Timeline: History of Visual Effects VFX, Computer Graphics, CGI, Computer Animation


Compiled by Barbara Flueckiger, professor of film studies at the University of Zurich; please report errors or suggestions, download table as PDF (without links, version January 2011).


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Year Technology Persons Company or Institution Film Publication or Award or Link
1642 mechanical calculator Blaise Pascal
1670 binary principle Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz
1760 Lambert’s law of ideal diffuse reflection, the foundation of Lambert shading Johann Heinrich Lambert
1801 loom with punching cards Joseph-Marie Jacquard
1834 punching cards, calculator Charles Babbage Link
1839 Daguerrotype Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre
1843 fax machine Alexander Bain
1850 photogrammetry Aimé Laussedat Link
1854 Boolean algebra George Boole An Investigation of the Laws of Thought On Which Are Founded the Mathematical Theories of Logic and Probabilities.
1878 magnetic recording Oberlin Smith
1884 still image series Eadweard Muybridge Link
1887 chronophotography Etienne Jules Marey
1888 Kinetograph Thomas A. Edison
1890 punching strips Herman Hollerith
1895 stop trick Thomas A. Edison The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots
1895 film Max and Emil Skladanowsky
1895 film Auguste and Louis Lumière
1895 time manipulation Louis Lumière Charcuterie mécanique
1897 double exposure G. A. Smith The Corsican Brothers
1897 time lapse Georges Méliès Carrefour de l’opera
1897 stop-motion animation Albert E. Smith, J. Stuart Blackton Humpty Dumpty Circus
1898 magnetic recording Poulsen
1899 animation Arthur Melbourne Cooper Matches: An Appeal Link
1901 compositing W. R. Booth The Hunted Curiosity Shop
1901 split screen Georges Méliès L ‘Homme à la tête en caoutchouc
1902 stop trick Georges Méliès
1902 slow motion Georges Méliès
1902 stop-motion animation Edwin S. Porter Fun in a Bakery Shop
1903 in-camera compositing Edwin S. Porter The Great Train Robbery
1906 animation J. Stuart Blackton Humorous Phases of Funny Faces
1906 stop-motion animation J. Stuart Blackton A Midwinter Night’s Dream
1907 Glasvorsatz Norman O. Dawn California Missions
1907 Glasvorsatz Georges Méliès 20 000 lieues sous les mers
1907 puppeteering Richard Murphy The Eagle’s Nest Link
1907 stop-motion animation J. Stuart Blackton The Haunted Hotel
1907 stop-motion animation Biograph Dolls in Dreamland
1907 stop-motion animation Edwin S. Porter The Teddy Bears
1908 animation Emile Cohl Fantasmagorie Link
1908 stop-motion animation Segundo de Chomón El hotel eléctrico Link
1908 stop-motion animation Arthur Melbourne Cooper Dreams of Toyland
1910 physical effects Mack Sennett Keystone Kops
1910 stop-motion animation of insects Ladislaw Alexandrowicz Starewicz Lucanus Cervus Link
1911 animation Winsor McCay Little Nemo
1911 register pin movement Bell & Howell Link
1912 stunts Enrico Guazzoni Quo Vadis?
1912 puppeteering Georges Méliès A la conquête du pôle
1913 prospect Norman O. Dawn
1914 live-action and animation Winsor McCay Gertie the Dinosaur
1914 Paul Wegener Der Golem Link
1914 motion control James Brautigan Edison The Flying Duchess
1915 rotoscope, patented in 1917 Max Fleischer
1916 stunts D. W. Griffith Intolerance
1916 travelling mattes via Williams process (black and white) Frank Williams
1923 schufftan process (mirror trick, Schüfftan-Verfahren), travelling matte Eugen Schüfftan
1924 puppeteering Fritz Lang Nibelungen
1924 live-action animation Ladislaw Alexandrowicz Starewicz La petite chanteuse
1925 miniatures Fred Niblo Ben Hur
1925 puppeteering Willis O’Brien The Lost World
1926 rear projection, miniatures, schufftan process, physical effects, stop motion, multiple exposures Eugen Schüfftan, Erich Kettelhut Metropolis
1928 physical effects, miniatures Fred Gabourie Steamboat Willy Jr.
1930 magnetic recording Bell Labs
1931 make-up, face Jack Pierce Universal Frankenstein
1933 stop-motion animation, puppeteering Willis O’Brien King Kong
1933 optical tricks, in-camera effects John P. Fulton, Frank Williams Universal Invisible Man
1936 James Basevi, Russell A. Cully, A. Arnold Gillespie, Loyal Griggs, Slavko Vorkapich MGM San Francisco
1936 light gun in a computer game Seeburg Ray-O-Lite Link
1937 binary switching Claude E. Shannon MIT A Symbolic Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits
1937 binary adding machine George Stibitz
1938 binary calculator, “computer” Konrad Zuse
1939 Academy Award for Special Effects added Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
1941 optical special effects, in-camera effects, camera movement Gregg Toland, Linwood Dunn Citizen Kane
1942 first electronic binary computer John Vincent Atanasoff Iowa State University Link
1942 miniatures Eiji Tsuburaya Kaigun Bakugeki-tai and Hawai-Marei Oki Kaisen
1943 transformation, morphing John P. Fulton Universal Son of Dracula
1945 computer Moore School of Engineering, University of Pennsylvania Link
1946 radiosity Parry Moon, Domina Eberle Spencer MIT Link
1947 Association of computer Machinery ACM
1947 founded International Organzation for Standardization ISO
1947 transistor John Bardeen, Walter Brattain and William Shockley Bell Laboratories Link
1948 motion control Gordon Jennings Paramount The Big Clock, Samson and Delilah Technical Achievement Award 1951 (according to Richard Rickitt)
1949 computer MIT
1949 stop-motion animation Ray Harryhausen and Willis O'Brien Mighty Joe Young
1950 oscillloscope art Ben Laposky Link
1950 oscilloscope Norman McLaren Around is Around Link
1950 motion control O. L. Dupy MGM An American in Paris Dupy, O. L. (1950): A Motion Repeating System for Special Effects Photography. In: Journal SMPTE, March 1950.
1951 light gun MIT Link
1951 vectorscope monitor MIT Link
1953 oscilloscope, computer film Hy Hirsch Eneri Link
1954 monster, miniatures Eiji Tsuburaya Gojira Link
1954 oscilloscope, computer film Mary Ellen Bute Abstronic Link
1955 light pen Bert Sutherland MIT Link
1956 compositing John P. Fulton Paramount The Ten Commandments
1956 computer graphics, film recording Lawrence Livermore National Labs Link
1956 coined the term Artificial Intelligence John McCarthy Link
1956 motion control Gordon Jennings Paramount Forbidden Planet
1957 photo manipulation, scan Russell Kirsch National Bureau of Standards Link
1957 founded by the Defense Department ARPA Advanced Research Project Agency
1957 motion control John Whitney Sr.
1957 graphics tablet, man-machine interface Tom Diamond
1958 trombone shot, title animation Alfred Hitchcock Vertigo
1958 image processing Steven Coons, Ivan Sutherland, Timothy Johnson MIT
1958 traveling matte (sodium vapor) Petro Vlahos Vlahos, Petro: Composite Photography Utilizing Sodium Vapor Illumination, US Patent 3,095,304, May 15, 1958. A two-film technique that generates a matte strip with an element strip.
1959 stop-motion animation Ray Harryhausen The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
1959 film recording General Dynamics Link
1959 scanning, CAD General Motors Research Laboratory, IBM
1960 Artificial Intelligence John McCarthy
1960 title animation John Whitney Sr. Motion Graphics, Inc. Link
1960 coined the term computer graphics Herb Freeman
1960 first digital film Peter Kubelka Arnulf Rainer
1960 man-machine interaction JCR Licklider MIT Man-computer Symbiosis. IRE Transactions on Human Factors in Electronics, volume HFE-1, pages 4-11, March 1960
1960 coined the term computer graphics William Fetter Boeing
1960 term cyborg popularized Manfred E. Clynes, Nathan S. Kline
1961 slitscan John Whitney Sr. Catalogue Link
1961 computer animation, motion capture Lee Harrison III computer Image Corporation Notes for an Early animation Device. (29.12.1961) Link
1962 computer game, joystick Slug Russell, Shag Graetz, Alan Kotok MIT SpaceWar! (interactive computer game) Link
1962 Scanimate, motion capture, digital character Lee Harrison III Mr. Computer Image ABC Link
1962 first memo proposing the Internet JCR Licklider MIT Galactic Network
1963 graphic input device, man-machine interface Ivan Sutherland MIT Sutherland, Ivan (1963): A Man-Machine Graphical Communication System. Proceedings of the AFIPS Spring Joint Computer Conference Washington, D.C., 1963, pp. 329-346 Link
1963 motion control John Whitney Sr. Link
1963 digital character William Fetter Boeing
1963 image processing Charles (Chuck) Csuri
1963 stop-motion animation Ray Harryhausen Jason and the Argonauts
1963 computer film Edward Zajac Bell Laboratories a simulated trip around the globe based on satellite still photographs Link
1963 hidden line Lawrence Roberts MIT Machine Perception of Three Dimensional Solids," MIT Lincoln Lab. Rep., TR 315, May 1963
1964 programming language Thomas Kurtz, John Kemeny
1964 3D, computer animation, Sketchpad Ivan Sutherland
1964 color difference travelling mattes Petro Vlahos Vlahos, Petro, Composite Color Photography, US Patent 3,158,477, Nov 24, 1964. The classic color-difference blue screen compositing technique. Link
1965 stereo computer animation Michael Noll and Bela Julesz Bell Laboratories
1965 image processing NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
1965 CG program started Charles (Chuck) Csuri Ohio State University
1965 computer art: 1st computer art exhibition Technische Hochschule in Stuttgart
1965 computer art Howard Wise Gallery NYC
1966 computer film James Whitney Lapis
1966 computer game, first consumer game Ralph Baer Odyssey (computer game)
1966 virtual reality Ivan Sutherland, Bob Sproull, Jim Clarke Harvard University
1966 computer film John Whitney Sr. Permutations
1966 hidden line Ruth A. Weiss IBM BE VISION, a Package of IBM 7090 FORTRAN Programs to Drive Views of Combinations of Plane and Quadric Surfaces. Journal of the ACM 13(4) April 1966, p. 194-204
1967 computer animation Charles (Chuck) Csuri Hummingbird Link
1967 morphing Leslie Mezei University of Toronto
1967 rendering, primitives, ray casting Philip Mittelman MAGI
1967 Torrance-Sparrow shading Kenneth E. Torrance, E. M. Sparrow Cornell University Torrance, Kenneth E.; Sparrow, E. M. (1967): Theory for Off-Specular Reflection from Roughened Surfaces. In: Journal of the Optical Society of America 57(9), September 1967.
1968 Slitscan, motion control Douglas Trumbull 2001 A Space Odyssey
1968 first computer graphics company Ivan Sutherland, Dave Evans Evans & Sutherland
1968 head mounted device HUD, virtual reality Ivan Sutherland, Bob Sproull Harvard A Head-Mounted Three-Dimensional Display. Proceedings of the AFIPS Fall Joint Computer Conference Washington, D.C.: Thompson Books, 1968, p. 757-764.
1968 mouse Doug C. Engelbart Stanford Research Institute Link
1968 Computer Graphics Department founded David Evans University of Utah
1968 computer animation Tony Pritchett Open University Flexipede
1968 body scans, medical image processing Dicomed
1968 man-machine interaction JCR Licklider MIT The Computer as a Communication Device Link
1968 ray tracing Arthur Appel IBM Some Techniques for Shading Machine Renderings of Solids. SJCC, pages 27-45, 1968.
1968 computer art exhibition: Cybernetic Serendipity: The computer and the arts London Institute of Contemporary Arts Link
1968 L-systems Aristid Lindenmayer University of Utrecht Lindenmayer, Aristid (1968): Mathematical models for cellular interaction in development, Parts I and II. In: Journal of Theoretical Biology, No. 18, p. 280–315, 1968.
1969 3-bit frame buffer Bell Labs
1969 Internet UCLA, Stanford, Utah, University of California in Santa Barbara
1969 GUI Alan Kay Xerox PARC Link
1969 1st use of CGI for commercials - MAGI for IBM MAGI IBM (Commercial)
1970 scanline hidden surface removal Gary Watkins University of Utah "A Real-Time Visible Surface Algorithm ", computer Science Dept., University of Utah, UTECH-CSC-70-101, June 1970.
1970 premiere at Expo 1970 in Osaka IMAX
1970 flight simulator Evans & Sutherland Link
1970 Bézier splines Pierre Bézier Renault
1970 computer art exhibition in Munich (computer art – On the Eye of Tomorrow) Kunstverein Munich
1970 virtual reality Myron Krueger Videoplace
1970 CCD Bell Laboratories
1971 face animation Fred I. Parke University of Utah Animated Faces
1971 CGRG computer Graphics Research Group founded Charles (Chuck) Csuri Ohio State University
1971 non-linear editing CMX Systems Link
1971 Gouraud shading Henri Gouraud Continuous Shading of Curved Surfaces. IEEE Transactions on Computers C-20(6), June 1971, p. 623-29
1971 keyframe animation Nestor Burtnyk, Marceli Wein National Research Council of Canada Metadata N. Burtnyk and M. Wein (1971): Computer Generated Keyframe Animation. In: Journal of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, S 149--153, March 1971. Sci-tech Award 1996
1972 computer game Atari Pong
1972 depth sort hidden surface removal Martin Newell University of Utah
1972 8-bit frame buffer Xerox PARC
1973 raster graphics John Whitney Jr. Triple-I Westworld Nomination Oscar Link
1973 analogue-digital conversion, telecine Quantel
1973 raster images for TV commercials Robert Abel & Associates
1973 Bob Metcalfe
1974 first conference with 600 participants SIGGRAPH
1974 hidden surface removal Ed Catmull University of Utah A Subdivision Algorithm for Computer Display of Curved Surfaces. In: Technical Report UTEC-CSs-74-133 University of Utah, 1974
1974 Z-buffer Ed Catmull University of Utah
1974 texture mapping Ed Catmull University of Utah
1974 Phong shading Phong Bui-Tuong University of Utah Illumination for computer generated images. Comm. ACM 18, 6 (June 1975), 311-317.
1974 in-betweening, morphing Peter Foldes National Research Council of Canada Hunger Link
1974 computer game, MUD Gary Whisenhunt and Ray Wood Southern Illinois University Dungeons and Dragons (computer game)
1974 3D scan A. N. Garroway, P. K. Grannell and P. Mansfield * A. N. Garroway, P. K. Grannell and P. Mansfield J. Phys. C: Solid State Phys. 7, (1974), L457-462 Link
1974 Computer Graphics Laboratory founded Alex Schure NYIT
1975 fractals Benoît Mandelbrot Benoît Mandelbrot: "Les objets fractals, forme, hasard et dimension." (English: "Fractals. Form, Chance, and Dimension.", 1975) and "The Fractal Geometry of Nature." (1977/1982) Link
1975 procedural modelling Yoichiro Kawaguchi University of Tokyo Link
1975 animatronic Jaws
1975 paint program, Paint Richard Shoup Xerox Palo Alto Research Group
1975 Utah Teapot Martin Newell University of Utah
1976 digital human face Gary Demos, John Whitney Jr. Triple-I Futureworld
1976 computer Apple I Steve Wozniak Apple
1976 paint program Alvy Ray Smith New York Institute of Technology
1976 reflection mapping James F. Blinn, Martin E. Newell University of Utah Texture and Reflection in Computer Generated Images. Communications of the ACM, Vol. 19, No. 10, 542-547
1976 real-time compositing Petro Vlahos Ultimatte Corp. Link
1976 computer Seymour Cray Cray Link
1977 computer simulation James F. Blinn NASA Jet Propulsion Lab Voyager
1977 laser printer Xerox PARC
1977 computer displays, computer graphics in a feature film Bo Gehring Associates Demon Seed
1977 alpha channel Ed Catmull, Alvy Ray Smith NYIT
1977 motion control John Dykstra
1977 Bidrectional Reflectance Distribution Function BRDF Nicodemus et al. Nicodemus, F. E., Richmond, J. C., Hsia, J. J., Ginsberg, I., and Limperis, T. (1977): Geometric Considerations and Nomenclature for Reflectance, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NBS Monograph 160, 1977.
1977 Torrance-Sparrow shading James Blinn James F. Blinn. Models of Light Reflection for computer Synthesized Pictures. In Computer Graphics Proceedings, Annual Conference Series, 1977, ACM SIGGRAPH, pp. 192-198.
1978 subdivision surfaces Ed Catmull, Jim Clarke University of Utah Recursively generated B-spline surfaces on arbitrary topological surfaces. (Computer-Aided Design 10(6):350-355, November 1978)
1978 bump mapping James F. Blinn University of Utah Blinn, James F. "Simulation of Wrinkled Surfaces", Computer Graphics, Vol. 12 (3), pp. 286-292 SIGGRAPH-ACM (August 1978)
1979 title animation, black hole simulation John Hughes Robert Abel & Associates The Black Hole
1980 fractals Loren Carpenter Boeing Vol Libre, Genesis-Demo Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan
1980 ray tracing Turner Whitted Bell Laboratories An Improved Illumination Model for Shaded Display. Commun. ACM 23(6): 343-349 (1980) Link
1980 computer game Namco Pac Man
1980 electronic compositing Frank Van der Veer, Barry Nolan Flash Gordon
1980 laser scanner and film recording David DiFrancesco, Bala S. Manian, Thomas L. Noggle Sci-Tech Award 1998
1980 man-machine interface Richard A. Bolt MIT Richard A. Bolt (1980): “Put-that-there”: Voice and gesture at the graphics interface. In: SIGGRAPH '80 Proceedings of the 7th annual conference on Computer graphics and interactive techniques. Link
1980 blobbies James F. Blinn Cosmos (TV-Series) Link
1981 digital character, 3D scan Richard Taylor Triple-I Looker Link
1981 paint program Quantel
1981 music video broadcasting MTV
1981 go-motion Dennis Muren, Ken Ralston, Phil Tippett ILM Dragonslayer
1981 hardware Russell Noftsker Symbolics Graphics Division
1981 digital character Adam Powers, the Juggler Triple-I Triple-I Demo Reel Link
1981 Cook-Torrance shading Cook, Torrance Cook, Robert L.; Torrance, Kenneth E. (1981): A Reflectance Model for computer Graphics. In Computer Graphics , 15(3), Proceedings, Annual Conference Series, 1981, ACM SIGGRAPH, pp. 307-316.
1982 first full CGI shot in a feature film Ed Catmull, Alvy Ray Smith and others Lucasfilm Computer Graphics Division Star Trek II Genesis Effekt
1982 clouds and smog, volumetric simulation Geoffrey Gardner Grumman Data Systems
1982 computer animation, full CGI Japan Computer Graphics Lab JCGL The Yearling (TV)
1982 morphing Tom Brigham NYIT Link
1982 first feature film with a higher percentage of CGI MAGI, Triple-I, Robert Abel & Associates, Digital Effects Tron Link
1982 Douglas Trumbull Blade Runner
1982 computer animation NYIT The Works (1979–1986, never finished)
1982 CAD John Walker, Dan Drake Autodesk Inc.
1982 3D scanning Cyberware
1982 motion capture Tom Calvert, Chapman, J. , Patla, A Simon Fraser University Calvert, Tom W. ; Chapman, J. ; Patla, A.: Aspects of the kinematic simulation of human movement. IEEE computer Graphics and Applications, Vol. 2, No. 9, November 1982, pp. 41-50.
1983 particle animation William T. Reeves Lucasfilm Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan Particle Systems – A Technology for Modeling a Class of Fuzzy Objects. ACM Transactions on Graphics, April 1983 (SIGGRAPH 1982)
1983 computer C 64 Commodore
1983 computer animation Yoichiro Kawaguchi Growth: Mysterious Galaxy
1983 videomatics (previs) ILM Return of the Jedi
1983 MIP mapping Lance Williams NYIT Pyramidal Parametrics. In: Computer Graphics, Vol. 17, No. 3, July 1983, 1-11. Link
1983 motion capture Carol M. Ginsberg, Delle Maxwell MIT Carol M. Ginsberg and Delle Maxwell, "Graphical marionette," Proc. ACM SIGGRAPH/SIGART Workshop on Motion, ACM Press, New York, April 1983, pp. 172-179.
1983 digital compositing R. Greenberg Associates Zelig
1983 data glove Thomas G. Zimmerman VPL Research Inc. Link
1984 radiosity Cindy M. Goral, Kenneth E. Torrance, Donald P. Greenberg, Bennett Battaile Cornell University Modeling the Interaction of Light Between Diffuse Surfaces.
1984 light, rain, heaven Hiroshima University Still Life Etude
1984 computer, GUI Steven Jobs Apple
1984 character animation Abel & Associates Brilliance (Commercial) Link
1984 Nick Castel Digital Productions The Last Starfighter Link
1984 compositing, virtual environment MAGI Where the Wild Things Are (TV)
1984 non-linear editing Lucasfilm
1984 computer animation Alvy Ray Smith Lucasfilm The Adventures of André & Wally B. Link
1984 CGI Gary Demos, John Whitney Jr. Digital Productions Incorporated Sci-Tech Award 1984
1984 displacement maps Robert L. Cook Cornell University Cook, Robert L. 1984. Shade Trees. In: Computer Graphics (Proceedings of SIGGRAPH 84) 18(3), pp. 223–231
1984 fluid simulation, particle Larry Yaeger and Craig Upson Digital Productions 2010: The Year We Made Contact Yaeger, Larry; Craig, Upson; Myers, Robert (1986): Combining physical and visual simulation -- Creation of the planet Jupiter for the film “2010”. In: SIGGRAPH '86 Proceedings of the 13th annual conference on Computer graphics and interactive techniques Link
1985 flocking Susan Amkraut Ohio State University Eurhythmy
1985 non-linear editing, compositing Quantel
1985 character animation, film recording Young Sherlock Holmes
1985 animation software Alias Research Link
1985 computer film Larry Cuba Calculated Movements
1985 virtual reality Jaron Lanier, Jean-Jacques Grimaud VPL
1985 CD-ROM International Standard Organization ISO
1985 digital characters, soft body animation Pierre Lachapelle, Philippe Bergeron, Pierre Robidoux and Daniel Langlois Tony de Peltrie Link
1986 flocking, Artificial Life Craig Reynolds Symbolics, Inc. Stanley and Stella in Breaking the Ice Reynolds, C. W. (1987): Flocks, Herds, and Schools: A Distributed Behavioral Model. In: Computer Graphics, 21(4) (SIGGRAPH '87 Conference Proceedings), pp. 25-34. Link
1986 soft body dynamics Al Barr CalTech Barr, Al (1986): Dynamic Constraints. A New Paradigm for Computer Graphics Modeling. State of the Art in Image Synthesis, ACM Siggraph 1986.
1986 rendering equation Jim Kajiya CalTech The Rendering Equation. computer Graphics 20 (4), August 1986.
1986 L-systems Przemyslaw Prusinkiewicz University of Calgary Prusinkiewicz, Przemyslaw; Lindenmayer, Aristid (1990): The Algorithmic Beauty of Plants. New York: Springer-Verlag. Link
1986 computer animation John Lasseter Pixar Luxo Jr. Prix Ars Electronica Link
1986 animation software Daniel Langlois Softimage
1986 consumer animation software Vertigo Software
1986 animation Walt Disney Animation Studios / Pixar
1986 cloth simulation Jerry Weil
1986 rendering, patented in 1988 Pat Hanrahan Pixar
1986 cyberscan, transformation ILM Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
1986 digital character Brad deGraf, Bill Kroyer, Kevin Rafferty Hard Woman (Musikvideo)
1986 morphing Omnibus Computer Graphics Flight of the Navigator
1986 wire removal ILM Howard the Duck
1986 computer game, MUD, avatar Lucasfilm Habitat
1986 transformation, camera shakes Ken Ralston ILM The Golden Child
1986 digital character Rebecca Allen NYIT Musique Non Stop (Musikvideo) Link
1986 medical visualization The National Library of Medicine The Visible Human Project (database) Link
1986 crowd animation Stephen Regelous Massive Software Sci-Tech Award 2003 Link
1987 soft body dynamics David Haumann Ohio State University Flexible Dynamics Modeling the Physical Behaviour of Flexible Objects, SIGGRAPH Tutorial 17 Notes, 1987
1987 soft body dynamics Demetri Terzopoulos, Andrew Witkin, Michael Kass Constraints on Deformable Models. In: Artificial Intelligence archive, Volume 36 , Issue 1 (August 1988) table of contents, Pages: 91 - 123 2001 computer Graphics Achievement Award
1987 digital character Nadia Magnenat-Thalmann, Daniel Thalmann Rendez-vous à Montreal
1987 virtual reality Stéphane Singier, Thierry Prieur, Maurice Benayoun Z-A Production
1987 atmosphere, volumtric effects Tomoyuki Nishita, Yasuhiro Miyawaki and Eihachiro Nakamae Hiroshima University A Shading Model for Atmospheric Scattering Considering Luminous Intensity Distribution of Light Sources. In: Computer Graphics, Vol. 21, Number 4, July 1987
1987 digital character ABC Max Headroom (TV series)
1988 first application of morphing in a feature film Dennis Muren, Doug Smythe ILM Willow
1988 particle system Karl Sims Whitney/Demos Leonardo’s Deluge
1988 particle system Karl Sims Whitney/Demos Particle Dreams
1988 rigid body dynamics James Hahn Ohio State University Rigid Body Dynamics Hahn, James (1988): Realistic Animation of Rigid Bodies. In: Computer Graphics, Proceedings SIGGRAPH '88, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), Bd. 22, Nr. 4 (August 1988), pp. 299–308
1988 human face animation Nadia Magnenat-Thalmann, E. Primeau, and D. Thalmann Abstract Muscle Action Procedures for Human Face Animation N. Magnenat-Thalmann, E. Primeau, and D. Thalmann Visual computer, 1988
1988 computer animation John Lasseter Pixar Red’s Dream Prix Ars Electronica Link
1988 John Lasseter Pixar Tin Toy
1988 computer game Tetris Nintendo
1988 character animation, digital character, motion capture Brad deGraf, Michael Wahrman Mike the Talking Head
1988 rendering Loren Carpenter, Rob Cook, Ed Catmull, Tom Porter, Pat Hanrahan, Tony Apodaca, Darwyn Peachey Pixar Sci-Tech Award 1992
1988 motion capture Jim Henson Productions
1989 computer game SimCity Maxis
1989 motion capture, digital character, first synthespian Dozo Jeff Kleiser and Diana Walczak Kleiser-Walczak Construction Company Don’t Touch Me
1989 reflection, refraction, digital compositing, face scan John Knoll ILM The Abyss
1989 morphing, digital compositing Doug Smythe ILM Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
1989 animation software Alias Research Abyss
1989 non-linear editing Avid Technology Inc.
1989 computer animation John Lasseter Pixar Knick Knack
1990 human face Demetri Terzopoulos, Keith Waters University of Toronto D. Terzopoulos and K. Waters. Physically-based Facial Modelling, Analysis, and Animation. Journal of Visualization and Computer animation, 1(2):73–80, Dec. 1990.
1990 fluid dynamics Michael Kass Splash Dance Imagina Grand Prix
1990 Tim Berners-Lee CERN
1990 image processing John Knoll, Thomas Knoll
1990 animation Walt Disney Animation Studios / Pixar The Rescuers Down Under
1990 dry for wet, particle animation ILM The Hunt for Red October
1990 Matte Painting, CCD Scanner Bruce Walters ILM Die Hard 2: Die Harder
1990 first attempt to use motion capture for a feature film, finally replaced by rotoscoping Eric Brevig Dream Quest Images, ILM Total Recall
1990 animation software Autodesk
1991 image-based modeling Paul Debevec
1991 procedural modeling Karl Sims Panspermia Prix Ars Electronica Link
1991 HDTV Peter Greenaway Prospero’s Book
1991 Apple
1991 compositing R. Greenberg Associates Diet Coke Commercial
1991 film recording CRT Ray Feeney, Richard Keeney, Richard Lundell Sci-Tech Award 1991
1991 animation Randy Cartwright, David B. Coons, Lem Davis, Thomas Hahn, James Houston, Mark Kimball, Dylan W. Kohler, Peter Nye, Michael Shantzis, David H. Wolf Walt Disney Sci-Tech Award 1991
1992 motion capture Lawnmower Man
1992 flocking Craig Reynolds Batman Returns
1992 Michael Kass, Andrew Witkin Schlumberger Reaction Diffusion Texture Buttons Prix Ars Electronica
1992 Karl Sims Liquid Selves / Primordial Dance Prix Ars Electronica Link
1992 flexible body dynamics David Baraff, Andrew Wilkin Carnegie Mellon University D. Baraff and A. Witkin. Dynamic simulation of non-penetrating flexible bodies. In: Computer Graphics 26(2): 303-308, 1992
1992 edge-detection for 2D animation Kroyer Films Ferngully
1992 character animation, digital character Walt Disney Animation Studios Aladdin
1992 data storage system Ampex
1992 particle animation Jim Hourihan Santa Barbara Studios licensed to Wavefront
1992 morphing Tom Brigham, Douglas Smythe ILM Sci-Tech Award 1992
1993 Pascal Roulin Lakmé Prix Ars Electronica Link
1993 computer game Myst Cyan Worlds
1993 computer game George Romero Id Software Doom
1993 Artificial Life Larry Yaeger Artificial Life Link
1993 wire removal Mark Leather, Les Dittert, Douglas Smythe, George Joblove Sci-Tech Award 1993
1993 image-based rendering Eric Chen Shenchang, Lance Williams NYIT View interpolation for image synthesis. SIGGRAPH 1993: 279-288 Link
1994 Artificial Life Demetri Terzopoulos University of Toronto "Artificial fishes: Autonomous locomotion, perception, behavior, and learning in a simulated physical world," D. Terzopoulos, X. Tu, R. Grzeszczuk, Artificial Life, 1, 4, December, 1994, pp. 327-351. Link
1994 Artificial Life Karl Sims Sims, Karl (1994): "Evolving Virtual Creatures". In: Computer Graphics (Siggraph '94 Proceedings), July 1994, pp.15-22. http://www.genarts.com/karl/ Link
1994 procedural modelling and animation Midori Kitagawa Ohio State University Kitagawa-DeLeon, Midori (1994): Branching Object Generation and animation System with Cubic Hermite Interpolation. Journal Vis. and Computer Animation, 1994, Bd. 2, pp. 60-67.
1994 Sony
1994 image-based rmodeling, rendering, and lighting Paul Debevec UC Berkeley Immersion Link
1994 digital character, Virtual Actors, Artificial Intelligence Ken Perlin and Athomas Goldberg NYU Perlin, Ken; Goldberg, Athomas (1996): Improv: a system for scripting interactive actors in virtual worlds. in: SIGGRAPH '96 Proceedings of the 23rd annual conference on Computer graphics and interactive techniques. Link
1994 scanning Gary Demos, Dan Cameron Triple-I Sci-Tech Award 1994 Link
1994 scanning Gary Starkweather Pixar Sci-Tech Award 1994
1994 scanning Scott Squires ILM Sci-Tech Award 1994 Link
1994 scanning (linear array CCD) Lincoln Hu, Michael Mackenzie, Glenn Kennel, Mike Davis ILM, Kodak Sci-Tech Award 1994
1994 scanning (area array CCD) Ray Feeney, Will McCown, Bill Bishop, Les Dittert RFX inc., PDI Sci-Tech Award 1994 Link
1994 scanning Mike Boudry Computer Film Company Sci-Tech Award 1994
1994 3D scanning David Addleman, Lloyd A. Addleman Sci-Tech Award 1994 Link
1994 compositing, keying Petro Vlahos, Paul Vlahos Ultimatte Sci-Tech Award 1994 Link
1994 compositing, keying George Sauve, Bill Bishop, Arpag Dadourian, Ray Feeney, Richard Patterson Sci-Tech Award 1994
1994 Oren-Nayar shading Michael Oren and Shree K. Nayar Columbia University Oren, M.; Nayar, S. K. (1994): Generalization of Lambert's reflectance model. In computer Graphics, Proceedings, Annual Conference Series, 1994, ACM SIGGRAPH, pp. 239-246. Link
1995 first fully computer animated movie John Lasseter Pixar Animation Studios / Walt Disney Toy Story
1995 compositing, alpha Alvy Ray Smith, Ed Catmull, Thomas Porter, Tom Duff Sci-Tech Award 1995
1995 compositing Douglas Smythe, Lincoln Hu, Douglas S. Kay ILM Sci-Tech Award 1995
1995 compositing Computer Film Company CFC Sci-Tech Award 1995 Link
1995 compositing Gary Demos, David Ruhoff, Dan Cameron, Michelle Feraud Digital Productions Sci-Tech Award 1995
1996 noise and turbulence procedural texturing Ken Perlin NYU Academy Award for Technical Achievement 1996 Link
1996 Image-based modeling and rendering Paul Debevec UC Berkeley The Campanile Movie (1997) Modeling and Rendering Architecture from Photographs.
1996 direct input device Brian Knep, Craig Hayes, Rick Sayre, Thomas Williams Sci-Tech Award 1996 Link
1996 morphing Perry Kivolowitz, Garth A. Dickie Sci-Tech Award 1996
1996 texturing John Schlag, Brian Knep, Zoran Kacic-Alesic, Thomas Williams ILM Sci-Tech Award 1996
1996 particle animation William (Bill) Reeves Sci-Tech Award 1996
1996 particle animation Jim Hourihan Sci-Tech Award 1996
1996 hair and fur James Kajiya, Timothy Kay Rendering fur with three dimensional textures. Proceedings of the 16th annual conference on computer graphics and interactive techniques, Pages: 271 - 280 Year of Publication: 1989 Sci-Tech Award 1996
1996 hair and fur Jeffery Yost, Christian Rouet, David Benson, Florian Kainz Sci-Tech Award 1996
1996 water simulation Areté http://www.arete.com/ Link
1997 image-based modelling George Borshukov University of California at Berkeley New Algorithms for Modeling and Rendering Architecture from Photographs.
1997 subdivision surfaces Jan Pinkawa Geri’s Game
1997 animation software Bill Kovacs, Roy Hall Wavefront Sci-Tech Award 1997 Link
1997 procedural animation Greg Hermanovic, Kim Davidson, Mark Elendt, Paul H. Breslin Side Effects Sci-Tech Award 1997 Link
1997 animation Craig Reynolds Sci-Tech Award 1997 Link
1997 animation Eben Ostby, William Reeves, Samuel J. Leffler, Tom Duff Toy Story Sci-Tech Award 1997
1997 animation Dominique Boisvert, Rejean Gagne, Daniel Langlois, Richard Laperrière Softimage Sci-Tech Award 1997
1997 procedural animation Richard Chuang, Glenn Entis, Carl Rosendahl PDI Sci-Tech Award 1997
1997 face animation Cary Phillips ILM Sci-Tech Award 1997
1997 paint systems Richard Shoup, Alvy Ray Smith, Thomas Porter Sci-Tech Award 1997 Link
1997 animation John Gibson, Rob Krieger, Milan Novacek, Glen Ozymok, Dave Springer Alias Sci-Tech Award 1997
1997 hair, fur Scott Gordon and Phil Brock Santa Barbara Studios, purchased by Alias/Wavefront, became Maya Fur American Werewolf in Paris
1998 cloth simulation Andrew Witkin, David Baraff Carnegie Mellon Stuart Little, Monsters Inc. Large Steps in Cloth Simulation. In: Proceedings of the 25th Annual Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques.
1998 crowd animation, motion capture Robert Legato Digital Domain Titanic Prix Ars Electronica Link
1998 compositing software Gary Tregaski, Dominique Boisvert, Philippe Panzini, André Leblanc Discreet Sci-Tech Award 1998
1998 tracking Douglas R. Roble Digital Domain Sci-Tech Award 1998 Link
1998 tracking Thaddeus Beier Hammerhead Sci-Tech Award 1998 Link
1998 fluid dynamics Nick Foster Nick Foster and Dimitri Metaxas, Visualization of Dynamic Fluid Simulations, Engineering Computations, Vol. 12, pp. 109-124 (1995) Sci-Tech Award 1998 Link
1998 tracking, compositing Gary Tregaskis, Dominique Boisvert, Philippe Panzini and André Leblanc Discreet Logic Sci-Tech Award 1998
1999 Image-based lighting Paul Debevec Fiat Lux
1999 bluescreen, virtual environment Christian Volckman Maaz Prix Ars Electronica 2000 Link
2000 rendering Rob Cook, Loren Carpenter, Ed Catmull Pixar Sci-Tech Award 2000 Link
2000 modeling Venkat Krishnamurthy Venkat Krishnamurthy and Marc Levoy (1996): Fitting Smooth Surfaces to Dense Polygon Meshes. In: Proc. SIGGRAPH '96 , Sci-Tech Award 2000 Link
2000 image-based modeling George Borshukov, Kim Liberi, Dan Pipponi Manex Sci-Tech Award 2000
2001 CGI Lance Williams Sci-Tech Award 2001 Link
2001 cel paint Garland Stern Garland Stern, SoftCel - an application of raster scan graphics to conventional cel animation, ACM SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics, v.13 n.2, p.284-288, August 1979 Sci-Tech Award 2001
2001 compositing Bill Spitzak, Paul Van Camp, Jonathan Egstad, Price Pethel D2 Software Sci-Tech Award 2001 Link
2001 tracking Steve Sullivan, Eric L. Schafer ILM Sci-Tech Award 2001 Link
2001 tracking Uwe Sassenberg, Rolf Schneider 3-D Effects Sci-Tech Award 2001
2001 hair, cloth, skin, muscle simulation John R. Anderson, Jim Hourihan, Cary Phillips, Sebastian Marino ILM Sci-Tech Award 2000
2002 animation software Alias|Wavefront Sci-Tech Award 2002 Link
2002 procedural animation Greg Hermanovic, Kim Davidson, Mark Elendt, Paul H. Breslin Side Effects Sci-Tech Award 2002 Link
2002 face animation Dick Walsh PDI/Dreamworks Shrek Sci-Tech Award 2001 Link
2002 rendering Thomas Driemeyer mental images Sci-Tech Award 2002 Link
2002 rendering Eric Daniels, George Katanics, Tasso Lappas, Chris Springfield Disney Tarzan Sci-Tech Award 2002
2004 performance capture Ken Ralston Sony Pictures Imageworks The Polar Express
2005 fluid dynamics Ron Fedkiw ACM Siggraph Significant New Researcher Award 2005 Link
2007 performance capture Keith W. Smith, Scott Holmes, Pericles Michielin, Kenn McDonald Sony Pictures Imageworks Beowulf
2008 performance capture Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron Digital Domain The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Academy Award Best Visual Effects
2009 facial performance capture Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones Weta Digital Avatar Academy Award Best Visual Effects
Last update August 15, 2011.