some interesting results.

Still Life by Edwaert Colyer demonstrating Trompe-l'œil

Still Life demonstrates a perceived 3D scene from a 2D work and conversely we have 3D works that appear flat from the initial vantage point. Most notable is Robert Irwin’s, Untitled, which is anything but flat.

Untitled by Robert Irwin

Finally, a shout out to the sidewalk chalk artists.

World by Julian Beever

Do you have any favorites that “trick the eye”?

(On a tangent, NPR had a similar segment discussing the upcoming series of movies based on board games. Greatly looking forward to Candyland.)

If you haven’t heard of Bloggers Anonymous, it’s an informal get together the IMA blog team puts together every couple of months to meet people from the local blogosphere, and put a face to a name with the local arts scene. Who gets to come? We  reached out to the official museum blog’s blogroll, which keeps us up to date on local happenings and includes greats like On the Cusp and MW Capacity. Also, our team is collectively connected to a wide array of people around Indianapolis and beyond, and we each follow blogs and people on twitter depending on our own personal interests. We decided to cast the net wide and get them all here to talk about social media and how they are using it in their daily lives, including blogs, facebook, and twitter.

The exciting twist for this event is we are throwing it right before the IMA screens two movies. You’ve probably been to Summer Nights, the IMA’s outdoor summer movie series. Yesterday marked the start of another event happening this year at the IMA, the Indianapolis International Film Festival. Tomorrow’s double header includes one of the IIFF offerings, a documentary called Best Worst Movie shown in the Toby, followed closely by Troll 2 (the subject of the first movie) in the outdoor theatre. Sometimes I want a documentary, sometimes I want Italian B Horror. Tomorrow night, they’re both on the menu!

Rumor has it we have tickets to give away for the Summer Nights/IIFF double feature, so join us at 6pm outside the museum store, on the ground floor at the IMA to talk shop and then we will head to the movies. We can all relax and watch a campy horror flick, I hear there’s nothing like it for a little bonding time!

The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Summer Nights 2008

Now it’s time to mark your calendars for season #34 of Summer Nights, June 5-August 28. As one of the few art museums in the country with an amphitheater, the IMA offers a unique movie-going experience. All you need is a blanket, some friends and a picnic basket full of goodies. And, by popular demand, another special midnight screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show is in the works.

VOTE NOW! Below are four categories of films. Vote for your favorite film in each of the categories as often as you like. Polls close at noon on February 25, and results, including the full Summer Nights schedule, will be announced in March on the IMA Blog.

VOTING IS NOW CLOSED.
STAY TUNED TO THE IMA BLOG FOR OFFICIAL RESULTS IN MARCH!

*Licensing fees and restrictions may prohibit certain selections from being screened. However, the IMA will do all that is possible to secure and show all winning films.

There are actually more than 10 reasons to visit

What, you haven’t been to the IMA’s new Tobias Theater yet? Consider this your personal invitation…along with ten good reasons to get thee to The Toby to catch a film in the next two weeks:

1. To be surprised: Little Fugitive, a black-and-white beauty made in 1953, is probably a film you’ve never heard of. Let that be a good thing. This 80-minute indie gem is about a boy who runs away to Coney Island. Think of it as Leave It To Beaver infused with art, subtlety, and cinematography to die for. Sneak away and see it at The Toby Tuesday, December 30.
2. The sound rocks: As the museum’s senior AV technician, sound hound Chris Cruz made sure the sound system in The Toby is top notch. Three refrigerator-sized speakers lurk behind the movie screen to give you blasts of aural delight.

3. Because Johnny Depp is the new Santa Claus: To cut the sugar that often accompanies the holidays, we’ve picked out two moody Depp films and are running them back-to-back as part of IMA’s One-Two Punch series. Find out which films and when.

4. To escape your mother-in-law: Had enough family time? Sneak off to The Toby for the dazzling animation of Princess Mononoke the day after Christmas, or see Clint Eastwood turn the western on its head in Unforgiven on Jan. 2.
5. To escape economic woes: According to financial and historical gurus, movie attendance surges during troubled times. What are you waiting for?
6. You can come in your PJs: I will admit you free to any Toby film if you come in your pajamas. At The Toby, you can lounge around AND fathom the images on a 15’ x 30’ screen. Netflix, schmetflix.
7. To canoodle in the balcony or the ComfySacks: We won’t stop you and your honey from holding hands up in The Toby balcony or on the massive red bean bags down near the screen.
8. Beverages are for sale: Wine or beer (for the appropriately aged) are available from the stylin’ Toby concession counter.
9. You’re independent: You could go to Kerasotes or United Artists, but seeing a film at The Toby contributes to the local economy.
10. Because you can also visit the galleries: The visual art just won’t quit at IMA. Before or after the cinema washes over you, you can be transported to Ming-dynasty China in the Power & Glory exhibition, check out the new minimalist exhibition in the Forefront gallery, or ponder the wintry landscape through the veil of Maya Lin’s Above and Below installation on the IMA’s second floor galleries.

If you’ve already been to The Toby, please leave us your impressions and testimonies below.