“Physically Plausible Rendering at Pixar – from Reyes to Path Tracing” Chaired by
Conference:
Type(s):
Title:
- Physically Plausible Rendering at Pixar - from Reyes to Path Tracing
Presenter(s)/Author(s):
Abstract:
Over the years at Pixar we have been relying on the industry standard REYES for rendering our movies, from Toy Story all the way to Brave and Cars 2. With Monsters University we started relying more and more on ray tracing and we implemented a physically based shading and lighting engine based on Brdf’s, area lights and integrators. More recently, many renderers, both commercial and proprietary, have started moving to a path tracing approach, which is completely different than Reyes. Pixar also wrote their own implementation, which is called RIS.
This course will cover how a studio can go through a transition from a hybrid raytracing engine, to a full path tracing system. What are the implications for shading and lighting and their workflows. What did we gain and what challenges are we facing by going more Physically based.
What is the status of different shading languages (RSL, C++, ISPC, OSL)?
How do they shape our choices and performance? What are the next generation tools that allow to make the best of this technology? Should a studio write their own or should they use something off the shelf?
I will try to untangle these questions in my course, with an outlook on what is the near and mid-term future in our industry.
Additional Information:
Level
Intermediate
Prerequisites
While the topic is intuitively relevant to computer graphics, I do use some jargon the audience should be familiar with, such as BRDF, texture, ptex, “in-core” vs “out of core”, CPU/GPU, UV Parameterization, Shader, Displacement, Ray Tracing, and Rasterization. Those familiar with shading/rendering will likely keep up best.
Intended Audience
Computers Graphics practitioners of all stripes: from Technical Directors, to Pipeline Engineers, Shading Artists, Lighting Artists, Render Wranglers, and Software Developers, should find this course both interesting and useful.
