http://dspace.cityu.edu.hk:80/handle/2031/782 Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:11:42 GMT 2013-06-18T17:11:42Z http://dspace.cityu.edu.hk:80/handle/2031/7010 Title: Augmented reality display of three-dimensional impossible objects in real time Authors: Liu, Suet Yee (廖雪怡) Abstract: The first impression of three-dimensional impossible object often fools viewer's perception to believe that this object exists physically in the real world. However, on a second though, viewer will recognize that the shape of the object is impossible indeed. There are many ways to create impossible object. The simplest form of impossible object can be created from two-dimensional drawing. Besides two-dimensional drawing, people construct other kinds of impossible objects by different approaches, such as using curved edges to built a physical object in order to swap the overlapping parts; construct the object in a special way and take photograph of it from a specific angle; take a photograph of a real object and post-edit it with image editing tools, etc. Generally speaking, object created in these ways need to be viewed from a very special vantage point to have an impossible effect. If the object is not viewed from that specific vantage point, the illusion of the impossible object will not be possible. Apart from that, computer graphics researchers also introduced a way to generate impossible object on computer which could be viewed from different angles; however, this method only applied to certain kinds of object which have volume inside its framework. This thesis will first introduce a way to identify the types of impossible objects. Then it explores a new way for creating different impossible objects on a computer display in real time, using the so-called Augmented Reality (AR) technology. AR is a novel technology which brings a new visual experience to the viewer. Different from Virtual Reality (VR), the virtual objects display on the computer can be overlay on real objects or physical environment in real time in order to create an augmented experience. With the use of tracking technology, we can place a fiduciary marker in front of the camera to give a signal to the computer's program where we plan to generate the impossible object. Using a special design of real-time shading algorithm, impossible object can be created in real-time on the fiduciary marker. Viewer can then orient the fiduciary marker so as to rotate the three-dimensional impossible object. This can give a better experience for the viewer on how the impossible object is formed. Two categories of impossible object generating techniques will be introduced in this thesis: 1) the depth impossible object and 2) the impossible vanishing boundaries object. Notes: CityU Call Number: TA1637 .L584 2012; v, 88 leaves : ill. (some col.) 30 cm. + 1 CD-ROM (4 3/4 in.); Thesis (M.Phil.)--City University of Hong Kong, 2012.; Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-87) Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://dspace.cityu.edu.hk:80/handle/2031/7010 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z http://dspace.cityu.edu.hk:80/handle/2031/6656 Title: Analysis of Feng Zikai's Chinese cartoons and their computer reproduction Authors: Zhang, Jing ( 張晶) Abstract: Feng Zikai, is an outstanding modern Chinese cartoonist, as well as an accomplished essayist, scholar, educator, translator, calligrapher, and musician. He is chiefly known for developing a unique style of Chinese cartoons incorporating a combination of traditional Chinese fine arts features and references to Western painting styles. The trajectory of Feng's career reflects a characteristic of modern Chinese intellectuals, that of, placing value on developing deep knowledge in multiple disciplines simultaneously. Mostly due to the difficulties with gaining access to primary resources, publications to date, especially journal articles, draw on a narrow range of works and somewhat haphazardly extend the discussion of Feng's creations and ideas. Based on a more extensive access to Feng's Chinese cartoons and essays, as well as Sino-Western publications about his life and work, this research provides a graphics-oriented analysis of Feng's art works, focusing on the foundations, grammatical theories, and themes of his Chinese cartoons. Moreover, programs and techniques for simulating the styles of Chinese brush work in contemporary computer graphics and animation are quite successful in a generic sense, but they are not very successful in reproducing a specific artist's painting style in an interactive digital painting process. This research therefore also aims at developing a preliminary computer framework capable of reproducing the specific artistic styles of selected Chinese paintings, focusing on a case study of a subset of the works of Feng Zikai, with specific reference to his signature painting of human facial features. Aside from the potential technical benefits of such a study, a comprehensive understanding of Feng's graphic style will also be relevant to discussions of the relationship between tradition and novelty in the world of Asian art and aesthetics. Notes: CityU Call Number: NC1699.F4 Z45 2011; xi, 431 leaves : ill. (some col.), facsims. 30 cm.; Thesis (Ph.D.)--City University of Hong Kong, 2011.; Includes bibliographical references (leaves 384-397) Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://dspace.cityu.edu.hk:80/handle/2031/6656 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z http://dspace.cityu.edu.hk:80/handle/2031/6655 Title: New strategies for designing live computer music Authors: Leung, Kei Cheuk Kechard ( 梁基爵) Abstract: This thesis explores the methodology for designing computer-based digital musical instruments (DMIs) to create a new direction for live computer music performance. Three forerunners of DMIs, Extended Tablet, Reactable and Silent Drum, are reviewed to give background information of DMIs, of which the individual components, performance contexts and artistic factors are investigated. The present study presents four case studies, each discussing a new DMI or installation, namely the Pod Drum, Control Table, 3D Fabric, and 'Transparent Caprice'. They were inspired by different motivations, artistic considerations, and technology involvement. Performances of original compositions for each of the creations are also presented. This thesis highlights three key implementations for the design of DMIs: (1) exploring gestural control in live computer music; (2) enhancing transparency of the control process and sound production of DMI designs; and (3) increasing the importance of repertoire and actual performances in the development of DMIs. Notes: CityU Call Number: ML1380 .L48 2011; 107 leaves : ill. (some col.) 30 cm.; Thesis (M.Phil.)--City University of Hong Kong, 2011.; Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-107) Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT http://dspace.cityu.edu.hk:80/handle/2031/6655 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z http://dspace.cityu.edu.hk:80/handle/2031/6283 Title: Digital puppertry : real-time performance in a mediatized age Authors: Wang, Zhe (王喆) Abstract: In this work, digital puppetry is discussed as a hybrid art form in which the performing objects are partially manipulated or wholly generated by algorithmic programs. The significant parameter here is the use of real-time technological interfaces, suggesting a synchronicity between the manipulator’s control and the performing object's resultant movement. While there is not a single ideal example of what digital puppetry, a wide range of digital forms or works (e.g., motion capture, machinima, Digital Marionette, The Sims, etc.) are analyzed in the context of improvisation and interaction through the employment of real-time technologies. In order to further examine the role it plays in this mediatized age, digital puppetry is proposed here both as a phenomenon that self-evidently is performance in the usual, aaesthetic sense of that term, and is also studied as performance in a broader sense suggested by the performance theory of Richard Schechner. Moreover, this study values Jean-François Lyotard’s performativity as a comparatively new theoretical framework in performance studies, useful to rethink the ongoing radical changes in the nature of performance in relation to technological developments. At this point, it is not my primary goal to develop a formal definition of digital puppetry, but to establish it as a significant contemporary phenomenon through a culturally and theoretically contextualized survey. Consequently, relevant cultural issues related to digital puppetry are addressed, such as play/perform, role/rule, agency/identity, and body/self complexes. By continuously expanding a database of human/computer interactive behavior, digital puppetry may create new forms of ritual for the global community. Keyword: digital puppetry, performance, real-time, body, agency Notes: CityU Call Number: PN1972 .W36 2010; 137 leaves 30 cm.; Thesis (M.Phil.)--City University of Hong Kong, 2010.; Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-137) Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://dspace.cityu.edu.hk:80/handle/2031/6283 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z