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Local man helps animate hit movie
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By RANDY ROUGHTON rroughton@lakecityreporter.com
The main character in the Tom Hanks movie "Polar Express" rediscovers his belief in the magic of Christmas. A Lake City native needed faith in his own kind of magic on a journey that led him from pursuing an architectural career to a job on the Warner Brothers Pictures film.
Bill and Linda Poplin's son Christopher spent the last two years working as layout lead on the movie. While attending Lake City Community College and the University of Central Florida, Poplin began to reconsider his degree choice as he looked at the math and science classes he would have to take. He wanted a career that would allow him to use his love of both art and computers, not to mention a lifelong fascination with special effects.
"I gravitated toward an area that had all of my interests, and this really is a multi-faceted area," Poplin said in a telephone interview from Los Angeles. "You have to have a technical side, but there's a creative side as well. You get to create imagery that's artistically pleasing. You get to be a storyteller, with humor and acting. It seemed like a good fit."
"The Polar Express" made $23 million in its first week and finished second to "The Incredibles." The Poplins saw the movie, with their son's name listed in the credits, the day after it premiered at Cinema 90.
"To me, what was captivating about this movie is there's so much action," Bill Poplin said. "It's so much fun. There's drama and suspense, and everything you want in a good family movie."
In "The Polar Express," based on the 1985 children's book by Chris Van Allsburg, no one in the boy's life still believes in Santa, which causes him to begin to doubt himself. But on Christmas Eve, his faith is rewarded by a steam train that takes him from his house to the North Pole.
Even though Poplin has worked on other animated films like "Hercules" and "Tarzan" since he moved to Los Angeles in 1996, "The Polar Express" gave him the opportunity to work on the cutting edge of a new animated process technique.
Director Robert Zemeckis has said the performance capture process, which he calls "human blueprints," saved the studio about $835 million. Hanks and other actors wore black suits covered by 152 special dots that allowed cameras and computers to track each move. The movements and expressions were digitized, loaded into computers and plugged into the animation. The computer generated images allowed Hanks to morph into the little boy, a train conductor, a hobo and Santa Claus.
While performance capture provides another tool for animators, Poplin doesn't think movie goers will have to worry about computer chips taking the place of their favorite actors.
"There are definitely varying thoughts on how it will affect movies," Poplin said. "I personally believe it will become just another genre of movie. Anytime a new technology comes out, there are people who think it will take over the world. The filmmakers who made 'Toy Story' did a wonderful job with their craft, but that didn't mean people don't want to see the stars' faces in the next romantic comedy.
"But it was definitely an amazing experience to be a part of a new endeavor."
Poplin studied art in Lake City under teachers like Laura Null (now at Eastside), Candice Hines at Columbia High School and Larry Elshoff at LCCC. After earning a degree in film from UCF, Poplin got his break when his former computer animation teacher at Disney Feature Animations invited him to teach traditional animators how to perform the process on computer in 1996. Since then, he's worked on some of the biggest animation movies, including "Hercules," "Stuart Little," "Rugrats in Paris," "Treasure Planet" and "Tarzan."
As layout lead in "The Polar Express," Poplin was responsible for determining how a scene will look on film. Early in the making of the movie, he worked on camera animation and then moved into a more technical role.
He worked extensively on the first scene in the movie, with the little boy going to sleep questioning Santa's existence. It was important to Poplin that he helped translate the spirit of the children's book on screen.
"The importance of maintaining your belief in the unknown," he said. "The hope you can inspire people to maintain that childlike faith was a valiant pursuit."
Next for Poplin is "Open Season," another Sony Pictures' film, due for release in about two years.
"The Polar Express" is being shown daily at Cinema 90. For times and ticket prices, call 752-8583.
Bill and Linda Poplin's son Christopher spent the last two years working as layout lead on the movie. While attending Lake City Community College and the University of Central Florida, Poplin began to reconsider his degree choice as he looked at the math and science classes he would have to take. He wanted a career that would allow him to use his love of both art and computers, not to mention a lifelong fascination with special effects.
"I gravitated toward an area that had all of my interests, and this really is a multi-faceted area," Poplin said in a telephone interview from Los Angeles. "You have to have a technical side, but there's a creative side as well. You get to create imagery that's artistically pleasing. You get to be a storyteller, with humor and acting. It seemed like a good fit."
"The Polar Express" made $23 million in its first week and finished second to "The Incredibles." The Poplins saw the movie, with their son's name listed in the credits, the day after it premiered at Cinema 90.
"To me, what was captivating about this movie is there's so much action," Bill Poplin said. "It's so much fun. There's drama and suspense, and everything you want in a good family movie."
In "The Polar Express," based on the 1985 children's book by Chris Van Allsburg, no one in the boy's life still believes in Santa, which causes him to begin to doubt himself. But on Christmas Eve, his faith is rewarded by a steam train that takes him from his house to the North Pole.
Even though Poplin has worked on other animated films like "Hercules" and "Tarzan" since he moved to Los Angeles in 1996, "The Polar Express" gave him the opportunity to work on the cutting edge of a new animated process technique.
Director Robert Zemeckis has said the performance capture process, which he calls "human blueprints," saved the studio about $835 million. Hanks and other actors wore black suits covered by 152 special dots that allowed cameras and computers to track each move. The movements and expressions were digitized, loaded into computers and plugged into the animation. The computer generated images allowed Hanks to morph into the little boy, a train conductor, a hobo and Santa Claus.
While performance capture provides another tool for animators, Poplin doesn't think movie goers will have to worry about computer chips taking the place of their favorite actors.
"There are definitely varying thoughts on how it will affect movies," Poplin said. "I personally believe it will become just another genre of movie. Anytime a new technology comes out, there are people who think it will take over the world. The filmmakers who made 'Toy Story' did a wonderful job with their craft, but that didn't mean people don't want to see the stars' faces in the next romantic comedy.
"But it was definitely an amazing experience to be a part of a new endeavor."
Poplin studied art in Lake City under teachers like Laura Null (now at Eastside), Candice Hines at Columbia High School and Larry Elshoff at LCCC. After earning a degree in film from UCF, Poplin got his break when his former computer animation teacher at Disney Feature Animations invited him to teach traditional animators how to perform the process on computer in 1996. Since then, he's worked on some of the biggest animation movies, including "Hercules," "Stuart Little," "Rugrats in Paris," "Treasure Planet" and "Tarzan."
As layout lead in "The Polar Express," Poplin was responsible for determining how a scene will look on film. Early in the making of the movie, he worked on camera animation and then moved into a more technical role.
He worked extensively on the first scene in the movie, with the little boy going to sleep questioning Santa's existence. It was important to Poplin that he helped translate the spirit of the children's book on screen.
"The importance of maintaining your belief in the unknown," he said. "The hope you can inspire people to maintain that childlike faith was a valiant pursuit."
Next for Poplin is "Open Season," another Sony Pictures' film, due for release in about two years.
"The Polar Express" is being shown daily at Cinema 90. For times and ticket prices, call 752-8583.
. wrote on Jan 30, 2008 11:01 AM: