Moving Innovation: A History of Computer Animation
376
Moving Innovation: A History of Computer Animation
376Paperback(Reprint)
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Overview
Computer graphics (or CG) has changed the way we experience the art of moving images. Computer graphics is the difference between Steamboat Willie and Buzz Lightyear, between ping pong and PONG. It began in 1963 when an MIT graduate student named Ivan Sutherland created Sketchpad, the first true computer animation program. Sutherland noted: “Since motion can be put into Sketchpad drawings, it might be exciting to try making cartoons.” This book, the first full-length history of CG, shows us how Sutherland's seemingly offhand idea grew into a multibillion dollar industry.
In Moving Innovation, Tom Sito—himself an animator and industry insider for more than thirty years—describes the evolution of CG. His story features a memorable cast of characters—math nerds, avant-garde artists, cold warriors, hippies, video game enthusiasts, and studio executives: disparate types united by a common vision. Sito shows us how fifty years of work by this motley crew made movies like Toy Story and Avatar possible.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780262528405 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | MIT Press |
| Publication date: | 08/21/2015 |
| Series: | The MIT Press |
| Edition description: | Reprint |
| Pages: | 376 |
| Sales rank: | 746,783 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.90(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.90(d) |
| Age Range: | 18 Years |
About the Author
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1 Film and Television at the Dawn of the Digital Revolution 5
2 Analog Dreams: Bohemians, Beatniks, and the Whitneys 11
3 Spook Work: The Government and the Military 37
4 Academia 53
5 Xerox PARC and Corporate Culture 73
6 Hackers 89
7 Nolan Bushnell and the Games People Play 101
8 To Dream the Impossible Dream: The New York Institute of Technology, 1974-1986 123
9 Motion Picture Visual Effects and Tron 145
10 Bob Abel, Whitney-Demos, and the Eighties: The Wild West of CG 171
11 Motion Capture: The Uncanny Hybrid 199
12 The Cartoon Animation Industry 217
13 Pixar 239
14 The Conquest of Hollywood 253
Conclusion 267
Appendix 1 Dramatis Personae 271
Appendix 2 Glossary 283
Appendix 3 Alphabet Soup: CG Acronyms and Abbreviations 287
Notes 291
Bibliography 319
Index 327
What People are Saying About This
Moving Innovation helps us to discover the history of computer animation, from pioneers of experimental animation to inventors, artists, animators, engineers, and technicians who revolutionized the cinema. With his passion, enthusiasm, and encyclopedic knowledge, Tom Sito makes this exciting journey essential to our understanding of this technical and artistic revolution.
I can't think of a better guide to the vast history of computer animation than Tom Sito. He witnessed much of this story first-hand, then set about researching the rest with clear-eyed interest and unbridled curiosity. He has done a great service for anyone interested in this still-evolving medium—and for posterity.
Moving Innovation helps us to discover the history of computer animation, from pioneers of experimental animation to inventors, artists, animators, engineers, and technicians who revolutionized the cinema. With his passion, enthusiasm, and encyclopedic knowledge, Tom Sito makes this exciting journey essential to our understanding of this technical and artistic revolution.
—Pierre Lambert, historian of animation
I can't think of a better guide to the vast history of computer animation than Tom Sito. He witnessed much of this story first-hand, then set about researching the rest with clear-eyed interest and unbridled curiosity. He has done a great service for anyone interested in this still-evolving medium—and for posterity.
—Leonard Maltin, film historian, author of Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated CartoonsMoving Innovation is the most complete, organized, and readable account of the formation of the CG industry I have seen. As an educator, I can easily see this text assigned as required reading for animation and film students. Tom Sito's writing is very conversational and straightforward, and this book will be of great interest to anyone in or studying the field of CG.
—Peter Weishar, Dean of Entertainment Arts, Savannah College of Art and DesignMoving Innovation helps us to discover the history of computer animation, from pioneers of experimental animation to inventors, artists, animators, engineers, and technicians who revolutionized the cinema. With his passion, enthusiasm, and encyclopedic knowledge, Tom Sito makes this exciting journey essential to our understanding of this technical and artistic revolution.
—Pierre Lambert, historian of animationMoving Innovation is the most complete, organized, and readable account of the formation of the CG industry I have seen. As an educator, I can easily see this text assigned as required reading for animation and film students. Tom Sito's writing is very conversational and straightforward, and this book will be of great interest to anyone in or studying the field of CG.