Administrativa:

Instructor	Prof. Abhijeet Ghosh (ghosh@imperial.ac.uk)
GTAs	Arvin Lin (arvin.lin19@imperial.ac.uk) Yiming Luo (yiming.luo122@imperial.ac.uk)
Day and time	Monday 11:00am - 1:00 pm Friday 4:00pm - 6:00 pm
First class	January 13, 2025 (Hux 315)
Location	Mon: Hux 315, Fri: Hux 145
Course material	Scientia
Prerequisites	COMP 60005 Graphics or equivalent

The final grade in this course will be based on two assignments (33% of grade) and a final exam (67% of grade).

Course Topics:

The course covers modern techniques for realistic image synthesis, with an emphasis on data-driven computer graphics. The objective of the course is to introduce the student to recent trends in advanced photographic image synthesis including image-based synthesis and alternative offline photorealistic rendering techniques, with applications in the entertainment industry.

Topics include high dynamic range imaging (HDRI), matting, bidirectional reflectance distribution functions (BRDFs), image-based relighting, global illumination, augmented reality, and computational photography. Furthermore, the course will also provide a brief introduction in the mathematical theory of Monte Carlo integration and the physics of light transport.

It is assumed that students taking the course already have had an introductory course in computer graphics or that they have done the equivalent reading. The following is a preliminary syllabus:

High Dynamic Range Imaging:

high dynamic range photography, tools for image-based computer graphics, light probes.

Image-based Lighting:

HDRI environmental illumination, light stage, reflectance fields.

Light Fields:

· 4D two-plane parameterization, acquisition, rendering.

Physics of light:

radiometry, bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF), geometric optics, reflection models.

Sampling:

Monte Carlo integration, probability distribution function (PDF), sampling techniques for BRDFs, and illumination models.

Global Illumination - Rendering:

Monte Carlo path tracing, Metropolis light transport, irradiance caching, photon mapping.

Global Illumination - Advanced Material Models:

radiative transfer and diffusion of light, subsurface scattering, scattering in participating media.

Image-based Material Representations:

measured BRDFs, spatially varying BRDFs, heterogeneous subsurface scattering.

Facial Capture and Reflectance:

facial reflectance models and acquisition of layered facial reflectance.

Machine Learning for Rendering:

· neural networks applied to rendering and relighting applications.

Course Material:

The following textbooks are recommended but optional:

"Physically Based Rendering : From Theory to Implementation", 3^rd Edition
Morgan Kaufmann, Hardcover ISBN: 9780128006450, eBook ISBN: 9780128007099

· "High Dynamic Range Imaging: Acquisition, Display, and Image-Based Lighting", 2^nd Edition
Morgan Kaufmann, Hardcover ISBN: 9780123749147, eBook ISBN: 9780080957111

Lecture slides are the main course material and links to additional reading material and papers will be made available.