Warfare Center Engineer Scores Direct Hit in Film

By CHRIS CHI

Dec. 21, 1997 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

POINT MUGU — It isn’t even 15 minutes of fame--just 150 seconds --but the spaceship battle scene in the new science-fiction movie “Starship Troopers” makes Jim Dziadulewicz as proud as any Hollywood big shot.

That is because Dziadulewicz, a Point Mugu Navy engineer, worked behind the scenes on those intergalactic collisions and explosions.

Using skills honed simulating weapons tests on his computer at the Point Mugu Naval Air Warfare Center, Dziadulewicz has launched a second career as a computer animator.

Earlier this year, he took time off from Point Mugu to work on “Starship Troopers.” In other Hollywood jobs, Dziadulewicz has drawn computer-generated images of sperm whales and train wrecks.

But despite the success of his budding animation company, Radical 3D, Dziadulewicz isn’t ready to leave Point Mugu.

After all, he said, the weapons-testing base is where he learned to use computer animation software with precision and

speed--a talent that makes him valuable to both Navy officials and Hollywood executives.

The 36-year-old Camarillo resident estimates he has done 5,000 to 6,000 computer-generated drawings in 10 years at the Navy weapons base.

“Really, where I’ve learned this is at Point Mugu,” he said. “Just the sheer amount of work at Point Mugu has allowed me to build a skill.”

His computer savvy has caught the attention of officials at the proposed Cal State Channel Islands University. Recognizing the strong job market for animators, university officials are considering a computer animation curriculum.

At the same time, they want to tap into the wealth of engineering, computer and mathematics expertise at the Point Mugu and Port Hueneme Navy bases.

In coming months, Cal State officials expect to appoint a group of multimedia experts from throughout Ventura County, including Navy engineers, to help develop courses. One idea is that computer animation specialists such as Dziadulewicz could train faculty members and students.

“Animation and all that good stuff is something we’re really concerned about,” said Handel Evans, president of the proposed university. “There’s a very, very great demand in entertainment for this. It’s a thing of the future.

“But it doesn’t stop there,” Evans added. “It can be applied to physics, chemistry, biology. A lot of that animation is going on at places like Amgen.”

Back when Dziadulewicz was growing up in Wisconsin, the computer software that Hollywood animators now use to create eye-popping images of spaceships and dinosaurs didn’t exist.

Still, movies such as “2001: A Space Odyssey” riveted the young boy. In his basement, he built model spaceships out of plywood and Christmas lights, filming scenes with a 16-millimeter camera.

But when he went off to college at Marquette University, where his father was an engineering professor, Dziadulewicz dutifully pursued an engineering degree. He came to Point Mugu after graduation.

Moving to Ventura County put him close to Hollywood. Yet the heavy workload at Point Mugu left scarce time for other pursuits.

Nevertheless, by focusing on his Navy job, Dziadulewicz sharpened skills that would eventually let him fulfill his childhood dreams.

At Point Mugu, he uses computer animation to design parts for drones, long metal cylinders employed in missile tests. The drones are fired into the air, and then missiles are shot at them.

The first computer programs Dziadulewicz used at Point Mugu were not very fancy. In recent years, however, the Navy has upgraded its software.

Dziadulewicz now works with the high-tech animation program LightWave 3D. The program allows him to draw three-dimensional drones on his computer screen and simulate flights.

LightWave is commonplace in Hollywood studios, and it was not long before Dziadulewicz began fiddling around with the program’s more exotic functions. As he drew images such as futuristic cities, he grew better and better at the details.

So awhile back, he made a demonstration tape of animated scenes and pitched it around Hollywood. The job offers started coming in: at first, bit work on commercials, and eventually high-profile television spots.

He simulated massive train wrecks for a Discovery Channel program, “Runaway Trains.” The sperm whales he and business partner Jason McKinley drew will be seen next year on a National Geographic television special.

His second career requires long work days. After his day shift at the base, he drives to the Radical 3D office in Century City and puts in another eight hours.

But the pay is excellent. For the monthlong National Geographic project, the small animation company received $27,000, Dziadulewicz said. Those kind of paychecks give him a feeling of job security, even in an era of defense cutbacks.

“There’s no guarantee this base will be here,” he said.

Dziadulewicz believes rigorous training as a Navy engineer sets him apart from the rest of the Hollywood pack.

“You need to have 3-D visualization skills,” he said. “And being an engineer trains your mind to visualize.”

Milt Alvarez, who oversaw Dziadulewicz and McKinley during production of “Starship Troopers,” believes Dziadulewicz’s military background gives him an edge.

Alvarez, general manager of the Planet Blue digital effects studio, said Dziadulewicz stood out among the scores of animators working on the film.

The Navy engineer, he said, knew exactly what the studio wanted to portray: a gigantic fleet of ships hovering together, projecting an aura of dominance.

“We looked at footage of World War II . . . of ships massing. He took to it readily,” Alvarez said. “He understands the way these things move, the volume of these objects.

“In all honesty, he has a different background than other animators. He’s more analytical. He brings a technical maturity.”

For “Starship Troopers,” McKinley and Alvarez did not actually draw the spaceships. Instead, they came up with an innovative use of LightWave.

Plastic models--still considered more realistic than computer-generated images--were being used in the film. The pair simulated the movements of the plastic models on their computers. So when the the camera crews began shooting the actual models, they knew what to expect.

Four months at the studio translated into 2 1/2 minutes on screen.

And on opening night last month, Dziadulewicz went to the movie theater with about 45 colleagues from Point Mugu to celebrate--and critique--his work.

“We gave [the movie] about a six or seven,” he said. “They didn’t really tell the human side of things, but the special effects were great.”