Making Movies with Image-Based Modeling, Rendering, and Lighting

Paul Debevec is Executive Producer at USC Graphics Research Lab
Many applications of computer graphics, especially visual effects, involve convincingly combining computer-generated and real-world imagery: placing computer-generated characters in real-world scenes, or compositing real-world actors onto virtual sets. An important but subtle aspect of this problem is to realistically match the lighting between the computer-generated and real-world elements, making objects appear to be illuminated by environments they never actually were in. This talk will present techniques we have developed for digitally capturing real-world illumination, using captured light to illuminate synthetic objects and environments, and reproducing captured illumination on real-world objects, faces, and performances. The talk will include a variety of clips from computer animations and feature films to demonstrate the techniques.
Paul Debevec took his first classes in Computer Vision and Computer
Graphics as an undergraduate at the University of Michigan where he
received B.S.E. and B.S. degrees in Computer Engineering and
Mathematics in 1992. For his 1996 Ph.D. at UC Berkeley he worked with
C.J. Taylor and Jitendra Malik to produce Facade, an early image-based
modeling and rendering system for creating photoreal architectural
models from still photographs. His work with high dynamic range
imagery (HDRI) and image-based lighting has been incorporated into
commercial rendering systems such as LightWave and RenderMan and has
influenced recent advancements in NVIDIA and ATI graphics hardware.
Debevec's short films including "the Campanile Movie" , "rendering with
Natural Light" , and "fiat Lux" have inspired visual effects in films
including "the Matrix" , "x-Men" , and "the Time Machine" . In 2001 he
received ACM SIGGRAPH's first Significant New Researcher award and in
2002 was named one of the world's top 100 young innovators by MIT's
Technology Review Magazine for his work on the Light Stage. Today
Debevec leads the computer graphics laboratory at USC's Institute for
Creative Technologies and is a Research Assistant Professor in USC's
computer science department.