The Paradigm of Character Rigging
Jeff LightSupervisor of Character TDs, DreamWorks Animation
Date: Thursday, October 7, 2010
Location: Spanos Theater, Cal Poly campus
Time: 11:15am - 12:30pm
The presentation is open and free to the Cal Poly community and the public.
Mass media extols how computer technology impacts most human endeavors, but how is computing transforming as it addresses its relevance to industry? Whether you are a programmer working in a creative environment or an artist working with technology, you both must learn to speak the language of the other and appreciate the complexities they face.
As an example, the presentation and our discussion will focus on rigging a character for a digital animated feature film at DreamWorks Animation to investigate why it requires the marriage of cutting-edge computing and breathtaking artistry. Each requires its own form of R&D and creative search for solutions, constrained by real limitations of resources, time and budget.
Jeff Light joined DreamWorks Animation in 2003 as a Character TD on the computer animated comedy, "Madagascar." He was then promoted to the position of Character TD Supervisor on the studio's next computer animated feature, "Over the Hedge," released in 2006 and continued in this capacity on the feature production "How to Train Your Dragon," released in 2010. As a Character TD Supervisor, Light's responsibilities include working with the directors, production designer and animators to interpret the style and movement of all of the characters in a 3D environment.
Prior to joining DreamWorks, Light worked as a creature development and motion capture supervisor at Industrial Light + Magic (ILM). While at ILM, he worked in various roles on such films as "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones," "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace," "The Mummy," "The Perfect Storm," "Dragonheart," "Casper," "The Flintstones," "Jurassic Park," "Death Becomes Her," "Hook" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day."Prior to his work in the entertainment field, he served as a researcher and instructor at The Ohio State University, specializing in image processing software. He also served as a technical director, animator and programmer at Cranston/Csuri Productions in Columbus, Ohio.
Light is a graduate of The Ohio State University with both M.A. and B.F.A. degrees in Photography & Cinema.
Co-sponsored by:
- Department of Computer Science - Software Engineering
- ACM student Club
- WISH student Club
- CENG (College of Engineering)
- CLA (College of Liberal Arts)