Movie Making at Pixar: A Collaboration of Art and Technology

Abstract

This talk takes you behind the scenes at Pixar Animation Studios for an in-depth look at how its 3d computer graphics films are made. Making a computer animated film involves people with artistic talent and people with technical skills working together in close collaboration. The process starts with the development of the story and continues with modeling the geometry, adding articulation controls, using those controls to animate the characters, simulating things like water and cloth and hair, defining the look of the surfaces, putting lights in the scene, adding special effects, rendering, and post-production. Special emphasis is given to the roles of technology and computer graphics research in supporting the filmmaker.