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Science Fact of Cinematic Fiction?

Movies in general tend to exaggerate, manipulate, and modify the laws of physics in order create a more dramatic cinematic experience, but the laws of physics are sometimes broken without a conscious thought. This leads to unrealistic movements that do not heighten the movie experience. Instead, it brings the realism and athletics of the movie down. I will discuss the physical errors in the movie Harry Potter, during a Quid ditch scene; Final Fantasy: Advent Children, the fight scene between Tifa and Loz; and Wall-E, the scene after Wall-E is ejected from an exploding capsule. I will also discuss whether the manipulation of physics help or hurt it the movie.  In these movies, I will call attention Newton’s first law, the law of inertia. The law states that whatever is in motion stays in motion. Each movie breaks that law in some way or another, but each is broken with a different purpose. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe_BecE68DM

First I will discuss the physics during a Quid ditch scene in the second Harry Potter Movie, The Chamber of Secrets. In this scene, Harry and Draco both chase after the snitch in order to win the game. Both are pushing and bumping into each other as they try not to lose sight of the snitch. They are both led under the Quid ditch stadium in an underpass crowded by the wood and skeleton supporting the stadium. As they fly deeper, Draco (3:55) suddenly hits the front of his broom on a perpendicular piece of wood that sends him flying up and over the ground of the stadium where he slides to a stop on the grass. In reality, Draco wouldn’t fly up in an arc if he were to really be moving at that speed. Instead, he would fly forward in a shallow arc and would not have been able to fly above the stadium ground. Furthermore, Draco’s body would continue to want to move in a forward motion the moment his boom hits the wood railing. Real life examples similar to this situation are bike and skateboard crashes. The impact of these crashes would send its riders flying forward in shallow arcs. A rider would not be sent 45 degrees up into the air unless the vehicle began moving in that direction before the rider flew off.

This part of the scene did not seem like a decision meant to better the overall action because it does not seem realistic or meant to enhance the movie experience. The physics in the particular scene does not create believable action; instead it created an awkward ending to an exciting chase. In addition, it doesn’t create consistent action throughout the scene. In my opinion, the movement was unnecessary. Draco’s failure would have been much more dramatic if the directors created anticipation of who was going to rise from under the stands. They should have shown Draco hit the wooden beam and fly across under the stands and only have Harry emerge after the snitch. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rCb1noPltQ&feature=related 

Final Fantasy: Advent Children is a movie based on a game called Final Fantasy 7 in which the characters use their skills and strength to help save the world. The movie is similarly based on the same concept where the same groups of people fend of enemies to protect society. During a fight scene, Tifa, one of the main characters of this story is fighting with an enemy called Loz; in which each character defy gravity as they show off their fighting skills. During their fight (1:40), Loz grabs Tifa by a limb and throws her into a wall at an incredibly fast speed, but instead of hitting the wall and breaking her neck, Tifa manages to stick onto the wall in a Spiderman like pose. Aside from gravity, the speed and momentum at which Tifa is traveling at would not have allowed her to stop safely. The law of inertia would have caused Tifa several broken bones and probably a broken wall especially at the speed at which she was being thrown. Since the law of inertia states that all things keep doing what they are doing, objects will wanted to fall due to gravity, which means that Tifa would not be able to hold herself up in that position for that long of a time, especially in that position.

The laws of physics were definitely bent for cinematic purposes to create an exaggerated action scene. In addition, the laws were bent throughout the entire scene instead of just that action, which brings unity and believability to the characters. The way in which Tifa landed was purely unrealistic, but the Spiderman pose she strikes creates an aesthetic appeal to the fight scene. In addition, the directors even created a kind of wind after her pose to show that in that realm, momentum can be absorbed and pushed out. The details put in after the initial action creates an overall scene that makes sense. The viewers really believe she has this ability even though people really do not have that kind of power. The believability is there because the bent in physic is done with a purpose, and the purpose is to convey convincing characters with super human strength.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Odhaj7rpXco 

In the movie Wall-E, I will discuss a scene where Eve and Wall-E are in dancing in space right after Wall-E ejects from an exploding capsule. In this scene (3:00), Eve flies by Wall-E using her jet pack but stops abruptly as she catches up with Wall-E. Due to the vacuum in space, objects stay in motion if they are already in motion unless it is acted upon, but with Eve, she stopped abruptly without any outside force. In the movie, Eve flies using her internal jet pack which sends out a blue beam, but during her abrupt stop in space, she did not use a jet pack to stop herself because it was not shown that she did. This means that she would have continued in the direction she was flying. Furthermore, in order for Eve to stop the way she did she would have had to direct her jetpack in the other direction to slow herself down. Outer space satellites, for example, travel in space without the need of fuel after take off. In fact, the only time fuel is used is when these satellites need to change direction, but that requires the rocket to shoot out small burst of fuel in order to gain momentum to change directions.

The way in which Eve is animated during her abrupt stop was meant for cinematic purposes because although the physics were wrong in this situation, it exaggerated and enhanced the scene in a convincing and playful manner. The way she stopped looked as though she was skidding to a halt within an ice ring, but that particular action gives Eve personality. Without this little action, the message of the movement could have been lost. The directors want to show Eve stop and change directions in a quick manner and the little skid is enough for the viewers to understand her intentions. In the same scene, when Eve gives Wall-E a kiss, Wall-E lets go of Eve and slowly floats away. The physics of this action was wrong, but the message conveyed in that movement expressed an emotion that Wall-E was feeling.

      Many laws of physics are broken in movies for purposes to enhance the scene. In Wall-E and Final Fantasy, the scenes were thought out purposefully. In Final Fantasy, it was to create a dramatic fight scene where both Tifa and Loz have super human strengths and can defy gravity. In Wall-E, Eve’s abrupt skid was to create a kind of movement that can be easily read as a quick change in direction. Again, when Wall-E was floating away from Eve, it was showing his change of emotion. On the other hand, it wasn’t quit clear what the purpose of Draco’s dramatic fly off his broom was supposed to signify. Although, it could have been for comical purposes, the way it was present was unrealistic and unconvincing. There was no need for Draco to fly 15 feet off the ground when the audience already knows he was going to fail. The ways in which action is exaggerated should be done with a clear purpose especially when physics is involved. When actions are not thought out clearly, the message becomes unclear. Overall, any property of physics can be broken, but way in which it is broken is what makes a scene successful or not. 

Outline For Second Paper

Outline

First law

Movies in general tend to exaggerate, manipulate, and modify the laws of physics in order create a more dramatic cinematic experience; but many times. I will discuss the physical errors in the movies Harry Potter, Final Fantasy: Advent Children, and Wall-E.

1. Harry Potter : Chamber of Secrets – The quidditch scene where Harry and Draco are trying to grab the snitch, Draco hits the tip of his broom on a piece of wood under the stands. It sends him flying in a parabolic arc onto the floor.
1. If something like this were to really happy, Draco would fly forward instead of upward. Like a bike crash, the moment Draco leaves the broom, gravity would send him falling forwards and towards the ground.
2. With the law of inertia, Draco’s body and broom would want to continue moving forward after a crash instead of up.

2. Final Fantasy : Advent children – During Tifa’s fight with Loz, Loz throws tifa at an incredibly fast speed into a wall, but Tifa manages to stick onto the wall in a spiderman like pose.
1. In real life, if Tifa was actually traveling at that speed, she would either hit the wall and break it or be crushed into a million pieces due to the law of inertia.
2. She wouldn’t be able to stop herself and stick to a wall all on her own. Gravity would force her to fall to the ground. Because law of inertia states that objects keep doing what they do, all objects will fall due to gravity. If nothing stops an object from falling, Tifa would not be able to stick to a wall.

3. Wall –E – A scene where eve and wall-e are in space dancing around each other. Eve floats by wall-e using her jet pack but stops abruptly in space as if there was friction.
1. In space, due to the vacuum in space, whatever is in motion stays in motion unless acted upon.
2. Eve would have stopped only if she directed her jet pack in the other direction, but even if she did she would start moving in the other direction instead of stop abruptly. The only way an object would be able to stop abruptly in the angle she stopped in is if there was friction under her.

4. Conclusion –
1. restating thesis
2. resolution

           

Stop-Motion Character Animation

 

This stop motion animation was a collaborative effort between me and Luis Wong. Luis basically handled the camera work and edited the frames while I moved the figurines. First, Luis and I decided what story we wanted to create. He then set up his tripod and camera. I only had the red stuffed animal so we also used his knight figurine.