

It helped freak-show aliens come to life in the movie “Men in Black.” It makes “Odo,” the alien from the TV series “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” transform from a human-like being to a liquid blob. It’s currently at work in the movie “Titanic,” in the scenes that segue from 1912 to the present, in which characters age 80 years before our very eyes. The introductory computer graphics course may be the start of a larger program on the field.Įlastic Reality’s cool factor is simple: It blends together two distinct scenes in one seamless transition, making unlikely effects look believable. His transformation to adjunct professor this spring has students and faculty entertaining big ideas for the department.
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In 1997, the software earned him an Academy Award in scientific and technical achievement. More than 200 Hollywood films and countless television shows and commercials have used Elastic Reality. Madisonian Perry Kivolowitz co-invented “Elastic Reality” a decade ago, and the image-morphing software has been embraced by Hollywood special-effects wizards. Many computer science students dream of creating the Next Big Thing, a killer application that changes the way we use computers.Ī few dozen select students this spring are learning the ropes from a guy who invented one of Today’s Big Things: A software program that helps movie-makers bend the laws of nature. Credit belongs to the artists directly involved, but the honor also can be felt by all those, like myself, who created the tools.” “It is a reflection on my work, but keep in mind that Elastic Reality is only one tool that talented visual effects artists employ. Nevertheless, “I’ll be thrilled to see another win,” Kivolowitz says. In Titanic, they fit into and advanced the story in a perfectly natural way.”įor the last three years the Academy has chosen an ER picture for Best Visual Effects. “Typically, morphs are either entirely invisible or all too obvious. “I believe the ‘time morphs’ in “Titanic” were the most artfully crafted and tastefully executed I have ever seen,” he says. That effect was achieved through the subtle digital manipulation of lighting, eye shape and tissue texture.Īnd was Kivolowitz pleased with the way the film’s SFX designers employed his software? In “Titanic,” for example, ER handled all the time morphs in one scene, the female lead’s dewy 1912 eye gently time-travels 85 years to its 1997 incarnation (still sequence above). The question Perry Kivolowitz will face March 23 is not whether his Elastic Reality software will garner an Oscar but “which” ER film veteran will win for Best Visual Effects.Īll the nominees – “Titanic,” “Starship Troopers” and “The Lost World: Jurassic Park”- used Kivolowitz’s software to great … effect. Whether you are working in video, CD-ROM, print or film, Elastic Reality offers unparalleled stretching, twisting and distortion control for every environment.Kivolowitz’s creation a lock for another Oscar Elastic Reality combines a powerful warping and morphing engine with edge detection, sophisticated 2D animation, color correction, matte generation and compositions tools.
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Model DetailsElastic Reality is the most advanced warping and morphing software for creating mind-bending special effects on Macintosh, Windows or Silicon Graphics workstations.
