A leading visual effects engineer, who won an Oscar for his work on The Golden Compass, will be visiting the city next week [6 March 2012] to give a free public lecture on the very latest in cutting-edge techniques in the film industry. The event is hosted by the University of Bristol's Faculty of Engineering and sponsored by The Society of Merchant Venturers.

Ben Morris is behind some of the most spectacular visual effects in some of the biggest blockbusters of recent times, including Gladiator, Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, Troy, Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix, Prince of Persia, War Horse – directed by Steven Spielberg – and Gravity.

In his talk Ben, who is a University of Bristol Mechanical Engineering graduate, will explore the history of visual effects, which have existed in the world of film making ever since the very first 'silent' moving images were captured on film over 100 years ago. From the work of pioneers like George Melies and Willis O'Brien to the modern computer generated spectacles of Avatar and Harry Potter, the artists and scientists involved in making visual effects have been continually challenged by film makers to create ever more believable fantasy worlds and characters as part of the visual experience of telling stories on screen.

Over the last 20 years the visual effects industry in the UK has developed from a small number of traditional physical effects companies creating practical models, animatronics, pyrotechnics and optical camera effects to a world leading digital effects industry working on many of the biggest blockbusters seen around the world.

As with so many areas of film making, the specialists involved in making visual effects come from a wide range of backgrounds - illustrators, sculptors, painters, animators, bio-mechanicists, computer scientists, machine vision specialists, physicists, engineers, chemists, photographers and lastly, and most importantly, storytellers.

During this lecture Ben hopes to present some of the more recent visual effects work created in the UK and explain in detail the techniques and processes involved in making these images.

The event, entitled Visual Effects in Film - A Fusion of Art and Science, which has been organised by the University of Bristol’s Public and Ceremonial Events Office with support from The Society of Merchant Venturers and the Faculty of Engineering, takes place on Tuesday 6 March 2012 at 6 pm in the Great Hall, Wills Memorial Building, University of Bristol.

Booking required, please visit the website: http://benmorrislecture.eventbrite.co.uk If you have any access requirements, please contact Nicola Fry, University of Bristol, tel: (0117) 928 8515 or email nicola.fry@bristol.ac.uk.