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Man From Rexburg Finds Animation Niche
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Cinema is where art, science meet for upper valley native
By SUSAN KING
Standard Journal
Sony Animation's technical director of "Surf's Up", Michael Muir, visited Rexburg with his wife and children over the holiday week.
Besides missing his parents who live there, Muir misses the clean air and rolling wheat fields of Madison County. He said he tries to get back once a year to revitalize himself.
The Muirs enjoyed the local parade and fireworks. They also went camping and white-water rafting down the Hoback River in Alpine, Wyo.
When Muir entered Ricks College, now Brigham Young University-Idaho, he had a vision of what he wanted his future career to be.
Muir struggled to find the classes he needed to become a 3-D animator. Although he had an art scholarship, he knew he needed computer science courses to reach his dream. There didn't seem to be any courses to take him in the right direction or a counselor who could advise him.
Muir eventually wrote his own program outline combining auto cad, art and computer science.
When he transferred to BYU in Provo, Utah he knew they didn't have a graphics design program there either, but there weren't any in the country at the time. Meanwhile, he continued working on his double major of art and computer science.
Muir and a few other students pressed their professors for direction and help in getting them the computers they needed for graphic design. In addition to their course work, they worked long hours in the computer labs writing software to create 3-D animation. All the while, Professor Brent Adams encouraged them to keep pressing forward with their pursuits.
"In the early stages, we needed his encouragement because we pretty much worked all night in the lab," Muir said.
Muir said he is pleased BYU now has a graphic design program, with many graduates working in the animation industry already.
A couple of his classmates who have gained recognition for their work are Jon Heder and Dan Lemmon. Heder studied 3-D animation, but later gained recognition as an actor (Napoleon Dynamite).
His is the voice of Chicken Joe in "Surf's Up". Dan Lemmon was the digital effect supervisor on "Bridge to Terabithia" and "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."
Graphic design is both artistic and technical Muir said. A graphic artist must be a skilled artist, but also able to write coded programming to create depth and texture in the animation.
Muir worked for George Lucas at Industrial Light Magic in northern California from 2001 to 2005. He worked on a string of film projects during that time.
Two and half years ago, he moved to Sony Animation in the Los Angeles area.
"It was a pretty good move. It has given me opportunities that have come to me sooner than they would have," he said.
Muir likes working for Sony Animation because of the artistic flexibility he has.
They allow him to work for other studios and directors when he isn't involved with an in-house project.
Muir has worked in all three branches of digital design. He has built 3-D models for "Pearl Harbor."
His computer graphics software brought Dobbie, in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," to life. As Technical Director for "Surf's Up," he wrote the special software to generate light in the water that made it look real.
Everything Muir does is customized to fit the needs of a particular movie. The set for animation is the same as for actors. Cameras are rigged for movement to capture the light on an animated character creating virtual reality. The technical director gets to choose the locations and angles from which they can shoot, thereby getting more natural movement from animated characters.
Various projects can demand 60 to 80 hours a week. However, "Surf's Up" went smoothly, requiring only 40 to 50 hours a week, he said.
"It's like playing," Muir said. "Don't get me wrong because there are times when things get intense. Every project has it's own set of challenges, but what I do is fun."
Besides missing his parents who live there, Muir misses the clean air and rolling wheat fields of Madison County. He said he tries to get back once a year to revitalize himself.
The Muirs enjoyed the local parade and fireworks. They also went camping and white-water rafting down the Hoback River in Alpine, Wyo.
When Muir entered Ricks College, now Brigham Young University-Idaho, he had a vision of what he wanted his future career to be.
Muir struggled to find the classes he needed to become a 3-D animator. Although he had an art scholarship, he knew he needed computer science courses to reach his dream. There didn't seem to be any courses to take him in the right direction or a counselor who could advise him.
Muir eventually wrote his own program outline combining auto cad, art and computer science.
When he transferred to BYU in Provo, Utah he knew they didn't have a graphics design program there either, but there weren't any in the country at the time. Meanwhile, he continued working on his double major of art and computer science.
Muir and a few other students pressed their professors for direction and help in getting them the computers they needed for graphic design. In addition to their course work, they worked long hours in the computer labs writing software to create 3-D animation. All the while, Professor Brent Adams encouraged them to keep pressing forward with their pursuits.
"In the early stages, we needed his encouragement because we pretty much worked all night in the lab," Muir said.
Muir said he is pleased BYU now has a graphic design program, with many graduates working in the animation industry already.
A couple of his classmates who have gained recognition for their work are Jon Heder and Dan Lemmon. Heder studied 3-D animation, but later gained recognition as an actor (Napoleon Dynamite).
His is the voice of Chicken Joe in "Surf's Up". Dan Lemmon was the digital effect supervisor on "Bridge to Terabithia" and "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."
Graphic design is both artistic and technical Muir said. A graphic artist must be a skilled artist, but also able to write coded programming to create depth and texture in the animation.
Muir worked for George Lucas at Industrial Light Magic in northern California from 2001 to 2005. He worked on a string of film projects during that time.
Two and half years ago, he moved to Sony Animation in the Los Angeles area.
"It was a pretty good move. It has given me opportunities that have come to me sooner than they would have," he said.
Muir likes working for Sony Animation because of the artistic flexibility he has.
They allow him to work for other studios and directors when he isn't involved with an in-house project.
Muir has worked in all three branches of digital design. He has built 3-D models for "Pearl Harbor."
His computer graphics software brought Dobbie, in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," to life. As Technical Director for "Surf's Up," he wrote the special software to generate light in the water that made it look real.
Everything Muir does is customized to fit the needs of a particular movie. The set for animation is the same as for actors. Cameras are rigged for movement to capture the light on an animated character creating virtual reality. The technical director gets to choose the locations and angles from which they can shoot, thereby getting more natural movement from animated characters.
Various projects can demand 60 to 80 hours a week. However, "Surf's Up" went smoothly, requiring only 40 to 50 hours a week, he said.
"It's like playing," Muir said. "Don't get me wrong because there are times when things get intense. Every project has it's own set of challenges, but what I do is fun."
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