Name: How Benjamin Button got his face
Uploaded: 2009-02-23T01:00:00Z
Duration: 17 min 47 s
Description: Ed Ulbrich, the digital-effects guru from Digital Domain, explains the Oscar-winning technology that allowed his team to digitally create the older versions of Brad Pitt's face for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."

Ed Ulbrich, the digital-effects guru from Digital Domain, explains the Oscar-winning technology that allowed his team to digitally create the older versions of Brad Pitt's face for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."

How Benjamin Button got his face

A groundbreaking team used computer visualization to create a fully digital human head for a Hollywood film, fooling audiences for nearly an hour with a computer-generated version of Brad Pitt. Instead of prosthetic makeup, they pioneered new techniques, drawing on medical imaging, psychology, and custom software to capture every nuance of human expression. Over two years and 155 people, they built complex systems for eyes, skin, and even tongue movements, redefining what is possible in digital storytelling.