A Computational Theory of Animation

Unknown author (1977-04)

The author of this work is supported by an IBM Fellowship. The research described herein is being conducted at the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology research program.

Working Paper

A system is proposed capable of generating narrative computer animation in response to a simple script. The major problem addressed is how to imbed into the system some of the knowledge that animators use when creating animation. Infinitely many animated films can fulfill a single script. The system is faced with the problem of how to make a good one by making decisions in very under-constrained situations. This paper is a total revision of AI Working Paper 119.