Python Goes To The Movies with Dhruv Govil

Summary Movies are magic, and Python is part of what makes that magic possible. We go behind the curtain this week with Dhruv Govil to learn about how Python gets used to bring a movie from concept to completion. He shares the story of how he got started in film, the tools that he uses day to day, and some resources for further learning. Preface Hello and welcome to Podcast.__init__, the podcast about Python and the people who make it great. I would like to thank everyone who supports us on Patreon. Your contributions help to make the show sustainable. When you’re ready to launch your next project you’ll need somewhere to deploy it. Check out Linode at www.podastinit.com/linode?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss and get a $20 credit to try out their fast and reliable Linux virtual servers for running your awesome app. Visit the site to subscribe to the show, sign up for the newsletter, read the show notes, and get in touch. To help other people find the show please leave a review on iTunes, or Google Play Music, tell your friends and co-workers, and share it on social media. Your host as usual is Tobias Macey and this week I am joined by Dhruv Govil to talk about how Python is used for making movies. Interview Introductions How did you get introduced to Python? How did you get started in the film-making business? What are some of the ways that Python is used in the process of bringing a movie to completion? How much of the overall pipeline processing happens in Python vs just being used as a means of wiring together other programs. How much of the code that gets written is reusable between different projects? What is involved in testing data assets when they are submitted to the pipeline for the open format conversion process? What are some of the libraries that you have found to be most useful in your day-to-day work? Why do you think that Python is so widely used in the film industry and are there any other languages that you see being used in a similar manner? What are some of the areas where Python is used that you were most surprised by? Are there any portions of the process where you would like to be able to use Python but are unable due to performance or platform constraints? What are some of the most interesting projects that you have worked on and which are you most proud of? How does the work that is done by developers and technical contributors get reflected in the final credits? For anyone who is interested in working in the film industry as a technical contributor what advice do you have? Keep In Touch Dhruv Website @DhruvGovil on Twitter dgovil on GitHub Picks Tobias Firefox on Android Dhruv Google Earth VR Links Udemy: Python for MayaUdemy Vancouver Film School Guardians of the Galaxy Cloudy w/ chance meatballs 2 Blog Post: Python For Feature Film PyQT PySide Autodesk Maya Katana Nuke Cython Rez Alembic Geometry Storage Format Pixar Universal Scene Description Pyblish Open Color IO Edge of Tomorrow PyOpenGL Kraken Fabric Engine SIGGRAPH Convention Ray Tracing In A Weekend Mathematics for Computer Graphics Blender The intro and outro music is from Requiem for a Fish The Freak Fandango Orchestra / CC BY-SA