Existing Components
The project uses two existing components. It is built upon the GLScene library and will optionally make use of the EW Notator application.
GLScene
The GLScene library provides a full set of ready-to-use 3D graphics components to be used with the Delphi or Free Pascal programming languages and targeting the OpenGL 3D environment. Components for key frame animated, skeletal based actors already exist in this package and may be used to derive classes with extended capabilities by using inheritance through object oriented programming. The currently available GLScene packages have slightly been modified, to adapt to the special needs of this project: Streaming and filing mechanisms have been extended to handle XML formats, which provide greater flexibility than the existing text-based and binary formats. The unit PersistentClasses.pas has been separated from the GLScene package and has been put into a newly created package named GLCommon. The writer and reader classes for XML support are located in the new package XMLFile. Some additional modifications were necessary to allow deriving of new classes from the existing GLScene package.
EW Notator
EW Notator is an editor for Eshkol-Wachman Movement Notation (EWMN) scores. It has been developed by Henner Drewes since 1994. Scores written in the EW Notator application may be imported into the MovEngine via the optional EWImport module. Although import from this EWMN editor is not considered mandatory, it will provide an efficient input method for movement data in an intermediate developmental stage. Other input methods will require considerably more developer resources. Therefore they will be scheduled for development at a later stage.
Under Development
MovEngine
Implementation of the Movement-orientated animation Engine (MOVEngine) has started and some important features are already functional. The MovEngine extends traditional key frame animation by movement-oriented concepts of analysis and description. Its functionality is mainly based on single-limb movement instructions. Another important analytic principle is the inversion of the limb hierarchy for weight-carrying limb chains. The features already implemented are described in detail here.
Test Application
The test application is a simple wrapper around the MovEngine and provides a simple user interface. It allows to load and save the XML-based animation files, to add and edit movement instruction data, and to run and view the 3D animations. Furthermore, the animations may be recorded and saved as video files. No effort will be spent to provide a user friendly UI for this application, as it is only designed for testing purposes.
EWImport
The EWImport module interacts with the existing EW Notator application to allow import of movement data written in Eshkol-Wachman Movement Notation (EWMN), a symbolic language to describe movement. As permitted by available developer resources, the functionality of the EWImport module will be continously adapted to the ongoing development of the MovEngine.
Future Tasks
ArchiveVisualizer Application
The ArchiveVisualizer application will act as a tool for re-construction and composition. It will be tested within the context of re-constructing historic materials found in the Derra de Moroda Dance Archives, but its broad functionality will also support other fields of application. With the help of this application, movement phrases may be designed and composed using various approaches. Three-dimensional postures may be designed e.g. on the basis of drawings, libraries of existing movement phrases provide suggestions for possible transitions between given postures. Movement paths may be designed and altered by editing the low-level movement instructions. Parameters used in library items provide a mechanism to control characteristics of movement transitions and style through a centralized mechanism.
Other Applications
Other possible applications – not in the scope of the current project – include tools to translate notation scores into 3D animation and learning tools for dance students.
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