Abstract

Among China's rich cultural heritage is Chinese opera, a kind of folk art that combines singing, reciting, acting and dancing. Over more than 13 centuries, varied styles have evolved--the more famous being Beijing opera, Yue opera, Huangmei opera, Kunqu opera and Sichuan opera. In the 20 th century with the popularity of movies and pop music, Chinese opera underwent a serious decline and some of these styles are on the verge of extinction. Recognizing this, in May 2001, UNESCO proclaimed Kunqu opera as one of the 19 "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity". The Chinese government has also taken many initiatives for preserving and recording this art form, primarily using more conventional media like text, photographs, illustrations, sound, film and video. In this thesis we propose the use of 3D computer animation techniques for the same purpose. More specifically, since exaggerated facial expressions and falsetto singing are distinguishing aspects of this art form, we have experimented with application of 3D facial animation techniques first. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)