Calgary Movie Magic

This sounds very interesting - for those of you budding computer geeks:

WHEN COMPUTERS MEET MOVIES?
Special effects? No kidding they?re special? Think of almost any movie or television
show over the last five years. If it had impossible characters, outrageous events, wild
stunts and the like then they were most likely created by computer-generated special
effects.
Ever wonder how they work? Who figures out how to make them work? Who gets to
have so much fun making them work?
You may not have been aware that some of the pioneering work in this area has been
done by University of Calgary alumni, researchers and students. To showcase these
involvements, the Computer Science Chapter of the U of C Alumni Association is
proud to present an evening of information on the Convergence of Film and Computer
Technology.
Come meet U of C Alumnus Andrew Pearce, currently R&D Manager at Dreamworks
Animation in Redwood City. He will be discussing how a Computer Graphics film
gets created, using examples from the motion picture "Madagascar" and from the
"Matrix" sequels. Prior to joining Dreamworks last year, Mr. Pearce was at ESC
Entertainment working on The Matrix Reloaded and a few other effects-laden
features.
Dr. Brian Wyvill, computer animation specialist and professor of computer science at the
University of Calgary will discuss the field of computer generated graphics,
animation-related research and the role of computer animation at the U of C.
Glen Bontje, a U of C alumnus and currently Business Development Manager for LINUX
and High Performance Computing at HP Canada, will examine industry trends and
the technology related to computer-generated imagery in the entertainment industry,
as is done typically for film and television special effects.
The mission of the Computer Science Chapter of the U of C Alumni is to facilitate
alumni collegiality, to promote pride and commitment of the alumni to the University of
Calgary and the Department of Computer Science, to advance education offerings in the
field of computing at the U of C, to host CPSC Alumni networking events, and to provide
opportunities for alumni to mentor and work directly with students.
Please join our inaugural event, open to students, faculty, alumni and other interested
parties, to be held from 5:30PM to 10PM on the evening of October 5th, 2005, at the Red
& White Club at McMahon Stadium.
For more details, please visit our website at www.barebones.ca/cpscalumni/ or contact
cpsc@alumni.ucalgary.