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Open question to AE artists
Hello everyone.
I’m currently in my 3rd year at university, studying for a BA (Hons) is TV and Media Practice. My dissertation subject is about the evolution of computer visual effects over the last 30 years and I just came across something which made me curious. Homour me, if you will. How many of you know what I’m talking about if I mention the following seven attributes?
(1) initial position,
(2) initial velocity (both speed and direction),
(3) initial size,
(4) initial colour,
(5) initial transparency,
(6) shape,
(7) lifetime.Thanks for your time.
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12 Replies
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Are we supposed to answer? But yes, I do know what type of system those 7 properties are from.
Johnny Cuevas, Editor
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Hi Adam –
Well, from the clues inherent in the terminology of the list, it obviously has to do with parameters of animation, possibly particle systems, or sprites.
As soon as you say “initial” you imply that there will be a second state for at least 1 – 5. Is this a test of the august membership of the Cow?
Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media -
Sounds like attributes of a particle in a particle generation system.
Oops, I didn’t read the other responses before posting, so it sounds like I stole their answer.
Joey Foreman
Editor/Compositor/VFX Artist -
Are you asking what they are or are you wondering if we know what they are?
It sounds (as others have mentioned) like settings in a particle system to me.– The Great Szalam
(The ‘Great’ stands for ‘Not So Great, in fact, Extremely Humble’)No trees were harmed in the creation of this message, but several thousand electrons were mildly inconvenienced.
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Gosh. I can’t wait to find out what this is all about.
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Todd Kopriva, Adobe Systems Incorporated
Technical Support for professional video software
After Effects Help & Support
Premiere Pro Help & Support
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Hi guys. Thanks very much for your answers.
What it’s all about is, during my research I came across a paper written in 1983 by a fellow named William Reeves, who describes in great detail how he created the Genesis Effect animation for Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, and says all the particles used had those 7 attributes. And bearing in mind this paper was written 28 years ago I found it surprising to see attributes I recognise myself from Blender and After Effects being talked about back then in the days of the ZX Spectrum.
So now I can add into my disseration or literature review that the terms used by Reeves back then are still in use today, and I can justify using the paper in my research.
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[Adam Henderson] “I found it surprising to see attributes I recognise myself from Blender and After Effects being talked about back then in the days of the ZX Spectrum.”
I don’t think it’s all that surprising — the entire history of computer graphics has been largely evolutionary. There have certainly been big leaps in innovation, but we continually build on what has come before.
Particle systems (like the Genesis effect) are only one example. 3D graphics is another: for example, we still use subdivision surfaces for modeling today, and they were invented by Ed Catmull and Jim Clark in 1978. Texture mapping, z-buffering and hidden surface removal, and Gouraud and Phong shading, as well as terms like “vector graphics” and “sprites” all date back to the 70s. Perlin noise was developed in the 1980s, and many of us still use it every day (for turbulence in effects like Fractal noise, Particular, and Form).
It has taken a long time for the processing power available on our desktops to catch up with the theory developed 30-40 years ago.
Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events -
What an excellently concise and well-rounded response. Chock full of info, but too short for him to just copy and paste and call it his paper 😛
– The Great Szalam
(The ‘Great’ stands for ‘Not So Great, in fact, Extremely Humble’)No trees were harmed in the creation of this message, but several thousand electrons were mildly inconvenienced.
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Ahhhh! All this talk of Sinclair Spectrums and the like is making me reminice about my first forays into computer graphics with good old Deluxe Paint! Anyone remember that? I also had a book on “Compuer Graphics wizzardry” where I had to type in about one whole chapter’s worth of code just to create an open circle! Those were (not) the days! 😉
cheers,
Angie
Angie Taylor animation & illustration for television, film, web and devices
https://www.angietaylor.co.uk
Twitter: theangietaylor
Linkedin: theangietaylor
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Angie-Taylor/118378194869002 -
[Angie Taylor] “I also had a book on “Compuer Graphics wizzardry” where I had to type in about one whole chapter’s worth of code just to create an open circle! Those were (not) the days! ;-)”
Angie, you can have all that fun all over again! Check out Processing [link] — “an open source programming language and environment for people who want to create images, animations, and interactions.”
Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events
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