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OFFRE DE THÈSE
www. irisa.fr
Sujet de thèse Ÿ
PhD Subject Title:
Résumé Ÿ
Abstract:
Validated temporal structures in interactive virtual storytelling
Computational interactive storytelling (which gathers models and tools to generate
narratives in virtual environments that adapt to user interactions) is emerging as a new
media with many applications found in entertainment, serious gaming and training.
In this field, while many researchers have focused on the proper balance between
plot-based narratives (how classical narrative structures from literature can be
transferred to shape interactive stories) and character-based narratives (how
autonomous characters coordinate to create emerging stories), there has been little
concern on the integration of proper temporal structures in narratives and their
validation in terms of story legibility.
The temporal structure in a narrative (the order in which the narrative units of a story
are presented) obviously has a considerable impact on the conveyance and
understanding of a sequence of events. Storytellers (and cinematographers) build
sequences of story primitives to manipulate the mental and emotional state of a
viewer [Branigan92, Bordwell85]. Therefore offering the ability for authors to easily
manipulate the temporal structures and generate variations of arrangements opens
great perspectives in terms of creativity. However the straightforward formalization of
temporal structures from narratives does not guarantee the proper comprehension for
viewers, and requires a validation. The Event-Indexing Situation cognitive model
seems to offer the proper framework to establish relevant metrics of comprehension
(as shown in [Cassel12]).
The objective of this PhD is propose computational temporal structures for authors
to model complex interactive stories in a real-time 3D environment. The work is
decomposed in :
(i) analyzing temporal discourses in movies to extract narrative structures and
models following the line of multimodal film analysis techniques [Bateman12]
(ii) proposing a formalization of temporal structures in a computational framework to
generate temporal variations of a same story, and designing metrics for their
validation using cognitive theories [Cassel12]
(iii) integrating these structures in a 3D interactive framework for narratives,
performing a proper integration of cinematographic aspects. Recent advances in
autonomous character control and automated cinematography techniques offer
reliable and high-level means to orchestrate and convey complex behaviors involving
many virtual characters [Cavazza10]. This considerably reduces the process of linking
logical story units to their 3D animation counterparts and camera settings [Christie09].
The work will rely on existing frameworks for 3D interactive storytelling developed in
our Mimetic research team.
For this research topic, the IRISA Mimetic team searches for an excellent PhD
candidate which a strong interest in virtual 3D environments (interaction, computer
animation, virtual characters), good programming skills, the ability to easily manipulate
narrative concepts and a good knowledge in cinematographic techniques and
discourse.
Thèse proposée pour une Labellisation ‘Doctoral School EIT ICT Labs’/
Doctoral School EIT ICT Labs' labelling
Dpt scientifique Ÿ
Scientific department:
D6 - Media et interactions/ Media and Interactions
Equipe projet Ÿ
Research team:
MIMETIC
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OFFRE DE THÈSE
www. irisa.fr
Directeur de thèse Ÿ
PhD Director:
Encadrant(s) Ÿ
PhD supervisors:
Contact(s) :
Stephane Donikian
Stephane Donikian
Marc Christie
Marc Christie ([email protected])
Début des travaux Ÿ
Work start date:
September/October 2013
Lieu Ÿ
Place
IRISA – Campus universitaire de Beaulieu, Rennes
Bibliographie Ÿ
References:
[Bateman12] J. Bateman, Multimodal Film Analysis: How Films Mean, Routledge,
2012.
[Branigan92] E. Branigan, Narrative Comprehension and Film, Routledge, 1992
[Bordwell85] D. Bordwell, Narration in the Fiction Film, University of Wisconsin Press,
1985
[Cavazza08] M. Cavazza, S. Donikian, M. Christie, U. Spierling, N. Szilas, P.
Vorderer, T. Hartmann, C. Klimmt, E. André, R. Champagnat, P. Petta, P. Olivier: The
IRIS Network of Excellence: Integrating Research in Interactive Storytelling. ICIDS
2008
[Cassel12] B. Cassel, M. Young, A Comprehension Based Cinematic Generator for
Virtual Environments, 1st Workshop on Intelligent Cinematography and Editing,
Foundations of Digital Games, 2012
[Christie09] M. Christie, P. Olivier: Camera control in computer graphics: models,
techniques and applications. SIGGRAPH ASIA Courses 2009
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