Pixar's Rob Cook: Imagination, computer graphics and movie magic
Wednesday January 26, 2011
"The first major graphics computer in the late 70s we used was huge. It required a room to itself with cooling fans and was shared among 20 people," recalls Rob Cook, Vice President of Software Engineering at Pixar Animation Studios, a keynote speaker at the 2011 KAUST Winter Enrichment Program (WEP).
"Now, I have a small notebook that is ten thousand times as powerful that. Technology is truly incredible. I am amazed at how it has evolved over the past 30 years. I keep thinking Moore's Law* is going to run out, but it just keeps going."
(* Refers to a prediction made by Intel founder Gordon E Moore in which the density of transistors on a computer chip will double every two years.)
Rob Cook is co-creator and primary author of RenderMan, a photo-realistic graphics program used by Pixar to produce computer-animated films. As part of the WEP 2011, he delivered a lecture entitled "Behind the Scenes at Pixar" that looked at how the studio produces 3D films.
The lecture covered topics such as development of a movie, the production process, geometry building, scene lighting and character animation. Members of the KAUST community were in heavy attendance at the lecture.
In 2001, Cook and two colleagues won Oscars for their contributions to computer graphics – the first ever given for software. In the last 16 years, every film nominated for a Visual Effects Academy Award has used RenderMan.
Based in Emeryville, California, Pixar first began operation in 1979 as part of Lucasfilm. It was later acquired by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 1986 and in 2006, purchased by the Walt Disney Company. To date Pixar films have won 24 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes and have grossed over $6 billion worldwide.
In 1973, Cook graduated from Duke University, North Carolina with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics. Afterwards he studied at Cornell University, New York for a Masters of Science in Computer Graphics. He graduated in 1981.
"I remember attending the SIGGRAPH (short for Special Interest Group on GRAPHics and Interactive Techniques) conference in 1976. It was held in an Atlanta hotel basement, alongside a fashion show. At the time it had eight exhibits."
SIGGRAPH is currently the world's premier computer graphics event, with hundreds of exhibits and over 30,000 attendees. KAUST will be attending this year's conference in Vancouver, Canada.
"Lucasfilm was just starting up a computer graphics group and saw a paper I'd written for SIGGRAPH on a reflection model. They needed help with making objects looking more real and detailed," explains Cook.
"They wanted more control over how things look. So with my knowledge in physics, we were able to engineer a graphics program that would make objects look more realistic. "
For his first major Hollywood project in 1982, Cook was part of a visual effects team that developed a computer generated imagery (CGI) sequence for the science-fiction film, Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan. The climactic scene showcases the power of a weapon named the "Genesis Device" that transforms a lifeless, barren planet into a natural, living world.
"The scene only lasted around one minute, but really pioneered a plethora of technologies at the time. It took six months of work and ten people working around the clock to make it happen."
The turning point in the development of Pixar, he explains, came in 1986 after the short film Luxor Jr. – Pixar's first production.
"Luxor Jr. was pivotal for us. It was at this point, we decided to let the story drive the CGI and not the other way around."
The story is central to the success of all Pixar movies, says Cook. Most begin as simple concepts, such as living toys or robotics and later become full blown worlds.
"Every movie we make is a work-of-art that hundreds of individuals contribute to. We don't dictate from the top down because everything that goes into making the movie has to work together. The best way to describe it is: wild creativity, focused."
A Pixar production, on average, can take up to five years to make. Projects can spend around two years in development, before getting the go-ahead for full production.
"Every Pixar film is designed and built to the smallest details. There's nothing in the films that wasn't created by a person. In live-action films you have environments to work with. In CGI movies you actually have to create everything from the tiniest piece of dirt or scratch to a character's individual hair-strands," he explains.
"We endeavor to keep the artistic vision for the story as pure as possible without constraining it to technical limitations."
Being passionate is key to the success of Pixar and enthusiasm for what you do is central to any successful project, Cook explained.
"Pixar will hire people because they are exceptional at what they do, not because they have a set of skills that fit a particular slot.
"It's important to do something that you really love doing as you'll be naturally better at it. You'll bring great energy to your work that can only be produced by a sense of job fulfillment."
About WEP 2011
In line with KAUST's unique cultural diversity, WEP 2011 has guests attending from over 90 different countries.
All WEP 2011 seminars, workshops and lectures are intertwined with the KAUST core mission of diversifying the Kingdom's economy through innovation and enterprise.
WEP offers courses on topics as diverse as Women in Science and Engineering, Biological Economics, Birds of the Middle East and the science behind movies such as Avatar and Finding Nemo.
WEP 2011 runs over a three-week period, beginning Saturday January 15 and ending Monday January 31, 2011.
Check back to www.kaust.edu.sa for further WEP coverage.