Hollywood FX queen home to boost

Harry Potter is brought alive by Goldspink's ILM

By Robert Andrews BBC News Online

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The woman behind the latest Harry Potter movie's amazing effects has returned to Wales to help create a new computer animation industry.

Lynwen Goldspink, originally from Tenby, Pembrokeshire, leads hundreds of animators at Industrial Light and Magic, the effects studio responsible for Star Wars, Titanic and Jurassic Park.

On Wednesday, she is back home from San Francisco to share tips on making flicks with a new generation of budding animators.

	Lynwen Goldspink, Industrial Light & Magic - manager, technical directors and CG animators Graduated in Environmental Biology at London University Developed Matador paint software with brother Gareth at Parallax Switched to Alias Wavefront at California Developed Matador paint software with brother Gareth at Parallax Joined Industrial Light and Magic in 1998 Manages 200 animators, ensures films are finished on time Lives: San Francisco Favourite ILM movie: Harry Potter 2 New frontier: Creating entirely digital charactesr and environments

Goldspink has joined other computer graphics (CG) bosses from the UK and around the world at Swansea Animation Days 2002 (SAND) - a 48-hour festival showcase celebrating the latest 3D techniques and mapping the future for digital animation, as 2D methods wane.

Organisers from Swansea Institute are trying to convince the industry Wales can upgrade its established animation industry to create a platform for a vibrant new south Wales effects community.

Goldspink is giving 3D Computer Animation students - the first of whom graduate in the summer - an inside look at the storyboard, development, animation and lighting processes behind box office hits like Attack of the Clones and Men In Black II.

She was the manager of technical directors and graphics supervisors for such projects.

Before speaking at the Taliesin Centre, she gave BBC News Online an insight into the effects used in Harry Potter: The Chamber of Secrets, which has grossed a UK record of £9.4m in its first weekend.

ILM animators created the entirely virtual Dobby elf character as well as the stunning Quidditch match scene.

"We did lot of work on creating a completely digital environment - the entire field, the forest in the background is completely digital - and on digital doubles, digital replacements for humans," she said.

"We filmed some up-close live action of the kids on their broomsticks against blue screen. But most of the kids you see playing the Quidditch match don't exist at all - they're created in the computer.

"I would defy anybody to see the difference. It's very seamless when you blend between the real kid and their digital replacement - that's definitely a step forward.

CG Images are becoming more elaborate

Goldspink added: "On dobby, we did a lot more refined skin textures - you can see the iridescence in his skin and the layers. You can see the veins through his ears and really get a feeling it is real skin."

Swansea Institute is now looking towards Welsh Development Agency initiatives, European Union funds and support from start-up business incubator MediaTechnium to help sow the seeds for creating this sort of work in Wales.

It has already developed a respected 2D animation scene over the last 20 years. Staging Sand is the first move.

With movies like Shrek, Monsters Inc. and Final Fantasy proving big hits, any domestic spin-offs could prove lucrative.

SAND ends on Wednesday evening with a panel discussion designed to lure inward investment.

"It's incremental improvements every time - but they're definitely improvements," added Goldspink, who returns to Wales four times a year.

"Some of the work we're doing this year involves very up-close digital doubles - it's human faces full-frame and you can barely tell.

"The next challenge is going to be able to create leading players for movies, whether they be digital humans or other characters - characters that are the main stars."