Courses

Blizzard Entertainment has been creating some of the world's most engaging entertainment software for nearly two decades. Each Blizzard game is built on a rich universe that provides the backdrop for some of the most epic, elaborate stories found in the games medium. The Blizzard Film Department has played a key role in telling these stories ever since the premiere of their cinematics for WarCraft II in 1995. The team hit its stride with Diablo II in 2000, showcasing the tale of the Wanderer. Shortly after that, it won awards for the cinematics featured in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, and went on to create the epic opening piece for the world's most popular subscription-based, massively multiplayer online role-playing game, World of Warcraft. Subsequently, the Blizzard Film Department created cinematics for each of the game's expansions (World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, and the upcoming World of Warcraft: Cataclysm). This year marks the department's return to the StarCraft universe with the release of the greatly anticipated StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty.

In this course, members of the Blizzard Film Department share some of the secrets of creating their on-screen magic for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, including the creative and technical processes, from story to completion. They also shed some light on sequences rendered in the game's engine, a technique that allows for creation of much more content than would be practical using only traditional rendering methods. Course topics include: 3D modeling, animation, rigging, simulations, lighting, compositing, rendering, and artistic and technical direction.