3D Modelling - Text 7
Modularity
The production of animated content is also influenced by the modular quality of the digital medium. This is the second principle of new media described by Manovich, which he defines as follows:
Just as a fractal has the same structure on different scales, a new media object has the same modular structure throughout. Media elements, be it images, sounds, shapes, or behaviors, are represented as collections of discrete samples (pixels, polygons, voxels, characters, scripts). These elements are assembled into larger-scale objects but they continue to maintain their separate identity.[9]
With the term “modular” Manovich wishes to underscore the ability of objects to be dismantled into their simplest parts without damaging them, and the idea that these parts preserve their singular identity despite their contribution to a broader digital object. A modular object can be a simple pixel of an image, or the vectorial skeleton of a 3D model. This skeleton can be connected with an external surface, or polygons, leading in the end to the formation of a model. This principle enables an animator to modify one of his or her puppets by making it possible, for example, to change the colour of a 3D tiger’s fur. This can be done quickly and relatively simply by modifying the coding of the texture. Before doing so, it is possible to duplicate the digital object in question in order to preserve an earlier version. This provides the animator with greater liberty. It becomes easier to incorporate the same 3D model several times into the same image, rather than having to sculpt several different characters.
An interesting example of digital’s modular capabilities, with respect to 3D modelling, is that of the film Sonic the Hedgehog (Fowler, 2000). When the trailer for this film was released in 2019, fans were shocked by the appearance of the film’s main character, the iconic hedgehog Sonic. They went so far as to call him “Ugly Sonic”. Aware of the public’s passionate negative reaction, the film’s production studio, Paramount Pictures, announced that the film’s theatrical release would be delayed. In the interim, the character was redesigned.
Thanks to the digital medium, it was not necessary to redo the film entirely; the character’s design and animation could only be retouched, reducing the workload when correcting the character’s appearance and increasing the speed at which such change could be carried out.
