History of CGI - Computer Generated Imagery

Hummingbird

Jan 1, 1968

Watch Hummingbird here. A 10 minute computer animated film by Charles Csuri and James Shaffer. Timetoast does not have a ?? option for date. Release date was sometime in 1968.

Kitty

Jan 1, 1968

Watch it here A group of Russian scientists lead by N.Konstantinov created a model of a moving cat. A computer then printed hundreds of frames to be later converted to film. Date: ?/??/1968

Metadata

Jan 1, 1971

Watch here.
Drawn on a data tablet. Used the world's first key frame animation software.
Date: ??/??/1971

Westworld

Nov 21, 1973

First use of 2D computer animation in a significant movie. The point of view of Yul Brynner's gunslinger was created with raster graphics.

Futureworld

Jul 28, 1976

First use of CGI for animated hand and face.

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

May 25, 1977

Star Wars was the first time an animated wireframe graphics -a 3D model- was used.

Superman

Dec 10, 1978

First film with a computer-generated title sequence.

Alien

May 25, 1979

Used raster wire-frame model rendering for navigation monitors in the landing sequence.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Jun 4, 1982

ILM computer graphics creates "Genesis Effect", The first use of fractal-generated landscape in a movie. New graphics technique created called Particle Systems.

Tron

Jul 9, 1982

First extensive use of 3D CGI -the famous Light Cycle sequence. Very early facial animation for the master control program

Rock & Rule

Aug 12, 1983

First animated film to use computer graphics. Canadian.

Dire Straits - Money for Nothing

Jun 24, 1985

The first computer generated music video made. The video used CGI to illustrate the songs lyrics and was one of the first uses of CGI human characters. The animators later went on to found the Rainmaker Animation studio which created ReBoot, the first CGI series.

The Black Cauldron

Jul 24, 1985

First animated movie with CGI-effects.

Labyrinth

Jun 27, 1986

The first use of a realistic CGI animal - the owl in the opening credits. Also an early use of green screen.

: The Voyage Home

Nov 26, 1986

The first 3D morphing use. First use of Cyberware 3D scanner. The 3D scanner produced the disembodied heads of Leonard Nimoy and WIlliam Shatner as cyber-sculptures.

Indiana Jones And The Last Voyage

May 24, 1989

Used the first all-digital composite, used to show the rapid aging and death of Walter Donovan.

The Abyss

Aug 9, 1989

First digital 3D water effect.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day

Jul 1, 1991

First realistic human movements on a CGI character.The first partially computer-generated main character & the first movie to have multiple morphing effects. First use of a PC to create major 3D effects.

Jurassic Park

Jun 11, 1993

First realistic CG creatures.

ReBoot

Sep 10, 1994

The first half-hour, completely animated tv show. Also it was Canadian.

Toy Story

Nov 25, 1995

Toy Story was the first fully computer animated movie ever created.

Dragonheart

May 31, 1996

First 2D all-CGI backgrounds with live actors.

Titanic

Nov 1, 1997

First wide-release feature film with major elements rendered with the Linux operating system. Included many improvements, mostly in the rendering of flowing water.

The Matrix

Mar 31, 1999

First use of CG interpolation in Bullet Time effects. Bullet Time refers to the slowed-down rotating action sequences. CG interpolation was used to enhance actors on wires filmed with motion capture and still cameras shooting from all angles.

The Mummy

May 7, 1999

Motion capture was used in order to achieve "a menacing and very realistic Mummy". A combination of live action and computer graphics were used to create the mummy.

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

Jul 2, 2001

First feature-length digital film to be made based on photorealism and live action principles. The first theatrically released movie to utilize motion capture for all of the character's motions.

Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

Dec 10, 2001

First use of AI(Artificial Intelligence) for digital actors. Gollum was the first photorealistic motion captured character for a film. A motion capture suit recorded movements that were then applied to the digital character

Able Edwards

Mar 1, 2004

Date: ???/March/2004
First movie shot completely with green screen & using scanned images as backgrounds.

The Polar Express

Nov 10, 2004

The first film to use motion captured character technology for every actor in the movie.

Beowulf

Nov 16, 2007

Entirely made in CGI, features motion capture for all actors & had realism as its foremost goal. Largest team ever assembled for an Imageworks-produced movie. New animation tools for facial, body, and cloth design were created especially for the movie. Elements of keyframe animation were incorporated into the movie to capture the facial expressions of the actors.

Avatar

Dec 10, 2009

First full length movie made using performance-capture to create photo-realistic 3D characters & to feature a fully CG 3D photo-realistic world. The first Virtual Art Department and complete Virtual Production pipeline was developed to create it in real-time.

Coronation Street Live

Dec 9, 2010

First use of CGI in a live broadcoast.

TRON: Legacy

Dec 17, 2010

First movie to use computer graphics to create realistic human characters.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Dec 14, 2012

First use of CGI in a full length movie filmed at a High Frame Rate.