CMP 366.

3 Multimedia System

Chapter 4
Video and Animation

4.1 Basic Concept

Video is the technology of electrically capturing, recording, processing, storing,
transmitting, and reconstructing is a sequence of still images representing series in
motion.
Visual representation is shown an idea or image that is presented in a particular way to
have its meaning or symbolism.
Digital video has supplanted analog video as the method of choice for making video for
multimedia use. While broadcast stations and professional production and postproduction
houses remain greatly invested in analog video hardware, digital video gear produces
excellent finished products at a fraction of the cost of analog. A digital camcorder
directly connected to a computer workstation eliminates the image-degrading analog-to-
digital conversion step typically performed by expensive video capture cards, and brings
the power of nonlinear video editing and production to everyday users.

Video Signal Representation

Video signal representation consists of three aspects:
Visual Representation:
The main objective of visual representation is to offer the viewer a sense of presence in
the scene and of participation in the events portrayed.
Transmission:
Video signals are transmitted to the receiver through a single television channel.
Digitization:
Digitization is the process of analog to digital conversion, sampling of gray (color) level,
quantization.

Notes by: Parash Mani Bhandari GCES, Lamachaur, Pokhara

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Visual Representation
The main objective of visual representation is to offer the viewer a sense of presence in
the scene and of participation in the events portrayed. To meet the main objective, the
televised image should convey the spatial and temporal content of the scene. Importance
measures are:
1. Vertical detail and viewing distance:
The geometry of the field occupied by the television image is based on the ratio of
the picture width W to height H. It is called aspect ratio.
Aspect ratio: ratio of picture width and height (4/3 = 1.33 is the conventional
aspect ratio)
Viewing angle = Viewing distance/Picture height (D/H)

2. Horizontal detail and picture width:

Picture width (Conventional TV service) = 4/3 x picture height

3. Total detail content of the image:

Number of pixels presented separately in the picture height = vertical
resolution
Number of pixels in the picture width = vertical resolution x aspect ratio
The product of the number of elements vertically and horizontally equals
the total number of picture elements in the image.

4. Perception of depth:
In natural vision, this is determined by angular separation of images
received by the two eyes of the viewer.
In the flat image of TV, focal length of lenses and changes in depth of
focus in a camera influence depth perception.

5. Luminance and chrominance:

Color-vision - achieved through 3 signals, proportional to the relative
intensities of RED, GREEN and BLUE.

Notes by: Parash Mani Bhandari GCES, Lamachaur, Pokhara

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Color encoding during transmission uses one LUMINANCE and two

CHROMINANCE signals

6. Temporal aspect of resolution:

Motion resolution is a rapid succession of slightly different frames. For visual
reality, repetition rate must be high enough (a) to guarantee smooth motion and
(b) persistance of vision extends over interval between flashes(light cutoff b/w
frames).

7. Continuity of motion:
Motion continuity is achieved at a minimal 15 frames per second; is good
at 30 frames/sec; some technologies allow 60 frames/sec.
NTSC standard provides 30 frames/sec - 29.97 Hz repetition rate.
PAL standard provides 25 frames/sec with 25Hz repetition rate.

8. Flicker effect:
Flicker effect is a periodic fluctuation of brightness perception. To avoid this
effect, we need 50 refresh cycles/sec. Display devices have a display refresh
buffer for this.

9. Temporal aspect of video bandwidth:

Temporal aspect of video bandwidth depends on rate of the visual system to scan
pixels and on human eye scanning capabilities.

Transmission
Video signals are transmitted to receivers through a single television channel. To encode
color, a video signal is a composite of three signals. For transmission purposes, a video
signal consists of one luminance and two chrominance signals.
Video bandwidth is computed as follows
700/2 pixels per line X 525 lines per picture X 30 pictures per second
Visible number of lines is 480.

Notes by: Parash Mani Bhandari GCES, Lamachaur, Pokhara

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Intermediate delay between frames is

1000ms/30fps = 33.3ms
Display time per line is
33.3ms/525 lines = 63.4 microseconds
The transmitted signal is a composite signal
Consists of 4.2Mhz for the basic signal and 5Mhz for the color, intensity and
synchronization information.

Color Encoding:
A camera creates three signals
RGB (red, green and blue)
For transmission of the visual signal, we use three signals: 1 luminance
(brightness-basic signal) and 2 chrominance (color signals).
In NTSC, luminance and chrominance are interleaved
Goal at receiver
- separate luminance from chrominance components
- avoid interference between them prior to recovery of primary color signals
for display.
RGB signal
for separate signal coding
consists of 3 separate signals for red, green and blue colors. Other colors are
coded as a combination of primary color. (R+G+B = 1) --> neutral white color.

YUV signal
separate brightness (luminance) component Y and
color information (2 chrominance signals U and V)
Y = 0.3R + 0.59G + 0.11B
U = (B-Y) * 0.493
V = (R-Y) * 0.877
Resolution of the luminance component is more important than U,V
Coding ratio of Y, U, V is 4:2:2

Notes by: Parash Mani Bhandari GCES, Lamachaur, Pokhara

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YIQ signal
similar to YUV - used by NTSC format
Y = 0.3R + 0.59G + 0.11B
U = 0.60R - 0.28G + 0.32 B
V = 0.21R -0.52g + 0.31B

Composite signal
All information is composed into one signal
To decode, need modulation methods for eliminating interference b/w luminance
and chrominance components.

Digitization
Before a picture or motion video can be processed by a computer or transmitted over a
computer network, it need to be converted from analog to digital representation.
Digitization is the representation of an object, image, sound, document or a signal
(usually analog signal) by a discrete set of its points or samples.
Digitization = Sampling + Quantization
Sampling is the reduction of a continuous signal to a discrete signal.
Refers to sampling the gray/color level in the picture at MXN array of points.
Once points are sampled, they are quantized into pixels
sampled value is mapped into an integer
quantization level is dependent on number of bits used to represent resulting
integer, e.g. 8 bits per pixel or 24 bits per pixel.
Need to create motion when digitizing video
digitize pictures in time
obtain sequence of digital images per second to approximate analog motion
video.

Notes by: Parash Mani Bhandari GCES, Lamachaur, Pokhara

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Computer Video Format

The computer video format depends on the input and output devices for the motion video
medium.
Current video digitizers differ in digital image (frame) resolution, quantization and frame
rate (frames/s).
The output of the digitalized motion video depends on the display device. The most often
used displays are raster displays, which store display primitives in a refresh buffer in
terms of their component pixels.

CPU Peripheral
Devices

Surface Frame Video Monitor

Memory Buffer Controller

Figure 4.1: A common raster display system architecture

The video controller displays the image stored in the frame buffer, accessing the memory
through a separate access port as often as the raster scan rate dictates. The constant
refresh of the display is its most important task. Because of the disturbing flicker effect,
the video controller cycles through the frame buffer, one scan line at a time, typically 60
times/second.
Some computer video controller standards are given here an example. Each of these
systems supports different resolution and color presentation.

Notes by: Parash Mani Bhandari GCES, Lamachaur, Pokhara

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The Color Graphics Adapter (CGA):

The CGA has a resolution of 320x200 pixels with simultaneous presentation of four
colors. Therefore, the storage capacity per image is:

The Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA):

The EGA has a resolution of 640×350 pixels with 16-color presentation. Therefore, the
storage capacity per image is:

The Video Graphics Adapter (VGA):

The EGA has a resolution of 640×480 pixels with 16-color presentation. In this case, 256
colors can be displayed simultaneously. The monitor is controlled through an RGB
output. The storage capacity per image is:

The 8514/ A Display Adapter Mode:

A Display Adapter Mode can present 256 colors with a resolution of 1024×768 pixels.
The storage capacity per image is:

Notes by: Parash Mani Bhandari GCES, Lamachaur, Pokhara

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The Extended Graphics Array (XGA):

The XGA supports a resolution of 640×480 pixels and 65,000 different colors. With the
resolution of 1024×768 pixels, 256 colors can be presented. In this case, we have the
same storage capacity per image as the 8514/A adapter.

The Super VGA (SVGA):

The SVGA offers resolutions up to 1024×768 pixels and color formats up to 24 bits per
pixel. The storage capacity per image is:

Television
Television is the most important application that has driven the development of motion
video. Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving
images that can be monochrome (black and white) or colored, with or without
accompanying sound. Television may also refer specifically to a television set, television
programming or television transmission.

Conventional Systems
Conventional system used in black and white and color television. Conventional
television systems employ the following standards:
NTSC (National Television Systems Committee)
• NTSC developed in U.S., is the oldest and most widely used television standard.

Notes by: Parash Mani Bhandari GCES, Lamachaur, Pokhara

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• The color carrier is used with approximately 4.429 MHZ or with approximately
3.57 MHZ.
• NTSC uses a quadrature amplitude modulation with a suppressed color carrier
and work with a motion frequency of approximately 30 Hz.
• 4×3 Aspect ratio.
• 525 lines
• 30 frames per second.
• Scanned in fields.

PAL (Phase Alternating Line)

• Invented by W.Bruch (Telefunken) in 1963.
• It is used in parts of Western Europe.
• The basic principle of PAL is a quadrature amplitude modulation similar to
NTSC, but the color carrier is not suppressed.
• PAL is an analogue television color encoding system used in broadcast television
systems in many countries.
• 4×3 Aspect ratio.
• 625 lines
• 25 frames per second.
• Scanned in fields.
• There are slight variations: PAL-B, PAL-G, PAL-H and PAL-N.
• Used in continental Europe and parts of Africa, Middle East and South America.
• More Lines = Better Resolution
• Fewer Frame/fields = More Flicker

SECAM (Sequential Color and Memory)

• SECAM is a standard used in France and Eastern Europe.
• In contrast to NTSC and PAL, it is based on frequency modulation.
• It uses a motion frequency of 25 Hz and each picture has 625 lines.
• SECAM is an analog color television system first used in france.

Notes by: Parash Mani Bhandari GCES, Lamachaur, Pokhara

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Enhanced Systems
Enhanced Definition Television Systems (EDTV) are conventional systems modified to
offer improved vertical and/or horizontal resolution. EDTV are an intermediate solution,
to digital interactive television system and their coming standards.

HDTV (High Definition Television)

• The next generation of TV is known as HDTV.
• HDTV is a digital system.
• 16:9 Aspect ratio.
• Permits several level of picture resolution similar to that of High Quality
Computer Monitors, with 720 or 1080 line (1280×720 pixels or 1920×1080
pixels).
• Range from 24 to 60 frame per second, progressive or interlaced scan.
• Uses MPEG-2 compression to squeeze a 19 Megabit per second data flow so that
it can be accommodated by a standard broadcast TV channel of 6 MHz
bandwidth.

Digital coding are essential in the design and implementation of HDTV. There are two
kinds of possible digital codings: composite coding and component coding.

Composite Coding:
The simplest possibility for digitizing video signal is to sample the composite analog
video signal. Here, all signal components are converted together into a digital
representation. The composite coding of the color television signal depends on the
television standard. Using component coding, the sampling frequency is not coupled with
the color carrier frequency.

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Component Coding:
The principle of component coding consists of separate digitization of various image
components or planes; for example, coding of luminance and color difference
(chrominance) signals. These digital signals can be transmitted together using
multiplexing. The luminance signal is sampled with 13.5 MHz as it is more important
than the chrominance signal.

4.3 Basic Concepts of Animation

Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model
positions in order to create an illusion of movement.
It is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can
be created and demonstrated in a number of ways.
The most common method of presenting animation is as a motion picture or video
program, although several other forms of presenting animation also exist.
Animation is anything that moves on your screen like a cartoon character. It is the visual
art of creating the illusion of motion through the successive display of still images with
slightly perceptible changes in positioning of images. Animation is the illusion of
movement.
Animating = making something appear to move that doesn’t move itself
Animation = a motion picture made from a series of drawings simulating motion by
means of slight progressive changes in the drawings
The result of animation is a series of still images assembled together in time to give the
appearance of motion
Animation is the art of movement expressed with images that are not taken directly from
reality. In animation, the illusion of movement is achieved by rapidly displaying many
still images or frames in sequence.

4.4 Types & Techniques of Animation

When you create an animation, organize its execution into a series of logical steps. First,
gather up in your mind all the activities you wish to provide in the animation; if it is
complicated, you may wish to create a written script with a list of activities and required

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objects. Choose the animation tool best suited for the job. Then build and tweak your
sequences; experiment with lighting effects. Allow plenty of time for this phase when
you are experimenting and testing. Finally, post-process your animation, doing any
special rendering and adding sound effects.

Cel Animation
The term cel derives from the clear celluloid sheets that were used for drawing each
frame, which have been replaced today by acetate or plastic. Cels of famous animated
cartoons have become sought-after, suitable-for-framing collector’s items. Cel animation
artwork begins with key frames (the first and last frame of an action). For example, when
an animated figure of a man walks across the screen, balances the weight of his entire
body on one foot and then the other in a series of falls and recoveries, with the opposite
foot and leg catching up to support the body.
The animation techniques made famous by Disney use a series of progressively different
on each frame of movie film which plays at 24 frames per second. A minute of animation
may thus require as many as 1,440 separate frames. The term cel derives from the clear
celluloid sheets that were used for drawing each frame, which is been replaced today by
acetate or plastic. Cel animation artwork begins with key frames.

Computer Animation
Computer animation programs typically employ the same logic and procedural concepts
as cel animation, using layer, key frame, and tweening techniques, and even borrowing
from the vocabulary of classic animators. On the computer, paint is most often filled or
drawn with tools using features such as gradients and antialiasing. The word links, in
computer animation terminology, usually means special methods for computing RGB
pixel values, providing edge detection, and layering so that images can blend or
otherwise mix their colors to produce special transparencies, inversions, and effects.
Computer Animation is same as that of the logic and procedural concepts as cel
animation and use the vocabulary of classic cel animation– terms such as layer, Key
frame, and tweening. The primary difference between the animation software program is
in how much must be drawn by the animator and how much is automatically generated

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by the software In 2D animation the animator creates an object and describes a path for
the object to follow. The software takes over, actually creating the animation on the fly as
the program is being viewed by your user. In 3D animation the animator puts his effort in
creating the models of individual and designing the characteristic of their shapes and
surfaces. Paint is most often filled or drawn with tools using features such as gradients
and anti- aliasing.

Kinematics
It is the study of the movement and motion of structures that have joints, such as a
walking man. Inverse Kinematics is in high-end 3D programs, it is the process by which
you link objects such as hands to arms and define their relationships and limits. Once
those relationships are set you can drag these parts around and let the computer calculate
the result.

Morphing
Morphing is popular effect in which one image transforms into another. Morphing
application and other modeling tools that offer this effect can perform transition not only
between still images but often between moving images as well the morphed images were
built at a rate of 8 frames per second, with each transition taking a total of 4 seconds.

4.5 Principles of Animation

Animation is possible because of a a biological phenomenon known as persistence of
vision and the psychological phenomenon called phi .
An object seen by the human eye remains chemically mapped on the eye’s retina for a
brief time after viewing. This makes it possible for a series of images that are changed
very slightly and very rapidly, one after the other, seem like continuous motion.
1. Squash and Stretch: - Defining the rigidity & mass of an object by distorting its
shape during an action.
2. Timing: - Spacing actions to define the weight & size of objects & the personality
of characters.
3. Anticipation: - The preparation for an action.

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4. Staging: - Presenting an idea so that it is unmistakably clear.

5. Follow Through & Overlapping Action: - The termination of an action &
establishing its relationship to the next action.
6. Straight Ahead Action & Pose-To-Pose Action: - The two contrasting approaches
to the creation of movement.
7. Slow In and Out: - The spacing of in-between frames to achieve subtlety of timing
& movements.
8. Arcs: - The visual path of action for natural movement.
9. Exaggeration: - Accentuating the essence of an idea via the design & the action.
10. Secondary Action: - The Action of an object resulting from another action
11. Appeal: - Creating a design or an action that the audience enjoys watching.
12. Solid Drawing: - Knowing them can dramatically improve one's ability to create
good, strong poses and compose them with well crafted environments.

4.6 Animation Languages:

There are many different languages for describing animation, and new ones are
constantly being developed. They fall into three categories:

(i) Linear-list Notations:

In linear-list notations for animation each event in the animation is described by a starting
and ending frame number and an action that is to take place (event). The actions typically
take parameters, so a statement such as
42, 53, B, ROTATE ''PALM'', 1, 30
means "between frames 42 and 53, rotate the object called PALM about axis 1 by 30
degrees, determining the amount of rotation at each frame from tabled B".

(ii) General-purpose Language:

The values of a variables in the language can be used as parameters to the routines, which
perform the animation. ASAS is an example of such a language. It is built on top of LISP,
and its primitive entities include vectors, colors, polygons, solids, groups, points of view,
subworlds and lights. ASAS also includes a wide range of geometric transformations that

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operate on objects. The ASAS program fragment below describes an animated sequence
in which an object called my-cube is spun while the camera pans.

(grasp my-cube); The cube becomes the current object

(cw 0.05); Spin it clockwise by a small amount
(grasp camera); Make the camera the current object
(right panning-speed); Move it to the right

(iii) Graphical Languages:

Graphical animation languages describe animation in a more visual way. These languages
are used for expressing, editing and comprehending the simultaneous changes taking
place in an animation. The principal notion in such languages is substitution of a visual
paradigm for a textual one. Rather than explicitly writing out descriptions of actions, the
animator provides a picture of the action. Example of such systems and languages are
GENESYS, DIAL and S-Dynamics System.

4.7 Method of Controlling Animation

Controlling animation is independent of the language used for describing it. Animation
control mechanisms can employ different techniques.
Full Explicit Control
Explicit control is the simplest type of animation control. The animator provides a
description of everything that occurs in the animation, either by specifying simple
changes, such as scaling, translation, and rotation, or by providing key frame information
and interpolation methods to use between key frames.
Procedural Control
Procedural control is based on communication between various objects to determine their
properties.
Physical-based systems, the position of one object may influence the motion of another.
Action-based systems, the individual actors may pass their position to other actors to
affect the other actors’ behaviors.

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Constraint-based Systems
Support a hierarchy of constraints and to provide motion where constraints are specified
by the dynamics of physical bodies and structural characteristics of materials is a subject
of active research.
Tracking Live Action
Trajectories of objects in the course of an animation can also be generated by tracking
live action. Traditional animation uses rotoscoping. Tracking live-action technique is to
attach some sort of indicator to key points on a person’s body.

4.8 Transmission of Animation

Transmission over computer networks may be performed using one of two approaches:

The symbolic representation

The symbolic representation of animation objects is transmitted together with the
operation commands performed on the object, and at the receiver side the animation is
displayed. The transmission time is short because animated object is smaller in byte size
than its pixmap representation, but the display time at the receiver takes longer because
the scan-converting operation has to be performed at the receiver side.

The pixmap representation

The pixmap representation of the animated objects is transmitted and displayed on the
receiver side. The transmission time is longer than the symbolic representation but the
display time is shorter because the scan-conversion of the animated objects is avoided at
the receiver side.

Notes by: Parash Mani Bhandari GCES, Lamachaur, Pokhara

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