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Talk to a Movie Digital SFX Expert

Posted by Roblimo on from the help-me-I'm-morphing dept.

Thad Beier has been working with computer graphics and film since the late 70s. In 1995 he and three partners founded Hammerhead Productions, a company that specializes in computer-generated special effects. Thad received a Technical Achievement Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the Oscar people, not the MPAA) in 1998 for one of his many technical innovations. He's worked on Terminator 2, Angels in the Outfield, The Fast and The Furious, and the upcoming Blue Crush, among other films. He wrote this 1992 Siggraph paper, and now writes all of Hammerhead's software tools and manages the company's mixed bag of SGI and Linux equipment. So ask Thad anything you want about computer-generated special effects. We'll send him 10 of the highest-moderated questions, and post his answers when we get them back.

2 of 261 comments (clear)

  1. LA -v- Silicon Valley by gruntvald · · Score: 3, Informative

    though still high, the rents & housing costs in LA are about 1/3 to 1/2 that of Silicon Valley. I believe the bulk of the digital effects companies are in or near Pasadena, and you can rent somewhat affordably in that whole corridor, or if you don't mind the commute, further north.

  2. Re:best way to get into the industry? by davechen · · Score: 2, Informative

    Pixar has a nice FAQ for people interested in jobs in CG animation.

    http://www.pixar.com/companyinfo/jobs/faq.html

    Included is a list of schools with good graphics and animations programs:

    http://www.pixar.com/companyinfo/jobs/schools.ht ml

    Texas A&M has a really good visualization that's kind of half way between the tech side and the art side. UNC (my alma mater) is really good for computer graphics, but they're more into interactive graphics as opposed to animation.