The Alumni Magazine for Worcester Polytechnic Institute. (WPI)
Issue link: http://wpialumnimag.epubxp.com/i/114745
A Pete Travers Filmography He taught us how to process any kind of problem, hard time resolving those two not just thermodynamics. skill sets, because for a long time "I feel like I have an advantage over people who I thought I would have to pick didn't receive that education," Travers continues. one. Now, I see engineering—the (filming) Cloudy With a Chance of "In my work, there are many ways to skin a cat. breaking down of something—as Meatballs 2: Revenge of the Leftovers When you're rendering imagery in CG, you could the highest form of creativity. 2012 Here Comes the Boom do it successfully the wrong way—but unless you Being creative is a discipline. It's 2011 Zookeeper problem solve for what you're really trying to do, it being able to operate within a set 2009 Watchmen might take you ten, or a hundred, or a thousand logic to produce something. 2006 Click times longer." "The people who are really 2005 Zathura: A Space Adventure In Kinematics, Professor Norton drove his students good at this stuff are the ones 2004 The Aviator hard, opening their eyes to how much time there who realize that this is a busitruly is in a day. "The sense of accomplishment you ness," he says. While running his 2003 The Haunted Mansion got from that course wasn't about getting an A or a own visual effects company, Shad2003 The Matrix Reloaded B—it was realizing how much work you could get owCaster, Travers did some of his 2002 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers done in a given amount of time. That's especially most artistic work—and learned 2002 Stuart Little 2 valuable in my work as a supervisor. Getting people the brutal economics of compet2001 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to produce is almost everything in my job." ing with big studios. ShadowCast2001 Evolution Travers couldn't have predicted how the princier rendered the lush "painted 2000 Hollow Man ples of ƃuid dynamics and turbulent ƃow he labored world" afterlife environment for 2000 Road Trip over in late-night study sessions would turn out to Academy Award winner What 2000 Supernova be tools of the trade. "When I Ƃrst got into producDreams May Come (Best Visual 1998 What Dreams May Come tion, I was an effects animator. That's the person Effects, 1999). After a fatal car 1997 An American Werewolf in Paris who creates effects like Ƃre or smoke. It's all based accident, the Ƃlm's protagonist 1997 Spawn on physical simulations and modeling. And we (played by Robin Williams) awakwouldn't be able to animate CG characters in movens in a life-scale impressionist 1994 Crimson Tide ies without the principles of kinematics. So all that painting. The camera follows Wilphysics I took at WPI completely applies." liams as he runs through a Ƃeld He stresses that there is no single, sureƂre path to of ƃowers, smearing jewel-toned a career in visual effects. "One of the greatest CG progobs of paint as he moves. The grammers I've ever met in this industry majored in Ƃve-minute sequence represents political science," he says. "My wife, Kelly [an animamore than six months of computtor—they met while working at Santa Barbara Studios], studied er graphics work by ShadowCaster's team of 10. computer science. She didn't go to 'animator school,' or even art "If you're in it to make a proƂt, you're in the wrong business," school. I never question people's backgrounds or resumes or histo- Travers says. These days, location is everything, with governments ries, because all that matters is how they're operating right now." wooing companies to shoot in Canada, for example, or India. A A dozen years after he graduated from WPI, Travers made Holly- multinational studio like SPI, with a net worth of approximately wood Reporter's "Next Gen" list of up-and-coming artisans. Today $300 million and overseas facilities, has the resources to go after his success story continues to inspire kids with dreams in a book big subsidies—which can amount to 20 to 40 cents on the dollar called So You Want to Work in Animation and Special Effects. He has for a $50 million job. more than 20 movies to his credit and numerous awards and nomEven now, with a position at a major studio, life is still nomadic inations (see sidebar). In 2011 Travers was invited to join the Acad- for Travers. He points out that every movie is like a start-up comemy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, along with Robbie Col- pany, with a speciƂc shutdown date. Everyone—including actors trane (Hagrid, in Harry Potter) and Beyonce Knowles. He now gets to and directors—is working freelance. Visual effects are contracted vote on who or what wins an Oscar. out, piecemeal, to numerous companies. "Once a project's done, we're all out looking for work again," he says. THE BUSINESS OF BEING CREATIVE The rapid advancement of software that was so dynamic when espite the aura of glamour, Travers deƂnes his he joined the industry in the 1990s has slowed down, Travers work as almost pure engineering. "People misnotes, but the challenges still satisfy. "No matter how good the takenly think that engineering is not creative. I tools, it's not just a matter of plugging data into a computer and was artistic as a kid, but I also had a mathematiout pops a realistic image. There are very few solutions that are cal side, and that's why I went to WPI. I had a complete solutions. And if it doesn't look right, anyone off the D Winter 2013 35