After the activity that I showed in This Blog I Realised that robots within media could be a great inspiration for me coming into the future Phases. as well as this I can see the themes that robots present in media, this will give me broader view of how popular and infamous robots act both in movement and personality.
Good Robots:
General Observation:
Starting off I wanted to look at friendly robots in media as this is the direction that I want to take my robots, machines built for good. overall most (if not all) of these robots have some sort of face or eye(s) that can covey some sort of emotion. This is a key part of there characteristics, as well as this the body they have are disproportionately sized compared to humans this create a literal and subconscious idea that they don't have the same functionality compared to human: small arms mean they can't grab or use thing the same way as us, short legs mean the don't move so sporadically as humans often making them feel docile and lastly their eyes are fixed in there head meaning they need to move there whole head to look at things this helps convey emotions as well as make them look a little lost or silly when looking around making the charater feel less threatening and more friendly.
Wall-e:
Wall-e uses his eyes to express more interestingly that any other robot on this list as compared to a digital eye, the mechanical eye uses an aperture of the camera that is his eye to replicate a humans eye that allows views to connect to him and convey his emotions in a natural human way. creating a juxtapositions between all other robots in the film that have a digital eyes like Eve.
R2D2:
The thing I want to address about R2D2 is his sounds he makes, only through. beeps and chimes he expresses a lot of emotion and does this very successfully often making the scene where he is holding a conversation with people believable. (also his iconic scream is amazing)
Baymax:
visually Baymax does something that not other robot charater does, he has a visual change halfway through the film making his soft squishy look become a more rugged and threatening look, this image of him changing is very quickly is shattered by his personality and body language coming through and making the view realise that he is still the same lovable healthcare companion.
Evil Robots:
General Observation:
The evil robots often have a lot more articulation in their body making them more humanoid in their movement, even if they aren't anthropomorphic in nature. as well as this they often have very overly metallic bodies (often a chrome metal) this keep the viewer aware they are completely unnatural and manmade. They also often have glowing eyes (usually a red colour) to give off a threatening vibe from them. Lastly most of them have the ability to speak this lets them have their threatening monologues and convey often in a menacing voice.
Terminator t-9000:
This robot has an excess of wires and pipes and hydraulics so despite the structure looking like a human it very quickly reinforces the idea this is a replication of a human but a the threatening grin and red eyes show it's for evil rather than good.
Glados: Glados has a unique personality compared to most villainous antagonist in the sense that she knows she is more powerful and has complete control over the area the player is in. This leaves the opportunity for her personality to shine as she plays around with you putting you in harmful situations and sarcastic remarks to belittle you.
What can I take away for this research:
The design of robots in media is very diverse but certain elements stay relevant throughout.
The materials used for the robots are often very relevant to how they are viewed and thought of chrome metal often is negative and rusty metals or white materials lead to a positive outlook on the charater.
The charater's proportions really effect the way they are able to express themselves, smaller limbs give limited movement which will result in sympathy for the robot.
Eyes are a massive way in which robots express themselves as well as if they give off a warm friendly ascetic or a harsh and violent one.
all of these I will need to consider in the future when I have to make designs for my robots.