Computer animation was first used in the 1950’s
when Bell Laboratories and other research centers
used it for graphics in military, manufacturing, or
applied sciences applications. Computer anima-
tion was not developed for artistic work, as it was
believed to be too technical for such use. High-
tech computer-graphics laboratories and computer-
graphics experts began experimenting with CGI in
the1960’s. In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, CGI
was used by independent animators and televi-
sion for commercials and station logos, but the
graphics technology was very limited. Early three-
dimensional (3-D) computer animation and imag-
ing systems only functioned on slow, costly main-
frame computers, and the cost and limitation of the
hardware restricted the use of computer graphics.
During the 1970’s and 1980’s, computer technol-
ogy became more practical and useful. The 1970’s
saw a transformation of the technology and a lower-
ing of the cost, so 3-D computer animation and im-
aging technology greatly progressed. In the 1980’s,
CGI became an area of artistic and commercial ap-
peal because of enhanced technology, more people
trained on computer animation and imaging, and a
larger market.
Pixar began pushing the limits of CGI technology
with character animations in the mid- and late
1980’s. The efforts, however, did not draw major
public attention until the release of Disney’sTron
in 1982, which relied on CGI scenes of the inter-
nal computer world. The first entirely computer-
generated animation and longest-running sequence
in a feature film was the Genesis effect inStar Trek II:
The Wrath of Khan (1982). The first completely
computer-generated character was the stained-glass
knight inYoung Sherlock Holmes(1985). Director Rob-
ert Zemeckis used CGI in theBack to the Futurefilms
(1985, 1989, 1990), and inWho Framed Roger Rabbit
(1988) he integrated live action and animation.
Throughout the 1980’s, however, CGI was used to
support the story, not carry it.
CGI Becomes Widespread A decrease in prices on
computer technology and the increase in the hard-
ware capabilities and power of computers in the
1990’s allowed more integration of CGI by visual
professionals. In addition, as 3-D animation became
more complex and varied, it greatly impacted televi-
sion. In the1980’s and for part of the 1990’s, CGI was
too expensive and time-consuming for television,
but it was used in commercials, credit sequences,
music videos, feature films, and video games. Televi-
sion began turning to CGI in the mid-1990’s mainly
for commercials, but the animation was not always a
smooth fit and the audience knew that the images
were playing with reality. The first mainstream 3-D
computer animation for television appeared in com-
mercials for the Coca-Cola polar bears andBabylon 5
television series, both in 1993. Steven Spielberg’s
television series,The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
(1992-1993), used CGI to clone extras and put the
characters into exotic locations.
In the early 1990’s, directors Spielberg, Zemeckis,
and James Cameron promoted the use of the new
imaging technologies. Filmmakers believed that
film is driven to create photorealistic imagery and
that audiences want to believe in magic and just en-
joy the story, not wonder at the effects. The creation
or simulation of reality became the main emphasis,
and improvements in the power of the CGI systems,
graphic clarity, and resolution allowed directors un-
precedented control over what the audience would
see. Directors could also realize their dreams, no
matter how fantastic or complex in terms of special
effects. Science-fiction cinema was producing the
most spectacular CGI films, and, by 1993, the ten
highest-grossing films of all time had special effects.
Working with Industrial Light and Magic (ILM),
the special-effects company forThe Abyss(1989),
Cameron used CGI in a way that was considered
groundbreaking, demonstrating its dramatic and ar-
tistic potential. Cameron also created the first CGI
main character in film, the T-1000, inTerminator 2:
Judgment Day(1991). Cameron’s 1997Titanicseam-
lessly integrated a digital world into live action and
went on to become one of the highest-grossing films
of all time.
Spielberg used CGI dinosaurs in combination
with models and manipulated images for the ex-
tremely successfulJurassic Park(1993) andThe Lost
World: Jurassic Park(1997). Zemeckis inserted a live
character into historical films and manipulated his-
torical figures inForrest Gump(1994). His 1997Con-
tactused CGI throughout the film in both obvious
and subtle ways and is considered a milestone in the
use of animation and CGI for telling a story.Toy Stor y
(1995) was the first fully 3-D computer-animated
feature-length film and was followed by the sequel,
Toy Stor y 2, in 1999. By 1999, CGI effects were heavily
used in films such asThe Matrix, which sparked a158 CGI The Nineties in America