backflip / salto nazaj
Nikita Diakur (Nikita Diakur, Miyu Productions)
2022, Germany, France, 12'15''
Park. Apartment. 6-core processor. My avatar learns a backflip.
Park. Apartma. Šestjedrni procesor. Moj avatar se nauči narediti salto nazaj.
Language: English
Recommended for the children under the age of 14: Yes
Technique: Machine Learning, Simulation
Explanation of Above Techniques: The film is simulated and is based on the research paper « DeepMimic: Example-Guided Deep Reinforcement Learning of Physics-Based Character Skills » by Xue Bin Peng, Pieter Abbeel, Sergey Levine and Michiel van de Panne. Thus, the character in the film uses Machine Learning to learn a backflip. Previously, it learned other tasks also performed in the film. Machine Learning enables the computer to learn from its mistakes and to gradually finetune its output to come closer to its set goal. The character is scanned and rebuilt from reality. Consisting of interconnected dynamic components and digital springs that function as individually triggered muscles, the character is put into motion. The simulation results are partly realistic, partly unpredictable, often broken. The world around the character is constructed with the method of camera projection mapping. Realistically looking backgrounds and props reveal their true flawed and distorted shape during the shifts of camera angle. The camera is recorded in real time in VR following the character’s movements.
Team
Animation: Nikita Diakur
Script: Nikita Diakur
Coding: Max Schneider
Set: Nikita Diakur, Leonhard Gläser
Castings: Nikita Diakur
Image: Nikita Diakur, Gerhard Funk, María Anaya Alderete
Special effects: Nikita Diakur, Mario von Rickenbach, Christopher Dorstewitz
Film editor: Nikita Diakur
Rendering: Nikita Diakur
Sound engineer: David Kamp
Sound editor: David Kamp
Mix: David Kamp
Soundtrack: aiva.ai & thunderkamp
Nikita Diakur
is a Russian-born filmmaker based in Germany. He is best known for his projects Ugly and Fest, which have received critical acclaim at film festivals around the world. His signature style is dynamic computer simulation that embraces spontaneity, randomness, and error.