{"id":401,"date":"2007-11-12T10:02:38","date_gmt":"2007-11-12T16:02:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ezing.me\/transfer\/?p=401"},"modified":"2014-09-23T09:25:25","modified_gmt":"2014-09-23T14:25:25","slug":"digital-revolution-in-filmmaking-discussed-in-lecture-by-pixar-scientist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/digital-revolution-in-filmmaking-discussed-in-lecture-by-pixar-scientist\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital Revolution in Filmmaking Discussed in Lecture by Pixar Scientist"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nOXFORD, Miss. – With a few simple pen strokes, most anyone
\ncan draw a stick figure, but producing today’s cartoons
\nrequires more than artistic ability.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\nAlthough artists are still needed in filmmaking, the
\nindustry is undergoing a digital revolution brought on by
\nadvances in such areas as computer technology,
\ncomputational physics, geometry and approximation theory,
\nsaid Tony DeRose, senior scientist and leader of a research
\ngroup at Pixar Animation Studios, based in Emeryville,
\nCalif.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nSpeaking Thursday at the University of Mississippi, DeRose
\nsaid that all Pixar’s movies except the first “Toy Story”
\nin 1995 were produced using a new mathematical algorithm
\ncalled subdivision surfaces, which, in the field of 3-D
\ncomputer graphics, is a method of representing a smooth
\nsurface using a polygonal model.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“These days, any shape you see in our films is done with
\nsubdivision surfaces,” DeRose said.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nDeRose, a 2006 Academy Award winner, delivered UM’s 13th
\nDalrymple Lecture in Mathematics. He provided a
\nbehind-the-scenes look at the role mathematics plays in the
\nproduction of motion pictures, including the use of global
\nillumination, an algorithm to add realistic lighting to 3-D
\nscenes, and harmonic coordinates, a mathematical technique
\nthat helps improve the motion of characters.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“We want the public to understand that mathematics is used
\nin so many facets of everyday life,” said Tristan Denley,
\nUM mathematics chair. “Tonight, we learned firsthand, from
\nthe only Academy Award-winning mathematician I know that
\nmath has some wonderful uses.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nDeRose received a doctoral degree in computer science from
\nthe University of California-Berkeley in 1985. From 1985 to
\n1995, he was a professor at the University of Washington.
\nHe moved from the classroom to the movie studios 11 years
\nago to put his ideas to real-world use.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n“I basically made the move to filmmaking because of
\nfirst-person technology transfer,” DeRose said. “I wanted
\nto take my laboratory ideas and use them in a practical
\nindustry.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nA single Pixar movie requires up to four years to complete,
\nfrom starting with thumbnail sketches to the final
\nrendering. The greatest challenges facing digital
\nmoviemakers are reducing cost and saving time. DeRose said
\nit requires an average of four to six hours, and sometimes
\nup to 48 hours, of computing to create each of the 75,000
\nframes in a full length movie. The solution, he said, is
\nnot faster computers, but rather more powerful mathematical
\nalgorithms.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nSo, are the days of a sketch artist limited in the future
\nof moviemaking? In short, no, as Pixar’s digital movies can
\nrequire up to 150,000 thumbnail sketches, DeRose said:
\n“Artists are not going out of style. We employ lots and
\nlots and lots of them.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nPixar Animation Studios merged with Walt Disney Co. last
\nyear. The company uses its own proprietary software called
\nMarionette, built and maintained in-house, to produce
\nfilms, including “A Bug’s Life,” “Finding Nemo” and
\n“Ratatouille.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\nThe Dalrymple Lecture series in UM’s Department of
\nMathematics was endowed by Mr. and Mrs. Arch Dalrymple II
\nof Amory. It brings distinguished speakers to discuss
\nmathematics and mathematics research. To learn more about
\nmathematics education at UM, visit
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.olemiss.edu\/depts\/mathematics.<\/a>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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