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Moving innovation : a history of computer animation / Tom Sito.

By: Material type: TextTextPublication details: Cambridge, Massachusetts : The MIT Press, [2013]Description: 362 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmISBN:
  • 9780262019095 (hardcover)
  • 0262019094 (hardcover)
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 777 SIT
Contents:
Film and television at the dawn of the digital revolution -- Analog dreams : bohemians, beatniks, and the Whitneys -- Spook work : the government and the military -- Academia -- Xerox PARC and corporate culture -- Hackers -- Nolan Bushnell and the games people play -- To dream the impossible dream : the New York Institute of Technology, 1974-1986 -- Motion picture visual effects and Tron -- Bob Abel, Whitney-Demos, and the eighties : the wild west of CG -- Motion capture : the uncanny hybrid -- The cartoon animation industry -- Pixar -- The conquest of Hollywood.
Summary: 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 the first true computer animation program. Instead of presenting a series of numbers, Sutherland\'s Sketchpad program drew lines that created recognizable images. 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. The history of traditional cinema technology is a fairly straight path from Lumière to MGM. Writing the history of CG, Sito maps simultaneous accomplishments in multiple locales -- academia, the military-industrial complex, movie special effects, video games, experimental film, corporate research, and commercial animation. 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. Computer animation did not begin just with Pixar; Sito shows us how fifty years of work by this motley crew made movies like Toy Story and Avatar possible.--Publisher description.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode
Standard Loan Clonmel Library Main Collection 777 SIT (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available 39002100532606
3 Day Loan LSAD Library Short Loan 777 SIT (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available 39002100567529
Standard Loan Moylish Library Main Collection 777 SIT (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available 39002100483040

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

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.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 319-326) and index.

Film and television at the dawn of the digital revolution -- Analog dreams : bohemians, beatniks, and the Whitneys -- Spook work : the government and the military -- Academia -- Xerox PARC and corporate culture -- Hackers -- Nolan Bushnell and the games people play -- To dream the impossible dream : the New York Institute of Technology, 1974-1986 -- Motion picture visual effects and Tron -- Bob Abel, Whitney-Demos, and the eighties : the wild west of CG -- Motion capture : the uncanny hybrid -- The cartoon animation industry -- Pixar -- The conquest of Hollywood.

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 the first true computer animation program. Instead of presenting a series of numbers, Sutherland\'s Sketchpad program drew lines that created recognizable images. 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. The history of traditional cinema technology is a fairly straight path from Lumière to MGM. Writing the history of CG, Sito maps simultaneous accomplishments in multiple locales -- academia, the military-industrial complex, movie special effects, video games, experimental film, corporate research, and commercial animation. 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. Computer animation did not begin just with Pixar; Sito shows us how fifty years of work by this motley crew made movies like Toy Story and Avatar possible.--Publisher description.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

  • Acknowledgments (p. ix)
  • Introduction (p. 1)
  • 1 Film and Television at the Dawn of the Digital Revolution (p. 5)
  • 2 Analog Dreams: Bohemians, Beatniks, and the Whitneys (p. 11)
  • 3 Spook Work: The Government and the Military (p. 37)
  • 4 Academia (p. 53)
  • 5 Xerox PARC and Corporate Culture (p. 73)
  • 6 Hackers (p. 89)
  • 7 Nolan Bushnell and the Games People Play (p. 101)
  • 8 To Dream the Impossible Dream: The New York Institute of Technology, 1974-1986 (p. 123)
  • 9 Motion Picture Visual Effects and Tron (p. 145)
  • 10 Bob Abel, Whitney-Demos, and the Eighties: The Wild West of CG (p. 171)
  • 11 Motion Capture: The Uncanny Hybrid (p. 199)
  • 12 The Cartoon Animation Industry (p. 217)
  • 13 Pixar (p. 239)
  • 14 The Conquest of Hollywood (p. 253)
  • Conclusion (p. 267)
  • Appendix 1 Dramatis Personae (p. 271)
  • Appendix 2 Glossary (p. 283)
  • Appendix 3 Alphabet Soup: CG Acronyms and Abbreviations (p. 287)
  • Notes (p. 291)
  • Bibliography (p. 319)
  • Index (p. 327)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Tom Sito has been a professional animator since 1975. He was one of the key players in Disney's animation revival of the 1980s and 1990s and he helped set up the Dreamworks Animation Unit in 1995. He is the author of Drawing the Line: The Untold Story of the Animation Unions from Bosko to Bart Simpson and Professor of Cinema Practice in the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California.

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