5-E Classroom sTEm aCTiviTy: EXPEriENCiNG INTERSTELLAR - GraviTy aND sPECial EFFECTsDr. Candace Walkington, Assistant Professor of Mathematics EducationSouthern Methodist University

MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY AS COOPER PHOTO COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT PICTURES

...did I remember to feed the cat?

18 STEM JOBS // LATE FALL 2014 // STEMJOBS.COM

COVER STORY // INTERSTELLAR CINEMATIC SCIENCE

CINEMATIC S C I E N C E

PAUL FRANKLIN BLENDS ART AND SCIENCE TO CREATE BREATHTAKING VISUAL EFFECTS.

BY STEPHANIE PETIT

STEMJOBS.COM // LATE FALL 2014 // STEM JOBS 19

INTERSTELLAR

Paul Franklin has what many would describe as a “dream job.” As the visual effects supervisor for Hollywood blockbusters like Inception (for which he won an Academy Award), two of the Harry Potter films, and The Dark Knight trilogy, he designs and executes all the amazing images you see on the big screen using computer technology. However, while he was growing up, computers weren’t what they are now.

“I first encountered a computer when I was probably about 10 years old. A neighbor was an engineer and had a computer terminal in his house—which I think was actually worth more than the house. It was very, very basic by modern standards—your smart phone would put it to shame,” Franklin says.

LEFT TO RIGHT: MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY AS COOPER

ANNE HATHAWAY AS AMELIA BRANDAND DAVID GYASI AS ROMILLY

PHOTO COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT PICTURESWhich one of you left the refrigerator open?

20 STEM JOBS // LATE FALL 2014 // STEMJOBS.COM

Even though he chose to study fine arts in college in the 1980s, his interest in computers continued to develop. Because there were no courses at the time that combined technology and the arts, Franklin took it upon himself to experiment in his free time.

“I took advantage of the access that my university gave me to the engineering department. They were happy for me to go in and use their computers in down time so I could teach my-self the basics of computer graphics and computer animation, which I then used to visualize the sculptures I was making as an art student during the day,” he says.

As the co-founder of a visual effects studio in London called Double Negative, one of the biggest visual effects houses in the

world, Franklin contin-ues to push the field of com-puter animation. The engineers there are constantly developing new software and tools to advance in what Franklin calls a “creative arms race”—the continuous need to exceed what has already been done in film to create an exciting, new experience.

For his newest film, Interstellar, Franklin again partners with director Christopher Nolan to create that spectacle that will dazzle audiences. The film starring Matthew McConaughey and

“Creativity is not purely preserved for people who work in the arts and humanities. It is something that is universal. And if somebody is a good computer programmer, they’re just as creative as somebody who works with a paintbrush or sketches for a living.” — Paul Franklin, Visual Effects Supervisor

STEMJOBS.COM // LATE FALL 2014 // STEM JOBS 21

Anne Hathaway takes us to outer space, an arena Franklin has seen on screen since he was a child watching shows like Star Trek. Franklin was tasked with creating visualizations of wormholes, black holes, and other real space phenomena. While these events have been depicted in motion pic-tures before, the team wanted to ensure scientific accuracy in addition to stunning images.

Collaborating with Professor Kip Thorne, one of the world’s leaders in gravitational physics and astrophysics and a professor at the California Insti-tute of Technology, engineers at Double Negative developed a new suite of computer graphics tools which allowed them to visualize the way space time is warped by the intense gravity of a black hole. The images they came up with were not only scientifically accurate, but stunning.

“What we found was that when we went to the science and we asked the science what does this thing look like, it gave us such extraordinary images that we didn’t need to resort to fantasy to make them cinematic and exciting,” he says.

Along with advancing the field of computer technology and creating amazing works of art, Franklin loves that he gets to work with an eclectic group of people who are not only intelligent but also creative.

“Creativity is not purely preserved for people who work in the arts and humanities,” Frank-lin says. “It is something that is universal. And if somebody is a good computer programmer, they’re just as creative as somebody who works with a paintbrush or sketches for a living.”

Franklin stresses that there shouldn’t be a divide between arts and sciences—creativity and ingenu-ity are both needed. He encourages students to keep an open mind and never assume you know what something is like without trying it for yourself.

“It’s not that people aren’t capable of doing this, it’s just that people sort of shut down their options at too early an age,” Franklin says. “Real-ly to get the most out of modern technology, to make the best, most beautiful, most dynamic vis-uals to tell the stories in the most interesting way, you have to both develop your creative side both visually creative side and also an appreciation of what the capabilities of the machinery are.”

Think a visual effects engineer would be an awesome job for you? You could get an internship at one of the studios in the United States or the United Kingdom, but Franklin says the way that a lot of people get into the field is by experimenting on their own like he did. And you even have an advantage—there’s never been as much oppor-tunity to actually get out there and start making things. Using devices you already have like your phone and computer, you can create, edit, and animate movies.

ANNE HATHAWAY AS AMELIA BRANDMATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY AS COOPER

PHOTO COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT PICTURES

So, that’s what happens when you sneeze in space...

22 STEM JOBS // LATE FALL 2014 // STEMJOBS.COM

INTERSTELLAR

STEMJOBS.COM // LATE FALL 2014 // STEM JOBS 23

Planet Position GravityMiller’s Planet Nearest to Gargantua 130% of Earth’s gravityMann’s Planet In between 80% of Earth’s gravityEdmund’s Planet Farthest from Gargantua 65% of Earth’s gravity

5-E Classroom sTEm aCTiviTy: EXPEriENCiNG INTERSTELLARHere are some ideas for how high school teachers could use this story as a launching point for integrated STEM learning. Our activities follow the 5-E Learning Cycle Model, and the activity below is intended to last three to four 1-hour class periods (although portions of the activity could be used in shorter time periods).

1

2

4

3

3

Have students read the STEM JobsSM article “Cinematic Science”.Discuss the article with students, posing questions like: How do you think visual effects engineers use science and math? What science concepts have you learned that would be relevant to modelling phenomena in space?Play the video trailer for Interstellar (youtube.com/watch?v=0vxOhd4qlnA).Pose additional questions to students, like: What properties makes a planet able to sustain human life? How does a planet’s gravity impact travel to or from that planet? What do you know about black holes? Do wormholes really exist?

Part 1: Engage

Activity: What Decision Would You Make?In Interstellar, the visual effects team designed three beautifully-rendered planets that orbit around an amazing super-massive black hole called “Gargantua.” Gargantua has a mass that is 100 million times that of the sun, lies 10 billion light years from Earth and rotates at 99.8 percent of the speed of light. The image the visual effects team created for Gargantua is considered by some to be the most accurate depiction of a black hole ever created.

The properties of the three planets that the astronauts in Interstellar are considering as a home for the human race are as follows:

You have entered this system through a wormhole (which the visual effects team depicted as a shimmering sphere) and have limited fuel, food and time—which planet would you choose to explore first? Which one would you go to second? Why?

The acceleration due to gravity of an object near the surface of the Earth is approximately 9.8 m/s2. How is this acceleration related to the mass and radius of the Earth? How does gravity influence the amount of fuel needed to take off from the surface of a planet?

1

2

Place students into groups of three or four.Have student groups explore the following infographic about the science of Interstellar (space.com/27692-science-of-interstellar-infographic.html).Give student groups the following activity:

Part 2: Explore

1 STEMjobs.com Experiencing Interstellar - Gravity and Special Effects

Each student group should present and explain their reasoning for their decision of which planet to explore. Student groups should be encouraged to draw upon online sources for information on space and astrophysics. (e.g., jpl.nasa.gov/basics/bsf4-1.php, science.nasa.gov/astrophysics, hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/black_holes/home.html) The teacher could then let students who have not seen the movie know that Edmund’s Planet—the planet furthest from the effects of Gargantua—turned out to be the most inhabitable for human life (note that the gravity for Edmund’s planet was never explicitly discussed in the movie, thus the 65% is a made-up figure).The richness of the exploration and the discussion around it will depend on both the students’ and teacher’s prior knowledge of the topic. One suggested source for reading for both the teacher and students is the book The Science of Interstellar by Kip Thorne. The class could also discuss the science behind how the visual artist chose to depict the wormhole and the black hole (e.g., see: universetoday.com/115562/the-physics-behind-intellstellars-visual-effects-was-so-good-it-lead-to-a-scientific-discovery). The teacher could supply appropriate values for the mass and radius of the three planets, as well as their relative distances, to further deepen the exploration and discussion, and its connection to the standards.

Part 3: Explain

Have students describe in their science journals how gravity impacts space travel and the motion of different planetary bodies. Encourage them to draw visuals that are inspired from the visual effects in Interstellar.

Part 5: Evaluate

Next Generation science standards:

1

2

3

4

Part 4: Elaborate Have students explore the free Interstellar Experience game (game.interstellarmovie.com) which works within computer browsers. The game allows players to design and build detailed solar systems, and then pilot the Endurance spacecraft in their solar system and in other solar systems created by their friends. Players must grapple with gravitational laws—like those involved with sling-shotting around or orbiting a planet or star, or avoiding being pulled into the gravity of a black hole—in order to explore space and travel large distances while limiting energy consumption and time.

2 STEMjobs.com

HS-ESS1-4. Use mathematical or computational representations to predict the motion of orbiting objects in the solar system.

HS-PS2-1. Analyze data to support the claim that Newton’s second law of motion describes the mathematical relationship among the net force on a macroscopic object, its mass and its acceleration.

HS-ETS1-3. Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability and aesthetics as well as possible social, cultural and environmental impacts.

Experiencing Interstellar - Gravity and Special Effects

STEMjobs.com