Pivotal figures in the development of computer animation take us from its early history to infinity and beyond.

When this University of London interview took place in 1980, its participants were perhaps quietly confident that their work in computer animation had a place in the future of film. But even they would have been staggered to learn that one of them would end up heading Disney Animation.

This detailed lecture gives an illustrated overview of the development of digital imagery from basic wireframe models to increasingly realistic 3D rendering. It's both future-facing and yet of its time, with the work illustrated through photographic slides with the occasional hair in the gate.

The hirsute figure of Jim Blinn, from the graphics department of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, represents the appliance of this new art to science, taking us to the stars with his visual simulation of the Voyager 2 satellite. But it was Ed Catmull who would bring computer animation to the centre of popular culture - first at Lucasfilm, but more notably as co-founder of Pixar. From the humble steps shown here came Buzz and Woody, and a digital revolution in cinema.

Dr.Edwin Catmull and Dr.James F.Blinn, two of the founders of modern computer
animation, discuss the historical development and current state of the art. The
strengths and weaknesses of computer animation are illustrated by stills and
clips from the works of both men.