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Falling Analyzed

Page history last edited by Alejandro Garcia 14 years, 2 months ago

To understand falling motion we'll look at some video reference, shot with a high-speed camera. This allows us to easily see the motion since it is slowed down to one-fifth the normal speed.

Straight Vertical Falling

The simplest type of falling motion is straight vertical falling of an object released from a height. Notice how the spacing increases as the ball slows out after release.

All objects accelerate with the same timing and spacing when they fall, which you see by comparing a golfball with a bowling ball. Because their sizes are so different, focus on the bottom of each ball; you'll see that they drop at the same rate.

Up & Down

The timing and spacing of a ball slowing into the apex is the exact reverse of a ball slowing out from the apex.

Timing and Scale

Compare the falling motion of a small marble filmed in slow motion (120 fps) with that of a bowling ball recorded at normal speed (30 fps). The two videos look similar because slowing the timing by a factor of 4 makes objects appear to be 16 times larger. This is the idea behind using scale models for special effects.

Falling Seen from Above

Above we've seen how slowing out appears in profile; looking straight down at a falling object gives an interesting texture to the timing due to the added effect of geometric perspective.

Animation Tutorial

For more information on timing and spacing in animation, download the Physics of Timing and Spacing tutorial.