Oscars for Scientific and Technical Achievement

February 6, 2008

Emilie Lorditch
Inside Science News Service

Scientists and engineers make at splash at this year's Oscars

College Park, MD—After watching several of the movies that feature this year's Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) Scientific and Technical Achievement awards, movie audiences may have wished that their admission included a towel. Each year the AMPAS awards the scientists and engineers who have created technologies that have revolutionized the way movies are made. This year's awards will be presented on Saturday February 9, 2008. Four of this year's winners include computer software and software applications to create every form of water imaginable, from a gentle ocean spray to a crushing tsunami wave.

Technical Achievement Awards:

Winners: Victor Gonzalez, Ignacio Vargas, and Angel Tena, of Next Limit Technologies, based in Madrid, Spain, for developing RealFlow, a software application that allows moviemakers to simulate liquids.

"Typically there is a big demand (in the movie industry) for natural processes like water, sand, smoke, fog, and wind," says Victor Gonzalez, CEO and co-founder of Next Limit Technologies. "The use of computer software programs like RealFlow provides the ability to add these (natural processes) to movies." RealFlow is a software application which simulates realistic liquids in motion picture visual effects and was created by Gonzalez, Ignacio Vargas and Angel Tena at Next Limit Technologies.

"In the movie Poseidon (2006), RealFlow was used in some particular shots," says Gonzalez, "The most interesting shot was a violent flooding of a long corridor where the protagonists (Josh Lucas and Kurt Russell) are trying to escape."

RealFlow was specifically made with a user-friendly interface so that digital artists could use the software without extensive training. The software is based on individual particles and how they move instead of creating a mesh model that is manipulated. "We include the ability (for artists) to add external forces like gravity that can affect all the particles globally or locally," says Gonzales. "With both mechanisms, the internal fluid behavior and the external forces, the artists can create a wide range of effects."

Winners: Jerry Tessendorf, Jonathan Cohen, Jeroen Molemaker, and Michael Kowalski of the Los Angeles based Rhythm & Hues Studios for developing a system of fluid dynamic tools.

"This system of techniques is for artists to use depending on their needs," says Jerry Tessendorf, physicist and principal graphics scientist at Rhythm & Hues. "A good example of this is in the movie Happy Feet (2006) because in one shot we had to animate ocean waves, foam, and spray and we used different techniques in the system to get those different effects on screen."

Tessendorf with his colleagues Jonathan Cohen, Jeroen Molemaker, and Michael Kowalski developed their own system of fluid dynamics tools for animating liquids and gases. This system goes beyond a simple structure like a flat grid and uses a 3D structure to simulate such things as the bending of a tube. "The most important thing that we do is to make people believe that what they are seeing is real," says Cohen, a software engineer. "Water is so chaotic and complex and people know when what they are seeing isn't complicated enough."

"Sometimes the director likes the way the simulation looks better than

what the effect would look like in real life," says Tessendorf. "For example, in the movie Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007) the director wanted a dry ice vapor effect and the simulation looked better than the real thing."

Winners: Julia Pakalns, Duncan Brinsmead, Jos Stam, and Martin Werner, of Autodesk, a global design company, for developing the Maya Fluid Effects System

"You can create effects that were too expensive or too dangerous, or just not physically possible. For example, giant stormy waves, fluffy clouds, flaming explosions, celestial objects, and Swiss cheese are examples of what Maya software can do, "says Julia Pakalns, a Team Leader with the Maya Fluid Effects System at Autodesk. "Maya Fluids is all about putting animated liquids and gasses under the director's control, reproducing their physical behaviors with enough plausibility that viewers suspend their disbelief."

Pakalns along with Duncan Brinsmead, Jos Stam, and Martin Werner have designed and implemented the Maya Fluid Effects system. This system is used to create simulations of water and gas that is compatible with Maya computer software that is widely available. One of the things that makes this system stand out is that "An artist can paint clouds in 3D," says Duncan, a principal scientist. "Also we can simulate the way light scatters in the cloud (which makes it look more realistic)."

"This system allows animators to create amazing effects like billowing smoke or steam," says Stam, a senior research scientist. "So instead of cheesy explosions, the average movie watcher will see something that is closer to the real thing and what is even better is that animators using our software can exaggerate some aspects of the fluid for dramatic effect."

Scientific and Engineering Awards:

Winners: Doug Roble, Nafees Bin Zafar, and Ryo Sakaguchi, of Digital Domain, of Venice, Ca., for developing a fluid simulation system.

"I was 14 the first time I saw Star Wars and I watched that movie 27 times," says Doug Roble, a creative director of software department at Digital Domain. "That was the best movie for me to see and I went on to study electrical engineering and computer science." Robel and his team including Nafees Bin Zafar and Ryo Sakaguchi developed their fluid simulation system which incorporates multiple computer software programs together to generate large-scale water effects.

Creating these effects takes multiple steps. First, the software developers build a 3D model of the environment and create where the water will come from. Next, they enter specific parameters such as how much gravity or how much "swirl" is in the water, and finally, they run the model. "That is when we see all the things that need to be changed," says Robel, "For example if there is a hole in your model, all the water could leak out before it even creates the effect."

"Using the system feels like you are working with real water, "says Sakaguchi, a technical director, "For Pirates of the Carribean: at the World's End (2007), we had about 20 or so fluid simulation shots in the movie."

Winners: Ron Fedwik, Frank Losasso Petterson, and Nick Rasmussen, for developing Industrial Light and Magic's fluid simulation system.

" There are a bunch of artists who are in charge of adding fake -- that is computer graphics generated elements, to real movies or they also add real elements -- for example, you could film a splash and composite it in," says Ron Fedwik, a computer scientist at Stanford University and a consultant for Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), based in San Francisco, Ca. "In Pirates of the Caribbean: at the World's End (2007) two ships had a big standoff in a large water whirlpool, and the artists had to somehow create that."

Our system contains all the equations that describe how water moves, so you can use it to create cool effects like that whirlpool," says Fedwik. "We also have a bunch of stuff to let you cheat, so that the director can tell a more entertaining story without being constrained by the laws of physics."

Fedwik shares the award for developing ILM's fluid simulation system with Frank Losasso Petterson, who is one of his former PhD students, and Nick Rasmussen. One of the keys to this system is use of the particle level set method which Fedwik invented with another of his PhD students, Doug Enright. "Particle level sets make the surface of liquids look so good, says" Fedwik. "This combined with parallel computation helps us get very detailed looking plausible effects and the artist tools help make our raw material fluid simulations turn out beautiful on the big screen."

"It seems like the audience likes water, it covers most of the earth, composes the bulk of our bodies, and looks really cool on the big screen," says Fedwik, "So, being able to generate it with the computer, and make it even more spectacular than it already is, helps make watching the movies just a bit more fun."

Here is the complete list of this year's winners courtesy of the AMPAS:

Technical Achievement Awards (Academy Certificate)

1. To Christien Tinsley for the creation of the transfer techniques for creating and applying 2D and 3D makeup known as "Tinsley Transfers."

2. To Jörg Pöhler and Rüdiger Kleinke of OTTEC Technology GmbH for the design and development of the battery-operated series of fog machines known as "Tiny Foggers."

3. To Sebastian Cramer , for the invention and general design and Andreas Dasser , head of development at P&S Technik GmbH, for the mechanical design of the Skater Dolly and its family of products.

4. To Victor Gonzalez, Ignacio Vargas and Angel Tena for the creation of the RealFlow software application.

5. To Jonathan Cohen, Dr. Jerry Tessendorf, Dr. Jeroen Molemakerand Michael Kowalski for the development of the system of fluid dynamics tools at Rhythm & Hues.

6. To Duncan Brinsmead, Jos Stam, Julia Pakalns and Martin Werner for the design and implementation of the Maya Fluid Effects system.

7. To Stephan Trojansky , Thomas Ganshorn and Oliver Pilarski for the development of the Flowline fluid effects system.

Scientific and Engineering Awards (Academy Plaque)

8. To Dr. Doug Roble, Nafees Bin Zafar and Ryo Sakaguchi for the development of the fluid simulation system at Digital Domain.

9. To Nick Rasmussen, Ron Fedkiw and Frank Losasso Petterson for the development of the Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) fluid simulation system.

Academy Award of Merit (Oscar Statuette)

10. To the Eastman Kodak Company for the development of photographic emulsion technologies incorporated into the Kodak Vision2 family of color negative films.

Award of Commendation (Special Plaque)

John A. Bonner Medal of Commendation (Medallion)

To David S. Inglish , for his outstanding service and dedication in upholding the high standards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Gordon E. Sawyer Award (Oscar Statuette)

To David A. Grafton, whose technological contributions have brought credit to the industry.

This story is provided for media use by the Inside Science News Service, which is supported by the American Institute of Physics, a not-for-profit publisher of scientific journals. Contact: Jim Dawson, news editor, at jdawson@aip.org.