"Wayang"Interactive Puppet project
at The Korea National
University of Arts
Director : Suzung Kim,
Researcher : So-youn Park
Overview
by So-youn Park
Digital Puppet Animation these days, seem to moving towards expressing actuality
like a movie by showing up realistic character made by 3D and natural movement
using motion capture techniques. However, if we think about the origin of the
puppet animation, today's puppet animation which mimics the character's behavior
and that originated from cartoon and flip book has different history with puppet
show that has long history that came from the East and the West tradition.
Puppet in puppet show is symbolic and is opposed to realistic try. Puppet cannot
express complexity of human life, but rather expresses the reality in a form
of poetic and intuitive way. If we can speak of today's puppet animation as
a movie, then the puppet show can be figuratively spoken as a high standard
play. Puppeteer transfers the meanings, not just copying the behavior. Because
ordinary man or even children can learn to control the puppet while expressing
oneself, much research is also being made in using it for the mental treatment
and the education of children.
Interactive Puppet Theater makes users control digital puppet on the screen
using their own hands. The Silhouette Character has the strong self-projection
and the symbolism.
User can easily control puppet on the screen by wearing the prepared globes
or color chips and putting his/her hands inside a small box with curtains just
like the stage.
Using the theatrical expression from simplistic movement of the puppet that
is made from computational codes, and the hands and the fingers that are one
of the most intimate interfaces of human being, we can re-illuminate the artistic
form, named puppet show in digital media
For the interactive theatre, adopting
narrative style of story line seems to have a bit of difficulties, so as a start,
the linear style of story telling like the one in a music video has been chosen.
Three or four different music and the well matched character for each
music has been pre-defined and the each character s behavior responses in different
way. For example, each different puppet like the Indonesian silhouette puppet,
a character from a fairly tale, or some geometric form has its matched music
fixed, and this character or puppet reacts in different manner with its own
personality.
The user can select the music on the first screen and can control the actions
of the puppet as the music plays along.
Operating environment
Mac G4/350
Director 7.0
Lingo script
TrackThemColors Xtras
Samsung Web Camera
Further interest
1. lingo and TrackThemColors have
difficulty to express a subtle movement due to memory problem.
It needs more advanced technology to show the delicacy of silhouette animation.
I wish the puppets movement be expressed as an optimized beauty in its own.
2. I should find the way to recognize the shape and the movement of fingers
besides the tracking of colors. One possible way could be recognizing x, y,
z of the coordinates of a hand, then adding the sense of distance on the puppets.
3. Research about the finger expression. Can think of a method of interaction
between a computer and a human by utilizing the characteristics of human hands
that can be moved freely.
For example, scrolling the page up by shaking the palm upwards and scrolling
down the page by shaking the palm downwards.
Can make a program using this type of interaction. If successfully implemented,
it could be used in
help deaf since the finger language can possibly be translated to the spoken words.
sample
movie 1 (Quick time movie : 1.71 MB)
sample movie 2 ((Quick
time movie : 544 KB)