# 1987 VHS • Computer Animation Magic 60 FPS

A documentary exploring the history and applications of computer graphics as of the mid-1980s, narrated in third person with interviews from working designers including Donna Cohen. The program traces the medium from the ENIAC and MANIAC computers of the 1940s through MIT's first graphical computing interface in the early 1960s and the University of Utah's three-dimensional motion work by 1970. Coverage is organized by application area. Television broadcast graphics are examined, including network promotions and the opening title sequence for NBC's Amazing Stories produced by Abel Image Research. Broadcast sports graphics are highlighted as the area of heaviest public exposure to computer imagery. European and American television commercials are analyzed in depth, including the Brilliance spot created by Ketchum Advertising for the National Food Processors Association and directed by Randy Roberts, produced using three Cray-class computers running around the clock for a month. Cranston Surrey Productions in Ohio and Digital Productions in Los Angeles are profiled demonstrating wireframe modeling and texture simulation on a Cray supercomputer. The Quantel Paintbox is demonstrated as a tool for electronic illustration and photo retouching.

- Kind: Cartoon
- Year: 1987
- By: The Vista Group®
- Genres: Animation
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/TheVistaGroup-ComputerAnimationMagic1987)
- Licence or status: none stated by the archive
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/ia/TheVistaGroup-ComputerAnimationMagic1987?play=1)