3-D Computer Generated Animation and the Material Plane – An Investigation of The Material Qualities of 3-D Computer Generated Animation

This research considers the remit of ‘space’ within the production and presentation of 3-D CGI animation and explores the potential of space to function as material within this mode. Through a practical and theoretical study, the paper outlines the proposal that within the context of 3-D CGI animation the property of ‘space’ can be regarded as unique, deemed as an essential quality and defined as material. Central to this investigation is Heidegger’s recognition of space as including (but not imposing) two general theories of space; objective and subjective space and the work draws upon Heidegger’s 1969 essay Art and Space (Translated C. H. Seibert), A, Mitchell’s book Heidegger Among the Sculptors (2010) and Heidegger’s Being and Time (1926).

The paper explores the theme of ‘clearing away’ through its application to animation practice and presentation and seeks to interrogate, through practical animation practice, Heidegger’s notion of clearing away as a means to release places, and as a means to introduce space openness. The work explores associated ideas of making room and locality and an interplay between place and space using 3-D CGI animation and asks the following questions:

1. How might the conceptualization and presentation of space be deemed as fundamental to the remit of three-dimensional computer generated animation?

2. Through practical application and analysis, how might space be qualified as material within the context of three-dimensional computer generated animation?