Development of an automated Animation Production Tool (AutoAPT)

This project undertakes industrial research aimed at building an automated Animation Production Tool that provides high levels of automation to animation pre-production, production & post-production processes including initial script creation, storyboarding, and animation asset and sequence production. Achieving this aim will require developing novel database systems and techology for (i) enabling voice-to-text input by authors of animation scripts and precise positioning within scripts of descriptive keywords and cues for action directions, emotional behaviours being expressed, background design, props and sound, lighting and special effects, (ii) using database functionality to enable collaborative working across supply chains, (iii) using key words within scripts to search and retrieve animation models, including ‘skeletons’, and automatically modify their characteristics and motions, (iv) using CAD/CAM CNC-based motion control processes to automate the movement types and directions of characters to the needs of the voice-to-text created scripts, (v) assembling assets into finished animations.