thesis research
The art of computer animation in film was developed in the 1950’s with technology that is crude by todays standards but a feature film that utalized extensive computer graphics wasn’t made until Tron in 1982. Even then the concept of computer animation was seen as a radical risk to use in a film. This is because of the stigma that computers have, that come from being the descendant of the abacus. All aspects of computing are associated with logic, data and science, this is considered as being the polar opposite to the intuative art associated with film making.
Tron (Walt Disney Production, 1982)
John Whitney has an example of the confusion between and art “It’s a universal misunderstanding. At the Aspen Design Conference in 1967, a scientist was describing a problem scientifically, saying it could be done this way and that, and then he said if it couldn’t be done in such a rigorous way let’s do it anyway and that’ll be art. Scientists very frequently get excited about becoming involved in art. And the very first thing that comes to
their minds is just to chuck out the whole discipline that their entire career is based on. They think if it’s art, it’s free. Anything that goes with random numbers is art; and anything that has to be worked out carefully so that this goes here and this has got to go there, that’s not art, that’s science. But for my money it’s more important and difficult to get this here and that there in the area of art, because it involves much more than just counting numbers and making it mathematically sound: it’s got to be intensely and intuitively sound. That’s what I’m searching for. That’s what I mean by structure.”Gene Youngblood, “Expanded Cinema,” Dutton (1970), p. 44
Whitney already had a creative background in music, photography and film, When he began to experiment with computer controlled animation. He wanted to develop the new computer technology as a medium to express humanity instead of the aesthetics that were characteristic of a computer. Computer animation could be designed to stimulate emotion, in much the same way as a piece of music. The advantage of using computers is the relationship between the computer system and the human brain, the computer could be accurate at imitating the subconscious imagery of the brain.
The abstract forms and rhythms of Whitney’s films have an aesthetic that evokes the senses, connecting rational thoughts with non rational feelings. Whitney manages this by using the equipment not as a instrument but as an extension of himself, with a goal of stimulating the psyche.
A. M. Noll, a pioneer in three-dimensional computer films at Bell Telephone Laboratories, has some interesting thoughts on the subject: “…the artist’s emotional state might conceivably be determined by computer processing of physical and electrical signals from the artist (for example, pulse rate and electrical activity of the brain). Then, by changing the artist’s environment through such external stimuli as sound, color and visual patterns, the computer would seek to optimize the aesthetic effect of all these stimuli upon
the artist according to some specified criterion… the emotional reaction of the artist would continually change, and the computer would react accordingly either to stabilize the artist’s emotional state or to steer it through some pre-programmed course. One is strongly tempted to describe these ideas as a consciousness-expanding experience in association with a psychedelic computer… current technological and psychological investigations would seem to aim in such a direction.'’A. M. Noll, “The Digital Computer as a Creative Medium,” IEEE Spectrum (October,1967), p. 94
Lapis (John Whitney, 1966)
Whitney’s understanding of the human psyche can from an area of psychology called Analytical or Jungian Psychology, which explores the idea that reliable communication between the unconscious and conscious parts of the psyche is important for wholeness. It also explores the idea that we can experience the unconscious through symbols encountered in dreams, art, religion and the symbolic dramas we encounter in our relationships and life pursuits.
John Whitney talks about the influence of psychology on his films “When I was eighteen I was drawn deeply into Eastern
thought, Jungian psychology, the subconscious. When I think
about the time when I made that footage— trying to understand
what happened— I became merely an instrumentality in tune with a
force, a creative energy force which expressed itself. I was able to
make the films without thinking too much about what I was doing.
There was just this continuous flow of energy between me, the
machine, and the images. But the machine became transparent. I
don’t think I was conscious of any systematic manipulation or
exploration of a geometrical theme, though it is undeniably in the
film. I was able to be sort of comprehensive when I was making the
images, whereas when I made the machine I had to be a
mechanical engineer, an electronics engineer, and an optical
engineer.”Gene Youngblood, “Expanded Cinema,” Dutton (1970), p. 55