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Student does software for TV adverts

Computer science student is into fluid simulation. He does it at university, and in the movie and advertising industry

Drop, splash and pour, you name it: It is all about making water, or other fluids, seem watery on the screen.

Martin Elvers’ Master’s thesis is about controlling particle fluid simulations, or simulating the movements of fluids on a computer.

And he is doing it in cooperation with a company, Duckling, that does 3D simulations and visual effects work on advertisements. (You can see some fluid simulations by Duckling here.)

Triples the production

The preparation of an advertisement including fluid simulation can take up to a month currently.

Martin’s work on upscaling this process would minimalise this preparation time; which results in potentially higher profits for the production company.

»We are developing software tools to reduce the time it takes to prepare. By this Duckling can prepare more jobs at the same time. Now it takes one month to prepare an ad. After this development, we can prepare two or three ads in a month,« he says to the University Post.

Hard work pays off

Martin had been dealing with physics-based computations since he worked on amateur student revue films at the Department of Computer Science DIKU.

After discussing his future plans and his main interest in fluid simulations, his professor suggested to get in touch with Duckling. Now, Martin is spending 28 hours per week there.

»It is a very inspiring environment filled with young and creative co-workers, and they have helped me gain first-hand experience in a company of its kind,« he says.

What the future holds

His thesis is the first at the University of Copenhagen and in Denmark that is written in direct co-operation with a private company.

»Increasing the productivity of 3D modelling tools is a very new and narrow field in Denmark presently,« Martin says.

But according to Martin, support and cooperation between production companies and universities, could turn Denmark into a frontrunner in this technology.

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