The VFX wizards at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) will reveal how they brought mercurial, 30-foot-tall robots to life for DreamWorks/Paramount’s Transformers at this year’s SIGGRAPH. Visual effects supervisor Scott Farrar, associate visual effects supervisor Russell Earl, animation director Scott Benza, digital production supervisor Jeff White and digital matte supervisor Richard Bluff will discuss the production’s many challenges during a special session at the 34th international conference and exhibition on computer graphics and interactive techniques, taking take place Aug. 5-9 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Calif.
Featuring 14 fully computer generated characters, some containing more than 10,000 individually controllable pieces of geometry, Transformers incorporated some of the most complex modeling and animation ever attempted at ILM. The company says that entirely new graphic systems had to be developed to make this not only feasible, but also production-friendly. Everything from oil filters and axles to pistons and body panels were designed to be individually controlled while operating within a complex system.
Approximately 25,000 computer graphics and interactive technology professionals from six continents are expected to descend upon San Diego for SIGGRAPH 2007. The conference includes a three-day (Aug. 7-9) exhibition of products and services from the computer graphics and interactive marketplace, with more than 250 international companies exhibiting their wares. Registration for the conference and exhibition is open to the public. More details are available at http://www.siggraph.org/s2007.
