John "J.Walt" Adamczyk

Interactive Designer and Developer

Projects

Spontaneous Fantasia Performances

From 2003 to present, I've created and performed live animation shows. I've performed at SIGGRAPH 2005, SIGGRAPH 2004, DUX05 conference, Pasadena Conservatory of Music, Barnsdall Art Park, L.A. Filmforum, among other places.

The J-Viz Pre-Visualization System

Interactive Characters

NHL Audio Web Simulcast

Online Radio

Artist, Multiple Screen Caves

Location-Based Entertainment: The Yellow Submarine Adventure

Location-Based Games: HyperBowl, Quaternia, Badlands

Aladdin VR, High-End Virtual Reality

The Specks particle system

Commercials, Music Videos, Titles

The Perform performance animation system

Movies, Theme Park Films

Awards:

Education

Contact Info

Control-J, Inc., May, 2003 - Present

Developer, Real-Time Pre-Visualization

Worked with a set of companies to create a system to allow on-set preview of virtual sets. Designed and developed software to integrate subsystems. Created real-time graphics software to preview animated backgrounds and characters. Also developed Maya plug-in to allow real-time device input.

Walt Disney R&D  Feb. 2000 - Jan. 2003

Project Lead, Interactive Characters

Designed and created sophisticated real-time characters that interact with guests. Co-designed Stitch’s Photo Booth attraction for Disneyland and Mickey’s Toon Elevator for in-company demo. Designed and wrote complete software for efficient OpenGL display and non-linear animation playback.  Project included multiple-screen projections, stereoscopic 3-D, single-skinned characters, animation blending, hardware shaders, automated lip-sync, network synchronization, intuitive user interfaces, scripting language, export tools, and AI. Secondary research included artist interface design.  Also wrote interfaces to external hardware, such as a motion base, image capture system, and special effects hardware.

Project Lead, NHL Audio Web Simulcast

Realized a project to webcast an extra channel of audio to simulcast with ESPN-televised NHL games.  Work included coordinating efforts of television and Internet engineers, as well as creating a cross-browser Web-based client.

Programmer, Go Radio

Created cross-platform web-based GUI for Go Networks’ online radio station.

Artist, Multiple Screen Caves

Created pre-rendered animated scenes and music for a 180 degree multi-screen projection theater.  Also, developed software to synchronize real-time playback between multiple PC’s on multiple screens.

Sony Development  1995-1999

Executive Producer, The Yellow Submarine Adventure

Led team to create media for a multi-screen interactive ride experience, with interactive CGI host.  Created the budget and assembled the team to create the video and audio for a unique experience, which opened at Sony headquarters in Berlin and at Mediage in Tokyo.  Worked with executives from Apple Records to create a ride film that complements the classic animated film.  Created a real-time computer-generated puppeted host who interacts with the audience during the ride.

Game Designer/Producer, HyperBowl, Quaternia, Badlands

Designed, directed, and produced three location-based multi-player video games.  The games were created for Metreon, the Sony entertainment center in San Francisco, and were also deployed in Sony’s Mediage in Tokyo.  Hyperbowl has since been spun off into Jillian’s restaurants nationwide, and into a home version (www.hyperbowl.com).  Created the concepts, worked with famed graphic novelist Moebius on initial design, then assembled teams of programmers and artists, and directed the creative and technical production of the games.  Installed these games in Metreon in June 1999.

Walt Disney Imagineering, 1992-1995

Show Designer/Software Designer, Aladdin VR

Co-creator of Disney’s virtual reality system.  Goal was to create a system that allowed guests to enter and interact with a Disney feature animated film. Project required beautiful feature-animation quality real-time worlds and characters, intuitive user interfaces, and an array of technological feats: a high-end hardware/software system with custom interfaces, embedded scripting language, real-time characters, motion capture, stereoscopic video, and 3D audio.  Also worked with artists, sound designers and programmers to integrate all assets, as well as with the directors to create them about non-linear stories.  Used SGI Onyx’s and workstations, SGI Performer, C++, Perl, Scheme, Houdini (Prisms), Multigen, Photoshop, Painter, etc. Installed Aladdin VR into Epcot Center in summer of 1994.

Homer and Associates, 1990-1992

The Specks particle system

Created Specks, possibly the first production-ready real-time particle animation system. It enabled the user to choreograph particle animations and to interact with the animation in real-time.  System included animation tools, a scripting language, a custom renderer, and an interface to modeling tools and RenderMan.  This system was used by me and others to create movie effects for The Lawnmower Man, Peter Gabriel’s music video Steam, Carsey Werner’s Davis Rules, and my own Diversion Sequence fine art video, which was presented at the Siggraph ’95 Electronic Theatre.

Commercials, Music Videos, Titles

Technical Direction for commercials and television promos.  Worked from design to delivery on effects, animation, models, textures, lighting, as well as custom tools for skinning objects, render queues, data conversion and manipulation, and interpreting and applying body and facial motion-capture data.

deGraf/Warman, 1988-1990

The Perform performance animation system

Principal designer and programmer of Perform, arguably the first performance animation system.  Also acted as one of its primary users for various productions.  The system allowed a puppeteer to record and playback real-time animated characters using custom interfaces.  Used Perform to create pre-recorded performances of characters for Robocop 2, Felix the Cat The Movie, Art Futura, Sons of Steel, and others. Used the system to perform live at venues such as Siggraph ’88, TED II, and a variety of theatrical productions.  Extended the system to perform shaded real-time shaded pre-visualization of ride-films for directors and clients.

Movies, Theme Park Films

All around technical direction: modeling, texturing, lighting, animating, programming for productions including The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbara (for Universal Studios, Florida), The Time Machine of Dreams (San Rio Puroland, Tokyo), Jetsons The Movie, The Fly II, Star Trek V, Xen (3D mini-feature).

VSE, Inc., 1986-1988

Technical Director, Training videos

Created graphics for industrial training videos.  Created tools for rendering pipeline, modeling, and for special effects such as explosions and smoke effects.  Also created a tool for frame-by-frame painted animations.

Education

California Institute of the Arts, 1985-1988

Received BFA in experimental animation
Produced two 16mm shorts
Studied film, photography, music, drama, fine art
Won Nissan Focus award for 16mm animated film Recurrents

University of Southern California, 1983-1985

Studied Film, Animation, Photography, Computer Science, Literature, Drama

Contact Info:

John "J.Walt" Adamczyk
E-mail: john@adamczyk.com

Please view my Demo Reel here: