Wright (left) suggests that those interested in forensics know basic geometry and algebra, simple programming skills and have knowledge of Newtonian physics for vehicular accidents.

The implication: endless opportunities for vfx artists and animators “to write custom-dynamic simulation for some of these processes because they’re incredibly complicated -- far more than a T-Rex stomping on a jeep,” he enthuses. “The challenges for visual effects people are varied and great.”

Boning Up on Body Parts
The latest and greatest techniques and breakthroughs in 3D animation design visualization applied to forensics and medical science with the help of 3ds max, Maya and LightWave aren’t taught in college. Which is why Murphy founded VPTC (only recently has he seen other training centers finally add this area to their curriculum).

The school holds classes three days a week for eight to 10 hours at a time, covering a plethora of material, video samples from actual cases, some field work measurements and accident scene photography, recommended reading and resource lists to help round out the classroom learning. Classes ideally involve six to eight students from numerous backgrounds, many of which are skilled animators. Topics include legal vocabulary, rules of evidence, working with lawyers and experts, practical tips and hints.

Most of the work is used to win personal-injury cases in civil court, the lion’s share involving vehicular accidents vs. medical malpractice, shootings, environmental or intellectual property law. Companies specializing in this technology application tend to lump together the forensic and medical science areas because they can involve significant damage to the human body.

James Murphy, founder of VPTC, finds that animators and vfx artists in forensics have to beware of augmenting reality. This could backfire with juries and jeopardize a case.

That means it’s critical to have a working knowledge of body parts. Explains Murphy: “You ought to be able to identify specifics in depth kind of on demand: bullet entered left of the zyphoid and lodged over the right iliac arch. First time you hear that you’re gonna go, ‘Huh?’ flipping through the anatomy books figuring out the trajectory.” It helps to be able to communicate with experts in the field and lawyers for depositions and cross-examination (such interaction is practiced through role playing exercises).

Dave Wright, a VPTC instructor and president of a forensic animation company called Wyeknot inc., suggests that those who want to break into the field have an ability to do basic geometry and algebra, simple programming skills to create or modify scripts or expressions, and familiarity with principals of Newtonian physics for accidents (especially the vehicular kind).

Still, there are limits to what new recruits need to know. “As a forensic animator,” he quips in an e-mail posted on the VPTC Web site, “you shouldn’t be called upon to compute stopping distances from skid marks.”

Wright says vfx artists and animators should be proficient in the use of tools that provide accuracy, cost control and reduce therbligs, which is a unit of measurement engineers use for time-motion studies. “There’s an increase in demand for higher realism,” he notes, adding that industry practitioners need to work within a 3-7 ‘reality quotient’ range and avoid the sensational.

Surviving Urban Warfare
On the other end of the spectrum, XVIVO has provided a fascinating glimpse into potentially revolutionary applications for medical science. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which serves as the Pentagon’s R&D arm, recently commissioned the company to conceptualize injury stabilization protocol for soldiers of the future in a 60-second animation short.

The aim is to enhance the role of medical practice in combat and remote-access situations and, thus, increase the survival rate for urban warfare casualties. This requires realistically projecting advances in robotics and machine intelligence as well as portraying unmanned robotic casualty retrieval systems that travel with combat squads.

The thinking is that a soldier’s healthy 3D CAT scan data, imbedded in his dog tags, would be retrieved and compared to a scan autonomously performed in the so-called “SurgiPod” vehicle so that when an injury occurs in battle the patient could be sedated and stabilized with sophisticated surgery, then evacuated to a manned care facility.