Recreating Cameras and Lights in Maya.

Original

Maya Version

Maya Side View

Extra Credit: Lighting a Scene in Maya

One-point Lighting

Two-point Lighting

Three-point Lighting

Building a Scene in Maya

Second Term Paper

No term paper is being submitted.

Outline for the Second Term Paper

        I.            Introduction

a.       A brief overview on the Law of Conservation of Angular Momentum and how it works in the real world.

b.      Hypothesis – The Law of Conservation of Angular Momentum can be bent in entertaining media if it enhances a scene or does not detract from the scene significantly.

      II.            Body

a.       Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn (2012) – In part 2 of this mini-series cadet Lasky is suffering the effects of his allergy to a chemical used during the cryo-freezing process. This causes cadet Lasky to pass out during a capture the flag exercise. In the first shot of the scene you see cadet Lasky rotating forward as he has no control over his body. In the next shot it shows cadet Lasky falling straight down to the ground without any rotation. During this fall he loses all angular momentum.

b.      Dead Island (2011) – In this horror RPG video game the protagonist is one of a few survivors on a popular island resort that has been overrun by the undead. As the protagonist makes their way around the island they open a lot of doors. To open the door the protagonist can be seen placing their hand flat on the door frame and giving a slight push. The protagonist can push on the door near the doorknob, in the center of the door, or right next to the hinges. No matter where the door is pushed the force exerted by the protagonist is the same and the speed at which the door opens is the same. In order for the door to open at the same speed if pushed closer to the hinges it would require a larger amount of force. Angular momentum does not seem to be dependent on force in this game.

c.       Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) – When Steve Rogers returns from the secret Hydra factory he brings along a device powered by the energy of the Tesseract. Howard Stark then takes apart the device to study the power source in his laboratory. In this scene Howard Stark is standing on a small platform looking at the power source through a small window that stands about shoulder high. Howard Stark then applies an electric current to the power source which causes an explosion that sends a shock wave through the small window knocking Stark halfway across the room. Since the blast was directed through the small window the force applied to Stark would have been centered around his shoulders well above his center of gravity. This force should have caused Stark to flip backwards instead of flying straight back. Angular momentum was not conserved.

    III.            Conclusion

a.       In all three instances the law of conservation of angular momentum was broken for either dramatic effect in Captain America or to simplify the scene as in Dead Island and Forward Unto Dawn.