MAJOR: Assistive Artificial Intelligence to Support Creative Filmmaking in Computer Animation

该项目将探索人工智能的方法，以支持创造性的数字电影制作，这是一种极其丰富的新表达和交流形式。数字电影制作中最常见的一种形式是“machinima”——通过操纵3D电脑游戏世界中的虚拟人物制作的电影。由于廉价、快速和简单的电影制作，以及通过视频游戏技术获得高保真图像的吸引力，machinima已经发展成为一种创造性表达和分享的主流形式。然而，machinima的进入门槛很高。这在一定程度上要归功于技术工具，这些工具既便宜又容易获得；数字电影制作对技术要求的门槛也很高。一般来说，创造力是协作的，创造者经常寻求他人的反馈和批评。智能系统还可以通过建议、自主创造和批评数字媒体来参与创造性实践的反馈循环。本研究的目标是减少复杂但丰富的数字表达形式（如电影制作）的技术和技能障碍，从而提高业余创作者的创作效率。它的方法是开发数字媒体制作工具，这些工具被灌输了创造性实践的计算模型和基于实证研究的直观界面。预期的结果是对包括反馈和批评在内的创造性过程的更好理解，对创造性工件的人类接受者的认知和情感过程的模型，以及对涉及智能参与系统的界面模式权衡的理解。该项目围绕两个主要的、相互关联的重点进行组织：(1)开发反馈和批评的认知和计算模型，作为参与创造性努力的智能系统的一种手段；(2)沿着(a)电影控制约束程度和(b)智能参与支持模式两个维度，研究业余和专业数字电影人的创作能力如何受到制作界面的影响。预计由此产生的模型和实现将成为业余数字电影制作和machinima社区采用的下一代创意支持工具。通过实现其研究目标，该项目将展示一种降低进入数字媒体创作形式门槛的技术。特别是，降低电脑制作的门槛，将会向那些在计算机领域一直未被充分代表的用户群体开放，比如女性，她们被讲故事所吸引，但往往被高度技术性的“黑客”技能所阻碍。作为一种表达形式，数字电影制作是一种强大的交流媒介，可以用来吸引计算机，并可以融入包括娱乐和教育在内的广泛活动中。由此产生的模型和实现也可能影响电影和电视行业中不断增长的可视化实践。这种方法将产生一种模式，将智能创造性协助整合到其他形式的表达性数字媒体中。

This project will explore approaches to artificial intelligence that can support creative digital filmmaking, an extremely rich new form of expression and communication. The most accessible variant of digital filmmaking is "machinima" - cinematic movies created by manipulating avatars in 3D computer game worlds. Due to the allure of cheap, quick, and easy movie making, and the accessibility of high-fidelity graphics through video games technologies, machinima has grown into a mainstream form of creative expression and sharing. However, machinima has a high threshold of entry. This is due only partly to technical tools, which are cheap and easily acquired; digital filmmaking also has a high threshold of skill requirements. In general, creativity is collaborative, with creators often seeking feedback and critique from others. Intelligent systems can also participate in the feedback loop of creative practice by suggesting, autonomously creating, and critiquing digital media.The goal of this research is to reduce the technological and skill barriers to complex, but rich forms of digital expression such as filmmaking, thereby increasing the creative productivity of amateur creators. Its approach is to develop digital media production tools that are instilled with computational models of creative practice and intuitive interfaces informed by empirical studies. The anticipated result is a greater understanding of creative processes involving feedback and critique, models of cognitive and emotive processes in human recipients of creative artifacts, and understanding about the tradeoffs of interface modalities involving intelligent participatory systems. The project is organized around two major, interrelated thrusts: (1) develop cognitive and computational models of feedback and critique as a means toward intelligent systems that participate in creative endeavors; (2) study how the creative abilities of amateur and expert digital filmmakers are affected by production interfaces along dimensions of (a) degree of constraint in cinematic control and (b) modes of intelligent participatory support.It is anticipated that the resultant models and implementations will serve as next-generation creativity support tools to be adopted by the amateur digital filmmaking and machinima communities. By achieving its research goals, this project will demonstrate a technique for lowing the threshold of entry to a form of digital media creation. Lowering the threshold of machinima production, in particular, will open the practice to populations of users historically underrepresented in computing such as women, who are attracted to storytelling but often discouraged by highly technical "hacker" skills. As an expressive form, digital filmmaking is a powerful medium for communication, can be used as a draw to computing, and can be integrated into a wide repertoire of activities including entertainment and education. Resultant models and implementations may also impact the growing practice of previsualization in the movie and television industries. The approach will result in a model for incorporating intelligent creative assistance into other forms of expressive digital media.