Girls’ STEM hero unveiled
ANIMATION has progressed light years since the early days of Walt Disney and Warner Brothers, when a movie-length cartoon could take years to produce through traditional animation techniques.
With the help of motion capture cameras, interactive virtual environments and a host of research-backed, virtual production technology, the team at Deakin University’s Motion.Lab are developing their own children’s animation series, The Adventures of Auntie Ada.
Aimed particularly at girls aged 6-9, the program is entertaining and explores the wonders of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects in a fun way — celebrating discovery, adventure and learning.
Currently in development, the program will consist of 26 seven-minute episodes. The character Auntie Ada helps young Aly to make discoveries about STEM topics, taking her inside technical devices like mobile phones, car engines and computers, and helping her to learn about concepts like gravity.
The program is an innova- tive way to encourage girls to consider study in STEM areas, where they are still significantly under-represented — and often lack role models — but where jobs growth is predicted to be highest in coming decades.
The series was recently showcased to the creative industries at Screen Forever, one of the largest congregations of screen industry professionals in the southern hemisphere. Held in Melbourne, the event brought together the pillars of entertainment, media and technology, celebrating the industry’s achievements and providing a forum on issues affecting them.
The Motion. Lab team, led by Dr Jordan Beth Vincent. has created a groundbreaking process for producing animation totally differently to traditional animation techniques. Known as the Alchemy Pipeline, its combination of motion capture, facial capture and computer game engine technology allows the team to render animation in real-time.
Thanks to the Pipeline, the team is racking up a strong record of achievements, including a successful, six-episode animated mini-series Minibeast Heroes that was broadcast on ABC Education TV earlier this year. The technology has also been used to create TV commercials and visual supports for urban planners and other professionals.
“The great thing about animation is that it can be highly entertaining, educational and have professional applications,” Dr Vincent said.
“We can now work with a very fast turnaround time. For instance, we completed the whole Minibeast series in only a few months.”
The Alchemy Pipeline allows animated sequences to be developed in a matter of minutes. It includes full-body motion capture, real-time facial capture, real-time visualisa- tions, real-time visual effects and virtual cameras.
“We are bringing intuitive, real-time integrated performance capture to film and television productions with the Alchemy Pipeline,” Dr Vincent said.