Mathematics and the Movies

I am fascinated about real-world applications for mathematics. This week, I introduced the equation of a straight-line to some of my classes and the usual question emerged, "Why are we learning about this?". So I showed them this excellent video - Pixar: The math behind the movies by Tony DeRose TED-Ed talk.

Pixar: The math behind the movies - TED-Ed

A discussion followed with lots of questions about special affects. This video by Weta Digital's Academy Award Winners explains their tissue program:

Weta Digital's Academy Award Winners share Tissue Software - Weta Digital

These two videos by ILM Visual FX show the construction of virtual sets and characters (although to admit, they are more visual and give less spoken explanation).

Behind the Magic: The Visual Effects of "The Avengers" ILM Visual FX

Behind the Magic : The Visual Effects of "Pacific Rim" ILM Visual FX

James Grime ( +James Grime  @jamesgrime) and Stuart Laws discuss the maths of Star Trek

The Maths of Star Trek - singingbanana

and finally, mathematical mistakes in movies? Matt Parker +Matt Parker  @standupmaths explains all

Maths in the Movies (Part 1) - More Maths Grads

Maths in the Movies (Part 2) - More Maths Grads