Hannes Ricklefs, R&D lead and Head of Pipeline at the The Moving Picture Company (MPC) and Kent computing graduate, entertained students and staff with an animation-packed presentation covering the latest research and development at MPC as demonstrated in recent movies such as Clash of the Titans, Watchmen and The Chronicles of Narnia.

He began with a high-level overview of the production process, explaining how the different artistic and technical departments work together to create world-class visual effects. Central to this process is the software pipeline which combines elements ranging from 3D modeling tools to sophisticated renderers to generate advanced effects such as physically-based simulations, and crowd animations.

He explained how every character and every environment is modeled in minute detail taking inspiration from the natural world. Eyes, ears, mouths, skin, scales, feathers and fur of real animals are studied and adapted for creating credible fantasy characters. Realistic motion and flexibility is applied during the rigging process when skeleton, muscle and tendons are added to the model to give the characteristic movement and mobility.

Scenes are then built up by combining layout, animation, lighting and compositing.

Students from the Schools of Computing, and Engineering and Digital Arts attended the guest lecture which forms part of the Computer Graphics and Animation module taught by computing lecturers Richard Jones and Peter Kenny.

Peter Kenny, who also supervised Hannes' final year undergraduate project at Kent, said:

" It's always a pleasure when former students return to give guest lectures, especially when the subject is so interesting. Hannes' successful career in the visual effects industry demonstrates the value and versatility of a degree in computer science. "

MPC is a post production facility creating digital visual effects and computer animation for feature films, commercials, music videos and television. A wholly owned subsidiary of Technicolor, MPC has facilities in London, Los Angeles and Vancouver.

Hannes Ricklefs graduated from Kent in 2004 with a BSc in Computer Science with a Year in Industry. He went on to complete an MSc in Computer Animation at Bournemouth University before being recruited by MPC. His visual effects credits include Clash of the Titans (2010), Watchmen (2009), G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006).

The lecture took place on 6 April 2010 at the University of Kent at Canterbury.

Published 26 April 2010
Contact: M.L.Bowman@kent.ac.uk