29-08-2014, 11:15 AM
ANIMATRONICS SEMINAR REPORT
[attachment=67299]
ABSTRACT
Animatronics is a cross between animation and electronics.
Basically, an animatronic is a mechanized puppet. It may be
preprogrammed or remotely controlled. An abbreviated term originally
coined by Walt Disney as "Audio-Animatronics" ( used to describe his
mechanized characters ) ,can actually be seen in various forms as far
back as Leonardo-Da-Vinci's Automata Lion ,( theoretically built to
present lillies to the King of France during one of his Visits ),and has
now developed as a career which may require combined talent in
Mechanical Engineering , Sculpting / Casting , Control Technologies ,
Electrical / Electronic , Airbrushing , Radio-Control.
Long before digital effects appeared, animatronics were making
cinematic history. The scare generated by the Great White coming out
of the water in "Jaws" and the tender otherworldliness of "E.T." were
its outcomes. The Jurassic Park series combined digital effects with
animatronics
INTRODUCTION
The first use of Audio-Animatronics was for Walt Disney's
Enchanted Tiki Room in Disneyland, which opened in June, 1963. The
Tiki birds were operated using digital controls; that is, something that is
either on or off. Tones were recorded onto tape, which on playback
would cause a metal reed to vibrate. The vibrating reed would close a
circuit and thus operate a relay. The relay sent a pulse of energy
(electricity) to the figure's mechanism which would cause a pneumatic
valve to operate, which resulted in the action, like the opening of a
bird's beak. Each action (e.g., opening of the mouth) had a neutral
position, otherwise known as the "natural resting position" (e.g., in the
case of the Tiki bird it would be for the mouth to be closed). When there
was no pulse of energy forthcoming, the action would be in, or return
to, the natural resting position.
WHAT IS ANIMATRONICS
Animatronics is a combination of animation and electronics.
What exactly is an animatronic? Basically, an animatronic is a
mechanized puppet. It may be preprogrammed or remotely controlled.
The animatronic may only perform a limited range of movements or it
may be incredibly versatile. The scare created by the Great White
coming out of the water in "Jaws" and the tender otherworldliness of
"E.T." are cinematic effects that will not be easily forgotten. Later
animatronics was used together with digital effects. Through the
precision, ingenuity and dedication of their creators, animatronic
creatures often seem as real to us as their flesh-and-blood
counterparts
JURASSIC PARK
Long before digital effects appeared, animatronics were making
cinematic history. But it was in Jurassic park that the best possible
combination of animatronics and digital effects were used together.
Spinosaurus was a new dinosaur animatronic created for "Jurassic Park III"
by Stan Winston Studio (SWS). SWS worked with Universal Studios and the
film's production team to develop the Spinosaurus design. Below lies the
discussion of the amazing process that creates and controls a huge
animatronic like this dinosaur!
Jurassic Machines
Dinosaur Evolution
In the Beginning
Creature Creation
Putting it together
Making it Move
Monster Mash
Put it on Paper
The first thing that happens with any animatronic is that an
artist creates preliminary sketches of the creature. The Spinosaurus
sketches were developed by working closely with expert paleontologist
Jack Horner and the crew working on "Jurassic Park III." The sketches
are analyzed and changes are suggested. Eventually, the artist creates
Build a Maquette
From the final paper design, a miniature scale model called a
maquette is created. Fashioned out of clay, the first maquette SWS
made of Spinosaurus was one-sixteenth scale. This initial maquette is
used to verify that the paper design is accurate. If there are any
problems, they are corrected and a new paper design is made.
Build the animatronic components
Building the various components used in the animatronic
usually takes the longest time. Most of the creatures that are developed
at Stan Winston Studio require parts that you're not going to find at
your local hardware store. This means that SWS has to build almost
everything themselves. They do take advantage of any existing
products when possible, usually by repurposing parts of a common
device to fill some of their uncommon needs.
Electronic
Another group develops the electronic control systems needed
to operate the animatronic. Typically starting from scratch and creating
their own custom circuit boards, these engineers are essentially
building giant remote-controlled toys. Almost all of the movement of the
Spinosaurus will be manipulated by specialized remote-control systems
known as telemetry devices.
Making it Move
The people that control an animatronic are called puppeteers,
because that is all that an animatronic is -- a sophisticated puppet.
These puppeteers are skilled actors in their own right and will spend
some time with the animatronic learning its range of movements.
Rosengrant calls this "finding the performance." The puppeteers are
determining what movements make the animatronic look angry,
BUILDING YOUR OWN ANIMATRONICS
WHAT IS AN ANIMATRONICS KIT?
Everything you need (except batteries and imagination) is
included in our easy-to-use kit. Connect the cable to your PC's serial
port, install the software and you're ready to start. No soldering or
programming skills required. If you can use Windows you can use this
Animatronics Kit . The software allows you to record the movements of
hobby servos (up to two billion moves) and play them back exactly as
recorded. Make your creation come to life!
What is the Mini SSC Panel?
The Mini SSC Panel is a graphical user interface allowing you
to easily control standard hobby servos attached to a serial servo
controller (SSC) circuit board. This interface provides setup, movement
control and movement recording/playback features.
The Recorder
The interface to record animatronic projects is a flexible and
easy-to-use. With the Mini SSC Panel v1.2 Freelance Edition you can
combine small sub-recordings into larger more robust animatronic
productions using our "Script Manager." By creating smaller recordings
and compiling them into larger "Scripts" you can focus on each detail of
your animation. For instance, once you have the gripper on your robotic
arm working exactly the way you want, you can use that piece over and
over again in your final script to keep your movements consistent
CONCLUSION
Creating a good animatronic figure that is able to perform
constantly without fail requires many special skills and lots of technical
know how. Before assuming the task of creating an animatronic figure,
you should have a strong hold on how these things are constructed and
be willing to spend a pretty penny on equipment and materials.Animtronics has now developed as a career which may require
combined talent in Mechanical Engineering , Sculpting / Casting ,
Control Technologies , Electrical / Electronic , Airbrushing , Radio
[attachment=67299]
ABSTRACT
Animatronics is a cross between animation and electronics.
Basically, an animatronic is a mechanized puppet. It may be
preprogrammed or remotely controlled. An abbreviated term originally
coined by Walt Disney as "Audio-Animatronics" ( used to describe his
mechanized characters ) ,can actually be seen in various forms as far
back as Leonardo-Da-Vinci's Automata Lion ,( theoretically built to
present lillies to the King of France during one of his Visits ),and has
now developed as a career which may require combined talent in
Mechanical Engineering , Sculpting / Casting , Control Technologies ,
Electrical / Electronic , Airbrushing , Radio-Control.
Long before digital effects appeared, animatronics were making
cinematic history. The scare generated by the Great White coming out
of the water in "Jaws" and the tender otherworldliness of "E.T." were
its outcomes. The Jurassic Park series combined digital effects with
animatronics
INTRODUCTION
The first use of Audio-Animatronics was for Walt Disney's
Enchanted Tiki Room in Disneyland, which opened in June, 1963. The
Tiki birds were operated using digital controls; that is, something that is
either on or off. Tones were recorded onto tape, which on playback
would cause a metal reed to vibrate. The vibrating reed would close a
circuit and thus operate a relay. The relay sent a pulse of energy
(electricity) to the figure's mechanism which would cause a pneumatic
valve to operate, which resulted in the action, like the opening of a
bird's beak. Each action (e.g., opening of the mouth) had a neutral
position, otherwise known as the "natural resting position" (e.g., in the
case of the Tiki bird it would be for the mouth to be closed). When there
was no pulse of energy forthcoming, the action would be in, or return
to, the natural resting position.
WHAT IS ANIMATRONICS
Animatronics is a combination of animation and electronics.
What exactly is an animatronic? Basically, an animatronic is a
mechanized puppet. It may be preprogrammed or remotely controlled.
The animatronic may only perform a limited range of movements or it
may be incredibly versatile. The scare created by the Great White
coming out of the water in "Jaws" and the tender otherworldliness of
"E.T." are cinematic effects that will not be easily forgotten. Later
animatronics was used together with digital effects. Through the
precision, ingenuity and dedication of their creators, animatronic
creatures often seem as real to us as their flesh-and-blood
counterparts
JURASSIC PARK
Long before digital effects appeared, animatronics were making
cinematic history. But it was in Jurassic park that the best possible
combination of animatronics and digital effects were used together.
Spinosaurus was a new dinosaur animatronic created for "Jurassic Park III"
by Stan Winston Studio (SWS). SWS worked with Universal Studios and the
film's production team to develop the Spinosaurus design. Below lies the
discussion of the amazing process that creates and controls a huge
animatronic like this dinosaur!
Jurassic Machines
Dinosaur Evolution
In the Beginning
Creature Creation
Putting it together
Making it Move
Monster Mash
Put it on Paper
The first thing that happens with any animatronic is that an
artist creates preliminary sketches of the creature. The Spinosaurus
sketches were developed by working closely with expert paleontologist
Jack Horner and the crew working on "Jurassic Park III." The sketches
are analyzed and changes are suggested. Eventually, the artist creates
Build a Maquette
From the final paper design, a miniature scale model called a
maquette is created. Fashioned out of clay, the first maquette SWS
made of Spinosaurus was one-sixteenth scale. This initial maquette is
used to verify that the paper design is accurate. If there are any
problems, they are corrected and a new paper design is made.
Build the animatronic components
Building the various components used in the animatronic
usually takes the longest time. Most of the creatures that are developed
at Stan Winston Studio require parts that you're not going to find at
your local hardware store. This means that SWS has to build almost
everything themselves. They do take advantage of any existing
products when possible, usually by repurposing parts of a common
device to fill some of their uncommon needs.
Electronic
Another group develops the electronic control systems needed
to operate the animatronic. Typically starting from scratch and creating
their own custom circuit boards, these engineers are essentially
building giant remote-controlled toys. Almost all of the movement of the
Spinosaurus will be manipulated by specialized remote-control systems
known as telemetry devices.
Making it Move
The people that control an animatronic are called puppeteers,
because that is all that an animatronic is -- a sophisticated puppet.
These puppeteers are skilled actors in their own right and will spend
some time with the animatronic learning its range of movements.
Rosengrant calls this "finding the performance." The puppeteers are
determining what movements make the animatronic look angry,
BUILDING YOUR OWN ANIMATRONICS
WHAT IS AN ANIMATRONICS KIT?
Everything you need (except batteries and imagination) is
included in our easy-to-use kit. Connect the cable to your PC's serial
port, install the software and you're ready to start. No soldering or
programming skills required. If you can use Windows you can use this
Animatronics Kit . The software allows you to record the movements of
hobby servos (up to two billion moves) and play them back exactly as
recorded. Make your creation come to life!
What is the Mini SSC Panel?
The Mini SSC Panel is a graphical user interface allowing you
to easily control standard hobby servos attached to a serial servo
controller (SSC) circuit board. This interface provides setup, movement
control and movement recording/playback features.
The Recorder
The interface to record animatronic projects is a flexible and
easy-to-use. With the Mini SSC Panel v1.2 Freelance Edition you can
combine small sub-recordings into larger more robust animatronic
productions using our "Script Manager." By creating smaller recordings
and compiling them into larger "Scripts" you can focus on each detail of
your animation. For instance, once you have the gripper on your robotic
arm working exactly the way you want, you can use that piece over and
over again in your final script to keep your movements consistent
CONCLUSION
Creating a good animatronic figure that is able to perform
constantly without fail requires many special skills and lots of technical
know how. Before assuming the task of creating an animatronic figure,
you should have a strong hold on how these things are constructed and
be willing to spend a pretty penny on equipment and materials.Animtronics has now developed as a career which may require
combined talent in Mechanical Engineering , Sculpting / Casting ,
Control Technologies , Electrical / Electronic , Airbrushing , Radio