Post 2



Ezio Auditore

http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/assassins-creed-brotherhood/images/18617653/title/ezio-auditore-da-firenze-photo

Aesthetics

At first glance Ezio comes across as a mysterious character that has no friends and is unsociable. He also seems like the kind of person that would cause trouble. His physique gives off the vibe that he has to be ready for action whenever he is needed. However the cape he wears also gives the image of a hero that save the day. He also comes off as a person that gets the girl after getting the job done. The colour and style of his robes might also show that he has a lot of money and comes from a rich noble family. His dark brown skin shows that he is always outdoors most often and the style of wear well resembles the original assassin, Altair Ibn-La'Ahad. 

Colour

The colour of Ezio's robes are quite simple they reveal, a pale white that covers the majority of his robes, which contrasts well with the red that covers his belt and the inside of his robes. Also the brown on his cape, glove and boots also contrast well with the white. The colour white on his robes represent the traditional colour of his order, the Assassins.

Style

Italian style robes from the renaissance period in the 15th century.

Accessories

In addition to the traditional Assassins Creed robes, Ezio is also equipped with the traditional weapons of his famous order which are the hidden blades. they are blades that are strapped to his arm and it come out whenever Ezio needs it. He is also equipped with an olden day pistol that is shot out of his palm. Also on his belt he keeps a few supplies like smoke bombs, throwing knives, poison darts and some money.

Personality

Before becoming an assassin, Ezio was a man with no responsibility and did not care for others unless it came to family and personal friends. After becoming an Assassin he becomes a man of conviction and responsibility and do the right thing at the first sight of trouble.

Motivation

As an assassin, Ezio's motivation is to take down an organization known as the Templars, who are a group of people who are bent on conquering the empires of the world.

Relationships

 Ezio comes from a family of 6, including himself. His mother was Maria Auditore and his father was Giovanni Auditore. His brothers were Federico and Petruccio Auditore and his sister was Claudia Auditore. However Ezio's brothers and father were executed and he is currently on the run, with his sister and mother living with his uncle, Mario Auditore. After joining the Assassins brotherhood he has gained friends and allies, who he also considers family. His only known romantic connection was to Christina Vespucci until sometime passed.

Back Story

Ezio grew up in a Italian nobleman household and always got into fights and played around with woman. His father and brothers were then arrested. trying to free them he travels to a friend of the family's and gives him some documents. He then realises that the friend betrayed them and executed his father and brothers by hanging. He escapes the city with his mother and sister to his uncle's villa. There he learns the fact that his brother and father were assassins and that the men who had them executed were Templars. He then seeks revenge for his family and even after he accomplishes them he hunts down the Templar order as an official member of the Assassin brotherhood.

Tsunayoshi Sawada

http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/katekyo-hitman-reborn/images/4178079/title/tsunayoshi-tsuna-sawada-wallpaper

Aesthetics

Tsuna comes off as a type of ladies man when I first see this image. Tsuna has pale skin and is also short in terms of height because he is still in middle school. ( In New Zealand that is years 8-10). He also has long brown spiky hair, which the steretypical haistyle for a male protagonist in anime and has a very skinny figure. The style of his clothes also shows that he is a very formal person when needed to be and he also likes to look fashionable even during a fight. Tsuna also resembles his ancestor who was the first generation vongola boss, Giotto.  

Colour

The main colours that represent Tsuna are the orange that show his flames and the colour of his eyes. Also the black on his gloves. They compliment each other because they are both warm colours.  

Style

Mafia style attire (suit, shirt, tie etc.)

Accessories

Tsuna is equipped with the Vongola sky ring, which shows that he is the next generation boss of the Vongola family. He also is equipped with X gloves which are used to generate dying will flames. They also increase his strength, allowing him to fly and also shoot projectiles. He carries around another ring that was given to him by Lanchia and he keeps it on a chain around his neck. In order to fight he keeps dying will pills in order to enter Hyper dying will mode which is shown in the photo.

Personality

Tsuna is the kind of person that cares for his friends and also tires his best to keep them from coming to harm. He is also the kind of person who fights for whats right and tries his best to stop anyone who would cause trouble.

Motivation

Although being the next generation mafia boss, Tsuna just enjoys being around his friends and family, especially his crush, Kyoko Sasagawa.

Relationships

Tsuna's immediate family are his mother and father, Nana and Iemitsu Sawada. Tsuna also has his guardians, who are tasked to protect him and they are also his closest friends, Takeshi Yamamoto, Gokudera Hayato, Hibari Kyoya, Mukuro Dokuro, Lambo and Sasagawa Ryohei. Tsuna also shares a more one sided romantic relationship with a girl named Kyoko. The relationship that is mostly emphasized in this anime is the one between Tsuna and his tutor, Reborn.

Backstory

Tsuna was an ordinary middle school boy who had a bad reputation of being bad at everything including academics and physical activity. He lived with his mother because his father was always away. His whole world changed when his new tutor was an infant/ baby named Reborn. Through Reborn, who was actually a legendary hitman, Tsuna learned that he was the tenth generation boss of the Vongola family, the strongest mafia family in the world. As a result of being the candidate as the vongola boss, he also goes through process of finding his guardians, who are entrusted to carry out his will and also protect him. After this encounter Tsuna would come realise that the world that he once knew would change drastically, revealing secrets, enemies and challenges  that threaten both his life and the life of his loved ones. However throughout these trials, Tsuna also grows in a way that could one day change the current Vongola family.   

 

Minato Namikaze

http://cjsn45.deviantart.com/art/Minato-Namikaze-4th-Hokage-render-318990702

Aesthetics

Minato has blonde spiky hair, pale skin and blue eyes. He also has tough physique, which is a necessity when given the task of protecting the village. 

Colour

The green jacket and blue trousers compliment each other. They represent the common attire worn by Jonin/ Chunin rank ninja of the hidden leaf village. The white cloak also contrasts well with the red flames at the bottom.

Style

Common official uniform for ninja from the hidden leaf village.

Accessories

Minato is equipped with a personal arsenal of weapons. his favourite weapons are his custom made kunai knives. Each kunai knife holds a marking on the handle which allow him to fully utilise the use of the flying raijin technique. This technique allows Minato to teleport to any marking that he has placed at remarkable speed. He is also equipped with his own set of ninjustsu (ninja techniques) that allow him to overcome his enemy. For example the rasengan, which became popular for its destructive capabilities.

Personality

This man holds dear to him, his family, friends and comrades. He also puts the well being of his friends at top priority before the completion of a mission that being said he also holds a great deal of duty and responsibility towards his village and its goals.

Motivation

As once being the leader of his village, Minato ensured the safety of the village and its populace. He also fights for what he believes is right and what must be done in the world in order to change it for the better.

Relationships

Minato shared a romantic relationship with his wife, Kushina Uzumaki and is also the father of Naruto Uzumaki. He was also the teacher of Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha and Rin. One of Minato's many teachers included Jiraiya, one of the legendary three who later on teaches his son. 

Backstory

During the third great ninja war, Minato became a legend that was feared throughout the ninja world. Known for his unparalleled speed he was given the nick name "The Yellow Flash", by both his comrades and enemies. Soon after the ending of the war Minato was named the Hokage of the hidden leaf village, meaning that he is now the new leader and is also the strongest ninja in the village. After becoming Hokage a crisis had occurred within the village. The nine tailed fox had appeared and wreaked havoc upon it. Giving his life, Minato chose to seal the monster within his son so that in the future the creature would then come under his son's control.  

Master Chief

http://fragsandwich.com/archives/category/master-chief-costume

Aesthetics

Master Chief is taller then an average male and his appearance under his armour is unknown because that information has not been shared to the public.

Colour

The only main colours that represent Master Chief is the dark green and black on his armour and the orange/ gold colour on the visor of his helmet.

Style

General spartan armour used for combat

Accessories

Master chief usually wields an assault rifle as his weapon however during actual game play the weapon of choice varies from person. He also has a slot at the back of his armour, where puts a chip in that contains the AI program known as Cortana. There is also a shield layer on top of the armour to protect master chief from incoming gun fire from enemies.

Personality

Master Chief is a man of action and as a result he speaks very little during the game play and even during the cut scenes. 

Killua Zolydck

http://narutofanon.wikia.com/wiki/File:132308-hunter-x-hunter-killua-zoldyck-lightning.jpg

Project Two- Character Design POST 1 Questions/ Research

Task 1
Key Questions

What/ who will my character(s) be?

Who has done this before me?

Who/ what is my favourite Animated Video game character?

How can I be original?

What new skills do I need to learn? 

Character
Photoshops- Illustrator- pen too
Scan
Drawing

Movement
Blender( motion capture and camera tracking)
Digital Video camera
mpeg stream clip.

POST 6 & 7 Advanced Tools and Techniques

Task 2
Explain how advanced tools and techniques have been used to create, edit and integrate digital media outcomes. 

I have used different advanced tools and techniques to create, edit and integrate my digital media outcome but I will explain only two that I used.

The first advanced technique that I used was "Rigging". In order to use this advanced technique, the tools I used were the armature, bones, subdivide, extrude and duplicate. The armature allowed me to give my mesh, movement that resembles a that of a human. In order to do this I used another tool called a bone and placed in the center of the torso, of my mesh. From there I subdivided the bone into three different bones. I then extruded the end of the bottom and top bones in order to make bones for the arms and legs. I then duplicated those bones onto the other side of the mesh so that I wouldn't have to extrude it all over again. This meant that the length and volume of the bones on each side of my mesh were equal.

The other advanced technique that I used was "Animating". Animating is my mesh given movement. The tools that I used for this technique were key frames, pose mode and armature. In order to create my animation I used pose mode. Pose mode allowed to me to move different body parts of my mesh into different key poses. After changing my mesh into different positions I put them into different key frames and the intervals between them were filled in automatically by the program. This resulted in the finished animation.


Task 3

Discuss why advanced tools and techniques have been used to create, edit, and integrate digital media, and how their use has enhanced the outcome.

During the creation of my digital media outcome the advanced technique, "Rigging" was used to help enhance the outcome. It was really helpful because the armature allowed me to freely move the body parts of my mesh. I then moved my character into different positions and recorded them as key frames, this was done after I had parented my armature to the mesh. I then used the key frames to create an animation, which is another advanced technique. 

While editing my digital media outcome I used the armature to move the bones and thus moving the mesh into different positions if the animation did not move the way I wanted it to. In my case when, after setting in the key poses for the key frames the intervals, in which the mesh moves from one pose to another moved in a different way. This caused the animation to look distorted and as a result I had to manually fill in the intervals with other poses to ensure that it would move smoothly to the next pose exactly he way I want it to.  

Integrating my model was when I used the advanced technique called "Parenting". This meant that taking more than one object and putting them together, with one object as the parent and the rest as children. This means that when I alter the parent in any way all the children/ objects that are parented with it are also affected in a way. This allowed me to connect my mesh with the armature. As a result when I move a bone on the armature, using pose mode it moves the respected part of the body that it is close to or parented with. For example when i move the bone in the neck the neck also moves. This gave my character motion.

Task 4

Student can evaluate how the application of advanced tools, techniques affect the quality of digital media outcomes

Using the application of advanced tools and techniques the quality of my digital media outcome was improved. This is because if it weren't for Rigging and parent i would not have been able to give my character movement. Also UV painting and textures to give my character a unique and yet appealing look to the mesh that is meant to give a feel to the audience. Lastly animation that put my character into a mini film. My digital media outcome was also meant to build a relationship between my character and the audience so that they understand our own style.

POST 5 Conventions of a Digital Animation

Task 1

Explain the standards and conventions used to produce digital media outcomes.

The standards and conventions that I used to produce my digital media outcome include things like the folder I used in order save my rendered images, the resolution of my rendered model and the image type file that I used to render my mesh. I also used some of the 12 principles of animation in order to create my digital media outcome.

Some of the conventions that I used included the "12 principles of animations"

To produce my digital media outcome some of the principles I used included the "Straight ahead and pose to pose" principle and the "Appeal" principle. 

• The "Straight ahead and pose to pose" principle uses two different methods to create the movement of a character/s in an animation, in my case I used the pose to pose method. This method utilizes the use of key frames. Using my own key poses I modeled my mesh into those poses and then filled in the intervals between each key frame. As a result I knew the exact movement of my mesh without a change in the shape or volume of the mesh.
• The "Appeal" principle means that the character is to feel real and interesting to the viewer and although I didn't create a face for my character I believe that the colours and form of my character will most likely appeal to males as it is meant to represent a fighter/ wrestler.

In this screenshot, I maintained the preset resolution, 1920x1080 in order to render out my images and that will ensure that my animation will come out in HD quality.

This screenshot displays the location of which I saved my rendered images to make my final digital outcome and also, It shows that I saved it to a location where I could access it without delay and confusion.  

This screenshot displays, the file-type I used in order to produce my digital media outcome. I used the PNG image file because it displays better resolution and thus better quality, than some other imagery files like JPEG.





Task 2
Discuss the positive and negative implications of adhering to digital media outcome and conventions when developing digital media outcomes.

In my case when using "pose to pose" then a positive would be, me having the ability to freely move my character into different positions for each key frames without me losing the shape and volume of my character. Also the blender automatically moved my mesh into the next key frame without me having to do anything. 
However a negative would be the mesh moving into the next key frame in a different way then what I had originally intended and as a result I had to position my mesh in such a way during the intervals, so that the animation would run smoothly.

When using the "Appeal" principle it allowed to freely create my mesh in a way where it could seem real and interesting to me as well as a specific audience.
A negative is that it does not appeal to most people because it doesn't have a face and that usually gives detail to what the character is feeling and that means that people will feel less connected to the character.

When saving my images for my animation a positive was that I could find it in an easy manner without having to look everywhere for it. 
A negative was that if I moved my images into a different folder then the animation would not work properly because it cannot find the images that were supposed to be in that folder.

These are only some negative and positive implications of adhering to the digital media outcome and conventions.

Task 3
Evaluate how the application of standards and conventions affect the quality of digital media outcomes.

I believe that if applied correctly then the standards and conventions will greatly affect the quality of digital media outcomes because it helps show the quality/ resolution of which it is presented, it develops a connection between the character and the viewer, it also shows that file management was fully utilized in sorting out the images and it helps give off human characteristics to the audience because of the actual movement of the character. 

Task 4
Discuss the relationship between standards and conventions, in relation to the requirements of digital media outcome.

The relationship between standards and conventions in the relation the requirements of digital media outcome is the quality of which both are utilized that help produce the 3D animation. The conventions are the physics and terminology behind the animation and also the link between the digital media outcome and the stakeholders/ target audience. The standards are the part that help set the resolution of which the animation is created .      

POST 3 Ethical Statement

All the work for this project has been produced by me and provided from my teacher.

POST 4 Workflow/ File management

Task 1
You will need to explain how asset management and file management are applied in the development of digital media outcomes.

What is an asset? - an asset is an element that is managed only within a particular application You will need to identify these elements and explain how you manage them in the development of your animation.

My Character

Assets:

• I was firstly able to manage my video by first creating a character to move in my walk cycle. The character was created from a 'cube' which was cut in half and then mirrored using the mirror modifier. This ensured that if I changed one side of the cube, that same change would occur on the opposite side. I then shaped the cube into a character like figure using object and edit mode in the interface. I changed the colour of the character using the material button. 
• I also used a 'camera' in order to check what my character would look like if it were rendered. At first there were a lot of lumps on my character that could not be rendered but I was able to fix it by deleting the faces on the inside using edit mode.
• I also used a 'lamp' so that I could get a clear rendered image of my character and also pin point the exact location of where I want the light to shine on my character. If needed I would have created multiple lamps to show the main parts of my the different areas.
• After my character was fully created I created an 'armature' in order to give movement to the limbs/ body parts of my character. The armature allowed me to actually move my character into the positions for the walk cycle. 

What is a file? - a file is a document that is saved outside an application, typically in a folder somewhere on a computer, cloud or external device. It can also be used within an application or be created as a result of that application.

Files:

• I used file management to structure all my files in a way that would enable me to find and modify anything if necessary. I used file management to save an image that was needed to move my character in my walk cycle. I also saved all of my screenshots or snipping (using the snipping tool) in a folder so that I could find it in a easier fashion. I saved my images as a PNG file because it is a lossless form of data. This means that I can reduce the size of the file without having to worry about the quality of it being reduced.  

Images of the Assets

Model Files

Task 2 
For this task you will need to discuss the importance of effective and appropriate asset management and file management in the development of digital media outcome.

Firstly file management is something that plays a big part in the production of my final digital outcome. I took all of my files and placed in an appropriate structure so that it would make it easier for me and anyone else to find the files needed for a specific task. For example I sorted my images and blender files in different folders. I also used file management to place all of my photos taken During the production of my character constantly saved my work but I didn't save my progress as a new file and instead always saved overwrite the same file.

Proper File Structure

In terms of assets I was able to manage most of them in an appropriate fashion so that I could create my both my character as well as my animation and my walk cycle.

I order to create the actual structure of my character I started out with a cube:

Cube

In order to get the basic shape I first had to subdivide the cube into different parts. I then cut it in half and added the mirror modifier. As I changed one half of the cube it also happened on the other, this is how I was able to make my limbs and head. I then applied the mirror modifier so that the opposite half will stay in its current form, instead of moving when I change the other half. After creating the structure of my character I then viewed it in rendered form and noticed that there holes in my character. I then had to get rid of all the cube faces on the inside of my character by using both edit and object mode. I then did the same to the extra faces on the inside of my cube.

Armature

The armature was responsible for allowing me to move my character. In order to create an armature, I fist created a bone and subdivided it into 2 cuts. I then grew the middle bone to make it fit the torso of the character. I also grew the top bone to reach the middle of the torso because it was too small for me to see and so it could control the top part of the torso. I clicked on the top bone and used extrude to grow a bone big enough for my arm. I then subdivided that bone into two parts. I also did the same thing with the legs. I then duplicated the bones of the arm and leg onto the opposite side of the character. once again I used extrude on the top bone to grow a bone upwards and that became the head. In order synchronize the armature with the main body I had to select both the armature and the body, and use the parenting or weighting the bones. weighting the bones means that one bone automatically controls the vertex of the mesh/ character that it is closest to. for example if I selected the bone that on the far left it would only control that part of the arm. After that I used pose mode to test if all the bones had been weighted and it was a success.

As a result i was able to do my walk cycle for my mesh and this is an image of me working on it. All of these asessts allowed me produce my digital outcome.

Walk Cycle

POST 2 Ethics of Digital Technologies

Task 1
In your own words define and describe each of these aspects.

Copyright

As soon as an idea in an original form can be viewed by the public it is automatically protected by copyright. This means that owner does not need to apply for protection for their work.
That includes files like videos, written documents, audio files, and images.
Under the copyright law viewers were not allowed to: replicate the owners work, sell the work, display their work in public, make a modification/ adaption to their work and allow anyone else to the these things to that work.
In order for the viewers to do these things then they must ask special permission from the owner themselves.
Copyright Act 1994.

Creative Commons

Creative Commons have a set of licences (7)
These licences explain just how the copyright holder will let their work to be used.
This means that viewers will be able to use the copyright users content depending on the creative commons license.
Understanding Creative Commons.
The Creative Commons Licenses.
There different sites that share specific files using creative commons. This means that there are sites that only share music files or video files and images.
Some websites that share content under a creative commons license include:

• Flickr
• Fotopedia
• Wikimedia Commons

Piracy
Piracy is the act of someone using a copyright holder's work without creative commons or without special permission.
This means that if a viewer were to replicate, modify, sell, display or even claim that product as their own then that is an act of piracy.
New Zealand set a new law that was set in place September 2011, called the Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Act 2011.
Basically if someone were to be caught then they would first be given two warnings and if caught a 3rd time then they would have to pay a fine of $275- $15000 straight to the copyright holder.

Task 2
Next you need to discuss how each of these legal, ethical and moral considerations are related

Copyright is the moral and ethical consideration that protects digital information that is automatically uploaded to the internet. Creative Commons gives the viewer a chance to use that owners work but under the conditions set by either the owner or the creative commons license that the owner had chosen for their work. Piracy is when a viewer decides to use an individuals work without either asking permission or following the terms of the creative commons license placed on that work if there is one.  

Task 3
Next you will need to write a brief case study on the controversy surrounding the online file sharing/storage service megaupload and the new file sharing/storage service mega.co.nz

1) How copyright law has been breached which = Piracy & Unethical and immoral behavior  

Kim Dotcom was accused of copyright infringement, racketeering and money laundering. copy Copyright infringement is when an individual or user downloads and uploads another's piece of work without their permission.  Mega Upload was capable of sharing another person's work to the world with or without that individual's permission. This is also an act of piracy. This may have led to some suspicions of him racketeering or being involved in illegal business.  

2) How copyright law has been worked around? Is there a grey area?

Kim Dotcom claims that Megaupload had tried to prevent copyright infringement by stating that the termas and services of the website forced the users to post material that was not copyrighted. He also claimed that he gave permission to individuals and companies direct access into mega upload to take down any infringement files, that were of significane to them. However that did not stop the users from uploading infringed files. I believe that because of the US privacy laws that do not allow administrators from looking into the accounts of the users, catching the users would be close to impossible. So I do believe that there is a way around the law by just anonymously infringing files and knowing that the officials do not have the right to check if it were you.

3) Megaupload was shut down. Who are the significant players in this scenario?

Megaupload was shut down on January 19, 2012 by the United States Department of Justice. This was due to the charges toward founder, Kim Dotcom and users constantly breaching copyright laws. Also the people who are after him the most are the US, seeing as they have requested to extradite him back to the US. However because he is protected by new Zealand law he is still fighting the extradition. After Kim Dotcom's arrest it was proven that illegal means was used to help locate Kim Dotcom and as a result John Key had to make an apology toward Kim Dotcom and the citizens of New Zealand.   

4) How did/do both sites work?

Megaupload allowed used the cloud storage system which allowed the user to store and access data and programs on the internet instead of saving it in their computer. This cloud storage system is said to the feature that gave the users the chance to commit acts of piracy. The successor of Megaupload, Mega also has the cloud storage system. However Mega has a different encryption of the files during the upload process. This means that all files stored on mega are unacceeable by anyone unless they have the decryption key. As a result Mega is unable to view the contents of the file just in case it is very sensitive material. This also means that beacuse they are unable to see the contents of the files, then if someone were to share an infringed file then mega cannot be held responsible. 

5) Are there other sites that operate in a similar way that have or have not been shut down?

Some similar sites that work like megaupload are Youtube and Rapidshare.