Affective motion textures

The communication of emotion and the creation of affect are core to creating immersive and engaging experiences, such as those in performance, games and simulation. They often rely on atmospheric cues that influence how an environment feels. The design of such ambient visual cues for affect is an elusive topic that has been studied by painters, theatre directors, scenic designers, lighting designers, filmmakers, producers, and artists for years. Research shows that simple motions have the capacity to be both perceptually efficient and powerfully evocative, and motion textures – patterns of ambient motion throughout the scene – are frequently used to imbue the atmosphere with affect. These effects rely on designer craft: there is to date little empirical evidence of how motion properties contribute to affective impressions. In this paper we report research into affective motion textures that shows how even simple variations in path curvature, speed and texture layout can influence affective impressions. We describe the development of a motion brushing prototype tool and discuss insights from an on-going qualitative study with professional visual effects designers into how such capabilities can enhance their current practice.

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► This paper examines affective interpretations of motion fields.
► Shape, direction and speed are shown to be influential.
► Two studies are reported.