Skip to content

DA6. Hey Deer! Movie Analysis

Statement

Watch the computer-animated movie, Hey Deer! As part of your response, discuss what type(s) of rendering you believe were used to make this animation and why they were used. Your discussion should address topics (and how each may or may not have been employed to create this movie) including:

  • Real-time animation.
  • Procedural animation.
  • Key-frame animation.
  • Interpolation animation.
  • Physically-based animation.

Answer

Introduction

The film is simple and adorable. It speaks about a dear living in a frozen forest on the north pole (due to green sky lights in the night). The dear has a repetitive life of waking up, tidying the room, clearing the snow, having dinner, going to bed, and then an earthquake happens. We finally see that the dear is actually lives in a snow globe glass ball, hence the repetitive life (Barczy, 2017).

I think the rendering used in this animation is procedural, key-frame, interpolation, and physically-based animation (all except real-time animation). In the text below we will discuss each of these topics starting by a simple definition and then how they were used (or not used) in the movie.

Real-time Animation

Real-time animation cooperates with the user’s input to generate frames in real-time. This means that the generated frames differ based on the user’s input, and every user may see different scenes. This type of animation is particularly useful in video games and interactive applications (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2020). Hey Deer! film does not depend on user input and frames are pre-rendered. Therefore, real-time animation was not used in this film.

Procedural Animation

Procedural animations explicitly describe the movements of objects in the scene within a time frame using algorithms or a sequence of instructions. This type of animation is specifically useful for repetitive movements or animations of expected behaviors such as the movements of clock hands hanged on a wall (UoPeople, 2024). The film Hey Deer! contains repetitive movements (every day routine of the deer); however, it is highly unlikely that procedural animation was used for the main character, but rather for smaller objects in the scene such as the movements of the green lights in the sky (see Image 1 below from the film).

Image 1: Green lights in the sky
Green lights in the sky

Key-frame Animation

Key frame animation let’s the animator specify the position and state of object at specific points in time (key frame), while the in-between frames are automatically generated by the computer. This type of animation generates new geometries for every keyframe rather than updates properties of existing meshes to produce motion (UoPeople, 2024). In the film Hey Deer!, the movements of the main character (the deer) are smooth, continuous, and do not follow a specific algorithm; which suggests that key-frame animation was used (see Image 2 below from the film).

Image 2: The deer
The deer in the film Hey Deer!

Interpolation Animation

Interpolation animation is a technique used to generate in-between frames between two key frames; it ensures smooth transitions between key frames and to generate realistic motion (UoPeople, 2024). The main difference from key-frame animation is that interpolation animation does not generates new geometries as it updates existing ones. It is hard to tell if an object is animated using interpolation animation or key-frame animation, but the interpolation animation is popular and highly likely used in the film Hey Deer!.

Physically-based Animation

Physically-based animation is a technique that respects the laws of physics when animating objects. It ensures the realistic feeling of the scene and the objects in it (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2020). In the film Hey Deer!, we notice the earthquake scenes where objects are falling due to the shaking and gravity force. Or the wind blowing the snow and the trees, but their weight is resisting that force (see Image 3 below from the film). This suggests that physically-based animation was used in the film.

Image 3: The blowing wind
The earthquake scene in the film Hey Deer!

Conclusion

To conclude, the film Hey Deer! uses procedural, key-frame, interpolation, and physically-based animation. The film does not use real-time animation as the user does not interact with the film but rather all scenes are pre-rendered. Procedural animation is used for repetitive movements of objects in the scene. Key-frame and interpolation animations are used for the smooth and continuous movements of the main character with the in-betweens generated automatically. Physically-based animation is used to respect the laws of physics when animating objects in the scene.

References