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Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Mid-semester Survey
"This is to certify that I completed the anonymous mid-semester survey for Art/Physics 123 and am requesting the five points of extra credit.
As a student at San Jose State, I understand the university's Academic Integrity Policy (http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/narr/catalog/rec-2083.html)."
As a student at San Jose State, I understand the university's Academic Integrity Policy (http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/narr/catalog/rec-2083.html)."
The Laws of Physics in an Animation Universe
Physics in "Shaolin Soccer"
The universe within “Shaolin Soccer” is similar to our own. Most of the individuals and objects within that universe obey the same laws of physics as our own. Things fall at the same rate due to gravity, each force has an equal and opposite force, and if your center of mass isn’t above a support then you lose your balance. These rules hold true in most circumstances, except in presence of a Kung-Fu master. Within the film’s universe, a Kung-Fu master is able to bend the laws of physics. The effects of gravity can be reduced or even ignored completely when confronted by a master. Their limbs can exert greater forces than are applied to themselves. Balancing is as easy as breathing to the true master, with nothing more than a toe on the ground someone trained in Kung-Fu could maintain balance regardless of the body’s position. Being able to bend the laws of physics sounds enticing, but what exactly would you be able to accomplish with this skill granted to Kung-Fu masters?
One of the traits of the Shaolin masters in the movie is the capability to limit gravity’s effect on the individual. This supernatural ability is seen several times throughout the film. The most obvious example is in the first half of the movie shortly after all the brothers gain their Kung-Fu consciousness back. During a practice match of soccer the youngest brother, also the largest brother and ironically named Light Weight, runs up into the air to kick the ball down. There are several ways we can evaluate this feat. Either this was a jump that where he nearly didn’t crouch at all prior to and therefore would’ve released an immense force to launch himself high into the air (unless he was capable of reducing his mass at will without having to reduce his volume, then the force wouldn’t be as large). The other possibility would be that he was somehow able to invert the force of gravity and instead of pulling him towards the ground it would push him away from it.
A similar example of this disregard for gravity occurs several times in the movie by the main character, Steel Leg. During the soccer tournament he jumps into the air to prepare to kick the ball. Unfortunately, the soccer ball is usually several feet ahead of him in the air and he begins to run towards it in mid air as he continues to slowly progress higher into the air. Usually, the force of gravity remains consistent on an individual throughout the entire jump cycle, but in this particular case it would appear that the force of gravity actually decreased as Steel Leg approached the apex of his long jump. This would allow him to still incline as long as his net acceleration is still positive.
Kung-Fu masters aren’t only limited to bending the law of gravity as in the prior example, they can completely ignore it. Once again, Steel leg is the one to break the rule during the team’s first official soccer match. One of this long kicks guides the ball within the goal of the opposing team, but immediately after the ball makes contact with the net it halts in the air and spins for a couple of seconds with absolutely no movement on the vertical or horizontal. Negating gravity’s effect on any item would be a useful skill to anyone.
Another one of the perks the masters have is their ability to use unbalanced force relations. Typically, every force has an equal and opposite force, but this is not the case for the masters of Kung-Fu. One of the more obvious moments of this unbalanced force relation within the movie is both near the beginning and the end when an individual pushes a cart or car into and open space. In both instances the individual pushes a vehicle that is roughly 2000lbs and within moment they push the item with sufficient force to move it about 6 feet. Throughout the process no damage appears to be done to the vehicle or the ground where the person was standing. In a normal situation, if you assume the person has the strength to push a car in an instant, there would have been a mark left where the person stood due to the force required to keep them in that same spot. Otherwise, the car shouldn’t move and the individual actually may slide back a little. In that situation there are two forces interacting with the person. There is the opposite force from the person pushing the car and then there is the opposite force from the individual pushing down on the ground. The force on the ground actually has to be larger than that of the force on the car otherwise the vehicle won’t move. Fortunately, in the movie the masters can ignore this balance of force and can parallel with ease and not worry about causing damage to the vehicle or the streets.
This force relationship also appears a few times near the end of the film during the final soccer match. There is a scene where the main character, Steel Leg, kicks the ball with enough force to generate heat, actually the ball burns with the heat of a puma, and the opposing goalie stands his ground and stops the ball in a fraction of a second with a fully extended arm. Regardless of whether you have the strength to actually stop a ball with that much force, in that situation the person catching the ball would have bent their arm at least a little to increase the time to stop the ball and reduce the impact. A normal man would have just shattered most of the bones in that arm.
The final example of the force relations deals with the force of Steel Leg’s kicks on the soccer ball. The movie is actually inconsistent with this force relation and I believe they only show the more realistic scenario when they slow down the play rate for dramatic effect. The most obvious scene involving this is when Steel Leg and his brothers first get together to practice soccer and he kicks the ball extremely high. The implied force would be that of a rocket and yet there was no compression of the ground around Steel Leg due to the force he exerted onto the earth. There are other scenes, on the other hand, where the ground around him is digitally enhanced to show the compression of the earth around him due to the immense force. This is a similar situation to the Hulk’s jump where he would damage the ground around him to get the heights he was aiming for, but the scale is a little small than the Hulk.
Finally, there is the unusual ability of the Kung-Fu masters to be able to balance in any physical position they can get into. The two examples of this are Light Weight and Iron Shirt right after they had reawakened their Kung-Fu skills. They both stood on a single leg, but visually their center of mass was not above their supporting leg. In a normal situation the individual would simple fall down. There only explanation I can come up with for their incredible balance is that they are now able to shift where their center of mass to far greater degrees of a normal person. If I wanted to change my center of mass I could do it by extending my arms or some other appendage, but that would only move it a small distance. In the case of Light Weight, he would either of had to be able to concentrate all his weight into the supporting foot or somehow reduce the weight of the rest of his body so the overall mass is closer to the supporting foot.
To conclude, it would be ideal to be one of these Kung-Fu masters. You would be granted with the ability to hinder gravity and enabling you to reach greater heights. Parallel parking would no longer be an obstacle and ignoring the force relationships would prevent you from damaging your car or getting a ticket for damaging the street with your forceful presence. Also, balancing yourself will no longer be an issue and you could even impress people with the unique stances you will be able to achieve. The most important of all, you would be able to play soccer the way it was meant to be played.
The universe within “Shaolin Soccer” is similar to our own. Most of the individuals and objects within that universe obey the same laws of physics as our own. Things fall at the same rate due to gravity, each force has an equal and opposite force, and if your center of mass isn’t above a support then you lose your balance. These rules hold true in most circumstances, except in presence of a Kung-Fu master. Within the film’s universe, a Kung-Fu master is able to bend the laws of physics. The effects of gravity can be reduced or even ignored completely when confronted by a master. Their limbs can exert greater forces than are applied to themselves. Balancing is as easy as breathing to the true master, with nothing more than a toe on the ground someone trained in Kung-Fu could maintain balance regardless of the body’s position. Being able to bend the laws of physics sounds enticing, but what exactly would you be able to accomplish with this skill granted to Kung-Fu masters?
One of the traits of the Shaolin masters in the movie is the capability to limit gravity’s effect on the individual. This supernatural ability is seen several times throughout the film. The most obvious example is in the first half of the movie shortly after all the brothers gain their Kung-Fu consciousness back. During a practice match of soccer the youngest brother, also the largest brother and ironically named Light Weight, runs up into the air to kick the ball down. There are several ways we can evaluate this feat. Either this was a jump that where he nearly didn’t crouch at all prior to and therefore would’ve released an immense force to launch himself high into the air (unless he was capable of reducing his mass at will without having to reduce his volume, then the force wouldn’t be as large). The other possibility would be that he was somehow able to invert the force of gravity and instead of pulling him towards the ground it would push him away from it.
A similar example of this disregard for gravity occurs several times in the movie by the main character, Steel Leg. During the soccer tournament he jumps into the air to prepare to kick the ball. Unfortunately, the soccer ball is usually several feet ahead of him in the air and he begins to run towards it in mid air as he continues to slowly progress higher into the air. Usually, the force of gravity remains consistent on an individual throughout the entire jump cycle, but in this particular case it would appear that the force of gravity actually decreased as Steel Leg approached the apex of his long jump. This would allow him to still incline as long as his net acceleration is still positive.
Kung-Fu masters aren’t only limited to bending the law of gravity as in the prior example, they can completely ignore it. Once again, Steel leg is the one to break the rule during the team’s first official soccer match. One of this long kicks guides the ball within the goal of the opposing team, but immediately after the ball makes contact with the net it halts in the air and spins for a couple of seconds with absolutely no movement on the vertical or horizontal. Negating gravity’s effect on any item would be a useful skill to anyone.
Another one of the perks the masters have is their ability to use unbalanced force relations. Typically, every force has an equal and opposite force, but this is not the case for the masters of Kung-Fu. One of the more obvious moments of this unbalanced force relation within the movie is both near the beginning and the end when an individual pushes a cart or car into and open space. In both instances the individual pushes a vehicle that is roughly 2000lbs and within moment they push the item with sufficient force to move it about 6 feet. Throughout the process no damage appears to be done to the vehicle or the ground where the person was standing. In a normal situation, if you assume the person has the strength to push a car in an instant, there would have been a mark left where the person stood due to the force required to keep them in that same spot. Otherwise, the car shouldn’t move and the individual actually may slide back a little. In that situation there are two forces interacting with the person. There is the opposite force from the person pushing the car and then there is the opposite force from the individual pushing down on the ground. The force on the ground actually has to be larger than that of the force on the car otherwise the vehicle won’t move. Fortunately, in the movie the masters can ignore this balance of force and can parallel with ease and not worry about causing damage to the vehicle or the streets.
This force relationship also appears a few times near the end of the film during the final soccer match. There is a scene where the main character, Steel Leg, kicks the ball with enough force to generate heat, actually the ball burns with the heat of a puma, and the opposing goalie stands his ground and stops the ball in a fraction of a second with a fully extended arm. Regardless of whether you have the strength to actually stop a ball with that much force, in that situation the person catching the ball would have bent their arm at least a little to increase the time to stop the ball and reduce the impact. A normal man would have just shattered most of the bones in that arm.
The final example of the force relations deals with the force of Steel Leg’s kicks on the soccer ball. The movie is actually inconsistent with this force relation and I believe they only show the more realistic scenario when they slow down the play rate for dramatic effect. The most obvious scene involving this is when Steel Leg and his brothers first get together to practice soccer and he kicks the ball extremely high. The implied force would be that of a rocket and yet there was no compression of the ground around Steel Leg due to the force he exerted onto the earth. There are other scenes, on the other hand, where the ground around him is digitally enhanced to show the compression of the earth around him due to the immense force. This is a similar situation to the Hulk’s jump where he would damage the ground around him to get the heights he was aiming for, but the scale is a little small than the Hulk.
Finally, there is the unusual ability of the Kung-Fu masters to be able to balance in any physical position they can get into. The two examples of this are Light Weight and Iron Shirt right after they had reawakened their Kung-Fu skills. They both stood on a single leg, but visually their center of mass was not above their supporting leg. In a normal situation the individual would simple fall down. There only explanation I can come up with for their incredible balance is that they are now able to shift where their center of mass to far greater degrees of a normal person. If I wanted to change my center of mass I could do it by extending my arms or some other appendage, but that would only move it a small distance. In the case of Light Weight, he would either of had to be able to concentrate all his weight into the supporting foot or somehow reduce the weight of the rest of his body so the overall mass is closer to the supporting foot.
To conclude, it would be ideal to be one of these Kung-Fu masters. You would be granted with the ability to hinder gravity and enabling you to reach greater heights. Parallel parking would no longer be an obstacle and ignoring the force relationships would prevent you from damaging your car or getting a ticket for damaging the street with your forceful presence. Also, balancing yourself will no longer be an issue and you could even impress people with the unique stances you will be able to achieve. The most important of all, you would be able to play soccer the way it was meant to be played.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
First Term Paper Outline
Physics in "Shaolin Soccer"
I. Introduction – Supernatural Kung Fu
• a. Kung Fu allows an individual to bend the laws of gravity
• b. Unbalanced force relations
• c. Shift center or mass without corresponding shift of actual mass
• d. Thesis statement
II. Kung Fu Essence – gravity’s effectiveness is based on the master’s will
• a. Brother “Light Weight” – Walks on air
• b. “Steel Foot” – Suspended in mid air to ready a kick
• c. Flying Sword technique for cutting trees – Master is in the air for extended duration
III. Unbalanced force relations
• a. Woman parks her car by pushing it hard
• b. Fast ball stopped in short time w/o damage to ball or individual’s hand
• c. Ball kicked hard enough to go into the stratosphere
IV. Shifting Masses
• a. Brother “Light Weight” balanced on one foot in and unbalanced position
• b. Individual balanced on one foot without majority of mass over point of contact
V. Conclusion
• a. Summation of points
• b. Restate thesis
I. Introduction – Supernatural Kung Fu
• a. Kung Fu allows an individual to bend the laws of gravity
• b. Unbalanced force relations
• c. Shift center or mass without corresponding shift of actual mass
• d. Thesis statement
II. Kung Fu Essence – gravity’s effectiveness is based on the master’s will
• a. Brother “Light Weight” – Walks on air
• b. “Steel Foot” – Suspended in mid air to ready a kick
• c. Flying Sword technique for cutting trees – Master is in the air for extended duration
III. Unbalanced force relations
• a. Woman parks her car by pushing it hard
• b. Fast ball stopped in short time w/o damage to ball or individual’s hand
• c. Ball kicked hard enough to go into the stratosphere
IV. Shifting Masses
• a. Brother “Light Weight” balanced on one foot in and unbalanced position
• b. Individual balanced on one foot without majority of mass over point of contact
V. Conclusion
• a. Summation of points
• b. Restate thesis
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Stop Motion Animation of Falling
How I went about animating...
This was the first time I have dealt with stop motion and there were a few challenges I came across. Since I didn't know exactly how to go about it I first just took a small handful of images of a ball and moved its position around to show it move. After that I attempted to animated the images with Photoshop. It was when I tried to animate it that I realized that I was really going to need to get a tripod...I have no clue why I thought I could do it without one. I also realized that Photoshop was annoying to work with so I wanted to find another program. After that initial test run of everything I decided to look up some other stop motion animation to see if they can give me ideals on how to approach the final product. That is when I came across this animation:
I really enjoyed this animation and thought it was well thought out, but I wasn't able to suspend my camera from the ceiling. I was able to borrow a tripod and then did a real quick test run with animating a sequence of photos that laid a basic foundation of what I was approaching. I ended up animating the second test with Windows Movie Maker and it worked out relatively fine...I also tried Quicktime Pro, but found Windows Movie Maker easier to work with at the moment. After test two, I began actually planning the spacing and timing of the scene. I decided to push the ball over a ledge at a rate of 2 inches per image and I progress with the falling using David Chai's rule of thumb animating technique which is pretty close to the Odd's Rule. As far as the hand and the paper air plane, I just kinda eyeballed it the best I could...I don't think it is great overall, but for my first time at it I enjoyed it.
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