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Michael Bunnell graduated from �鶹�� in 1985 with degrees in Computer Science and Engineering.�� What is now the Bobby Lyle School of Engineering gave him two very nice diplomas: but it�s his 2010 Sci-Tech �Oscar� that now has the place of honor on the shelf over his TV.

Bunnell�s work has made him a local hero in Hollywood, where computer- generated animation is now an integral part of even the simplest movies. If you�ve seen the last two Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Wall-E, or Batman: The Dark Knight, then you�ve seen his work.

Bunnell�s film industry contribution is known as�� �point-based rendering for indirect illumination and ambient occlusion,� techniques used for �� and shadowing. When a computer-generated character stands next to something colorful, and the color of that object or its shadow is realistically reflected on the character�s face � that�s color bleeding.����

When it�s done right, Bunnell said, it looks like reality.�� When it�s not right, he says, your reaction will be, �That�s pretty good computer generation.� Rudimentary color bleeding and shadowing technology was available before Bunnell, but his digital innovation allows filmmakers to get the job done quickly.

Bunnell�s technology first proved itself in the 2006 production, �Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man�s Chest.��� The characters of �Davy Jones� and his crew were all computer-generated, but applying the old, slow methods for �color bleeding� at that scale would have caused the movie to miss its all-important summer distribution date.�� Two men involved with the production of the movie, Per Christensen and Christophe Hery, found a digital solution they could adapt to their problem in a technique Bunnell had written about in trade literature. The movie made its deadline, and �Pirates of the Caribbean� was a blockbuster hit.

�The first time I heard they�d used my technique was six months after the movie came out,� Bunnell explains. �Dead Man�s Chest� won the �Oscar� for visual effects and Bunnell recalls thinking at the time, �That was the closest I was going to get to winning any Oscars.���

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences� Scientific & Technical Awards are conferred in recognition of original developments that result in significant improvements in motion picture production and exhibition. Bunnell received his �Sci-Tech Oscar� Feb. 20 in Beverly Hills, honored with colleagues Christensen and Hery for the development that has become an industry staple in the last few years. Each man was awarded a 24k-gold-plated plaque decorated with the familiar figure of�� �Oscar� carved in bas-relief.

Bunnell joins a small group of �鶹�� alumni who have known Oscar personally: Kathy Bates ('69) received the Academy Award for Best Actress for her 1990 role in "Misery"; Dorothy Malone ('45) received the award for Best Supporting Actress for her 1956 role in "Written on the Wind"; and Milton Justice ('68) co-produced "Down and Out in America," which won the award for best documentary feature of 1986.

Bunnell has his own video game development company, , based in the San Francisco Bay area.

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