If ever there was a company that put a human face on animation technology, that company was Pixar Animation Studios. Its clutch of scientific and technical achievements are matched by no other studio.
Pixar uses technology in the production of their films. Their most prominent use of technology is computers to run software which allows them to design concept works, produce storyboards, and most significantly modelling and animating software which allows them to create the animation in their films which we all know and love.
Pixar also relies on powerful, specially designed computers to use for the process of rendering.From its earliest days as a hardware developer, the company’s technology has been inextricably intertwined with the development of the computer graphics industry. Its early short films, like Luxo Jr, and its debut feature film, Toy Story, introduced the world to RenderMan, now the industry-standard software for rendering (the process of generating finished two-dimensional images from the geometry, surfacing and lighting data used to create a three-dimensional animation).Pixar’s subsequent films act like a timeline of technological developments in computer graphics. Building on the work of other researchers, 2001’s Monsters, Inc. introduced the on-screen representation of fur. Two years later, Finding Nemo pioneered new techniques in digital lighting, which were used to create realistic-looking water. The Incredibles and Ratatouille brought with them believable human characters, and advances in the simulation of crowds and fluids.
Pixar uses technology in the production of their films. Their most prominent use of technology is computers to run software which allows them to design concept works, produce storyboards, and most significantly modelling and animating software which allows them to create the animation in their films which we all know and love.
Pixar also relies on powerful, specially designed computers to use for the process of rendering.From its earliest days as a hardware developer, the company’s technology has been inextricably intertwined with the development of the computer graphics industry. Its early short films, like Luxo Jr, and its debut feature film, Toy Story, introduced the world to RenderMan, now the industry-standard software for rendering (the process of generating finished two-dimensional images from the geometry, surfacing and lighting data used to create a three-dimensional animation).Pixar’s subsequent films act like a timeline of technological developments in computer graphics. Building on the work of other researchers, 2001’s Monsters, Inc. introduced the on-screen representation of fur. Two years later, Finding Nemo pioneered new techniques in digital lighting, which were used to create realistic-looking water. The Incredibles and Ratatouille brought with them believable human characters, and advances in the simulation of crowds and fluids.
But in recent years, the scale of those technological breakthroughs has changed. Whereas early films introduced entire new types of physical phenomena to be simulated digitally, by the time 2009’s Up came along the advances were confined to the improved simulation of balloons and feathers. 2012’s Brave introduced us to an algorithm which produces realistic vegetation and forestry; while Pixar’s latest film, Monsters University, re-designed the way lighting and shadow is used at the studio. While these advances in technology may not be as significant as Pixar’s earlier achievements, it shows Pixar is still constantly innovating the way they use technology, and perfecting their animation.
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Animation 