Walt Disney visual effects expert to visit campus

The manager of Walt Disney Studios' Buena Vista Visual Effects Department will work with art faculty and students during a campus visit April 18.

Craig Newman will also discuss the role of artist in a new age of tools and ideas and present his video illustrated lecture, "Visual Effects--A Tradition of Technology and Art." His public lecture begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Bettersworth Auditorium of Giles Hall.

Newman will show behind-the-scenes footage of how various special visual effects were accomplished, as well as reflect on the history of film effects from the early 1900s to the present.

In addition, he will direct a two-day workshop involving animation, digital visual effects and sequential design in the Department of Art as a 1996 Visiting Fine Artist. Art students, along with faculty in graphic design, animation and multimedia will work with Newman as he discusses processes and aesthetic challenges in the SGI-Wavefront, Alias, Aurora and other computer hardware/software configurations.

Newman, a graduate of the California Institute of the Arts, served as technical director of "Star Trek I" and "Tron," and has since produced, supervised or directed visual effects for some 50 short and feature films. The films include "Honey, I Blew Up the Baby," "Speed," "Pelican Brief," "Star Trek IV," "The Jungle Book," "Ace Ventura II," and, currently, "James and the Giant Peach."

His appearance is made possible through funding from Linda and Gary Eldridge, the State Farm Companies Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. James F. Kiddy, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Graham, Mr. and Mrs. John S. Ferretti, Gretchen Gulmon, the University Honors Program, and The Chalet of Starkville.

For more information, telephone 325-2970.