From Physics to Video Game Animation
By Paul Cottle, Florida State University, 07/14/2014
As a physics professor, I am often asked `What can physics majors do after graduation?' I've tried to use the FPF (Future Physicists of Florida)web site to illustrate some of those options - law school, engineering, and information technology in addition to pursuing a Ph.D. in physics or a related field.
Here is something a little different: Mandy Morland, FSU Physics B.S. '11, was a student in Clemson University's Master's program in Digital Production Arts. This week, she is heading to DreamWorks in California after being chosen in the DreamWorks Effects Challenge 2014 Competition.
I'll let the Clemson public relations people tell the rest of the story below. The picture is from Clemson - Mandy is on the left.
You can see Mandy's master's thesis demo, `Particle System Interaction with Motion Captured Mesh' at https://vimeo.com/97147731.
Three Clemson Digital Production Arts students, Mandy Morland, Zhaoxin Ye, and Anuradha Pinisetty, were selected this year by DreamWorks Animation SKG in their worldwide DreamWorks Effects Challenge 2014 competition. This is a highly competitive program, typically selecting only five or six students from around the world. This is a record for Clemson. The DPA program regularly has students admitted to the FX Challenge, but the previous high in one year was two. The FX Challenge is a six month paid training program that is the fast track to a career in Visual Effects within DreamWorks, one of the top animation companies in the world.
Amanda `Mandy' Morland, Zhaoxin Ye, and Anuradha Pinisetty will head to Redwood City, California to begin their training on July 14 at DreamWork's PDI Division. After six months, assuming successful completion of the program, Mandy and Zhaoxin will be placed in positions in either the Redwood City or Glendale, California studios. Anuradha is slated to be located in DreamWorks' newest studio in Bangalore, India. All three recently completed their thesis work in key areas of Effects. Mandy developed an approach to integrating real-time particle system simulation with motion captured human motion, Zhaoxin investigated techniques for volumetric rendering and animation of clouds, and Anuradha worked on digitally recreating, animating and simulating costumes from a stage production. Their outstanding thesis work provided key elements for their visual portfolios submitted to DreamWorks for the selection process.
The DreamWorks website stated that the FX Challenge is an intensive six month training program, it is designed to give recent graduates a firm knowledge base in the concepts critical to the design and animation of Visual FX in CG feature animation. The program covers programming, drawing, rendering, compositing, animation, simulation, and the fine art of taking direction. Critical to success is not only the commitment to learning new and potentially foreign concepts, but also the ability to work within a production team environment and seek advice from experts. We are looking for recent graduates in the fields of computer science or the visual arts who can demonstrate significant work in both fields; essentially programmers who create works of art or artists who can write their own programs. We're looking for people who can imagine cool new ideas by combining disparate forms and approaches and then build beautiful images from them.
Mandy says, "When deciding what I wanted to pursue in my undergraduate career, I was stuck between what I enjoyed doing at that time and what I knew I'd enjoy doing for a long time after. I was deciding between art and physics. I had strong support in both fields from my teachers in high school but I knew that I could better dedicate myself to the sciences over the arts. I joined the Physics department at Florida State University in 2007.
"While I enjoyed what I learned and the work I did, I knew in my junior year that I didn't want to continue on for my Ph.D. in physics though I still wanted to pursue higher education. I applied and was accepted into two different graduate programs, one in medical physics and one in computer graphics and computer animation. I chose computer graphics. I graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Physics with Honors in May 2011 and began attending Clemson University that fall.
"The M.F.A Program in Clemson University's Digital Production Arts allowed me to bring together what I'd learned through my degree in physics and the art I'd loved in high school. I learned to create special effects (smoke, water, and particle simulations, explosions, lightening, etc.) for both fully animated and live action productions through programing and specialized software. I completed my Master's degree in May 2014.
"The understanding I'd gained from studying physics allowed me to not only understand the mathematics and mechanics underlying the effects I was creating, but also to understand when an effect looked physically realistic. In this field you often push the math out of what is physically normal to create the effects you want. Essentially, you break the rules of physics in the math underlying your effects. But to do this properly you have to first understand those rules. My physics degree gave me an incredibly strong background to understanding what I was creating and how to manipulate it into the effects the director wanted.
"Pursuing physics can be a daunting road to travel but while the work is tough, it is not without its rewards. Because physics is applicable in nearly any field (medicine, economics, computer science, etc.), a degree in physics opens doors to hundreds of other opportunities. To find what was best for me took some searching, especially into areas I hadn't ever considered before. I had assumed the only way to go after undergrad was into a Ph.D program which was ideal for some of my colleagues but wasn't for me. I had to forego what I thought I was supposed to do and move into a field I knew I would love for a long time; one that allowed me to bring together all my interests."