In The Heart Of The Sea

As Lead Engineer in DNEG’s R&D department, Sylvan was responsible for the studio’s Houdini rendering code, material tools and lighting tools, with a focus on path tracing and physically based rendering.

For In the Heart of the Sea, he rewrote the Mantra path tracer for the film’s ocean and water work, adding controls that gave artists room to shape the water while keeping it physically correct and fast to render. The film’s Mantra rendering was built on the shading code and lighting tools he wrote.

He also worked with the fluid FX team on tools that brought fluid simulations into ocean surfaces, with foam, bubbles and spray. These became part of DNEG’s core toolset and were used on other shows, including Interstellar.