Another interesting simulation would be one for the alleged kerosene fireball that zig-zagged down the staggered elevator shafts, all the way down to the lobby, and then blew out the ceiling and windows. Just a thought.

Weight is distributed in the direction of least resistance. If the upper portion of the building fell upon the lower… in order for it to distribute its weight straight down all the way through.. that would mean that it fell flat upon its foundation all the way through… which is just about impossible to do. The building would most likely meet unequal resistance from the surface it fell on… meaning one side of the building would fall faster then the other. The building would therefore fall at an angle as displayed in the video… If you’ll notice the top portion of the building does fall angularly… at the very beginning.

If demolition is considered, the reason why the building tilts at the beginning as though ready to topple over and then miraculously falls straight downward can be easily answered. The building met unequal resistance. Most likely the section most damaged collapsed first pulling the rest of the building with it and toppling over, until, of course, demolition blows up everything beneath it, eliminating resistance, and allowing it to fall straight downwards, thus, discontinuing its toppling motion.

The top section of the south tower began to tilt at approx 9:59 am. At this moment, a large cloud of grey dust suddenly puffed out of the building. The 35 stories of the top section continued to tip to 23 degrees past vertical. At this point, the upper segment was hanging over the edge by approx 65 feet. In frame by fame pictures, one can see the concentric and uniform mushrooming grey cloud rapidly expand to envelp the building. As this is happening, one can see debris being blown away from the building with an extremely powerful blast. The overhanging upper section was then mysteriously shrouded and never seen again. Then the whole building came straight down. With an incredibly fast 10.4 seconds the once might tower was reduced to a pile of totally pulverized remains. Government story is that this building experienced a compression or a pancake demoltion caused by weakened trusses and weight from above. At first this explanation sounds plausible, especially because this is what the television reports have told us time and time again. But common sense would indicate that the center of gravity of the top section was not centered over the lower section. Thus, if there was a compression demolition, it would not be uniform because the center of gravity was considerably off center. Secondly, the severed top section that was tilting very much over the edge would fall somewhat independently. Third, this section would fall at a fast rate than the anchored lower section because it would not meet the resistance of the intact lower section. Fourth, the top and lower sections would break into pieces, they would not pulverize. None of these four things happened.

On the other hand, there is a reason why we did not include the entire package of raw animations used in court. The total run time of all these animations is probably over an hour and entirely without sound. These animations were designed to accompany the testimony of the expert witness while he gave oral descriptions live in the courtroom. Watching them without this testimony is like watching paint dry. They are really not stand-alone pieces. That is why the podcast series has shown only excerpts of the animations along with our narration regarding a little of the history of the case and the background of the production process.

In one regard presenting these works is a commercial for me and for Z-Axis. However, the intent was to share with the world what we think is a unique and significant application of computer animation that might otherwise go unnoticed.

On the other hand, there is a reason why we did not include the entire package of raw animations used in court. These pieces total about an hour in length and with the exception of a few with audio from the cockpit voice recorder are entirely without sound. These animations were designed to illustrate the testimony of the expert witnesses while they gave oral descriptions live in the courtroom. Watching them without this testimony is like watching paint dry. They are really not stand-alone pieces. That is why the podcast series has shown only excerpts of the animations along with our narration regarding a little of the history of the case and the background of the production process.

In addition, a number of these animations were my personal work. I was the animator on Delta, forensic investigator and animator on Pepcon, and the senior producer on the WTC case. And as a point of historical significance, the Delta animation was the first use of a computer animated reconstruction in a major case in the US. So in one regard presenting these works is a commercial for me and for Z-Axis. The intent, however, was to share with the world what we think is a unique and significant application of computer animation that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Mediation and History of Animation in Court…