Courtesy Photo

A Digital Production Arts student at Clemson University demonstrates new animation technology. Graduates from the Clemson programs have gone on to work on animation for movies such as “The Golden Compass” and “The Dark Knight.

If you saw the movies “The Golden Compass,” “Alivin and the Chipmunks,” or “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” then you viewed the animation art of several former Clemson University students.

Tim Davis, department chair of Digital Production Arts at Clemson, said the masters-level program has turned out some of the top talent in the film-making industry today.

“Special effects are a rapidly growing field in the film, television and gaming industries,” Davis said. “By combining computer science and art we are able to produce graduates with a professional degree marketable to an entertainment industry that is seeking technically savvy, artistically talented people.”

Mikki Rose, a graduate of the program, now lives in California and works for Rhythm and Hues Studio as an animator and technical director. She was part of a team of animators who took home an Academy Award for the motion picture “The Golden Compass.”

“Usually, animators work on one aspect of a movie sequence,” Rose said. “My part was modifying the character’s body movements and giving the skin and fur a realistic look as they move about.”

Robert Helms, a former Clemson student, worked for a while at Rhythm and Hues in California, but now has a job in London. He is a character rigger technical director. In the trade, he constructs computerized 3-D rigs and interfaces for films.

What that means is he makes clay models come to life and move. Recently, he did animation effects for “The Dark Knight,” the highly successful Batman film of this summer. Previously he worked on “Evan Almighty” and “Hellboy II,” among others.

“We are fortunate to have the equipment here at Clemson to produce this type of animation art work,” said Robert Geist, professor of DPA at Clemson. “We are cutting edge in our techniques and training. In fact, I am on my way to Los Angeles to talk with Dreamworks about some new animation techniques I am developing.”

The $3 million Clemson computer and animation infrastructure the department uses is second to none.

“It is comparable to many Hollywood computer animation art facilities,” Geist said.

“Nowadays, when I go to the movie theater and they roll the credits at the end of the film, I frequently find some of my students’ names listed there on the screen,” Geist said.

Clemson University Digital Production Arts program can be accessed online at www.fx.clemson.edu.