Moving Innovation: A History of Computer Animation (Hardcover)

Computer graphics (or CG) has changed the way we experience the art of moving images. Computer graphics is the difference between Steamboat Willie and Buzz Lightyear, between ping pong and PONG. It began in 1963 when an MIT graduate student named Ivan Sutherland created the first true computer animation program. Instead of presenting a series of numbers, Sutherland's Sketchpad program drew lines that created recognizable images. Sutherland noted: "Since motion can be put into Sketchpad drawings, it might be exciting to try making cartoons." This book, the first full-length history of CG, shows us how Sutherland's seemingly offhand idea grew into a multibillion dollar industry. In Moving Innovation, Tom Sito -- himself an animator and industry insider for more than thirty years -- describes the evolution of CG. The history of traditional cinema technology is a fairly straight path from Lumière to MGM. Writing the history of CG, Sito maps simultaneous accomplishments in multiple locales -- academia, the military-industrial complex, movie special effects, video games, experimental film, corporate research, and commercial animation. His story features a memorable cast of characters -- math nerds, avant-garde artists, cold warriors, hippies, video game enthusiasts, and studio executives: disparate types united by a common vision. Computer animation did not begin just with Pixar; Sito shows us how fifty years of work by this motley crew made movies like Toy Story and Avatar possible.

電腦圖學（Computer graphics，簡稱CG）改變了我們體驗移動影像藝術的方式。電腦圖學是《Steamboat Willie》和《超人特攻隊》、乒乓球和《PONG》之間的差異。它始於1963年，當時麻省理工學院的研究生伊凡·薩瑟蘭（Ivan Sutherland）創建了第一個真正的電腦動畫程序。薩瑟蘭的Sketchpad程序不僅呈現一系列數字，還能繪製出可識別的圖像。薩瑟蘭指出：“由於Sketchpad圖畫可以呈現動態，嘗試製作卡通片可能會很有趣。”這本書是CG的第一部完整歷史著作，向我們展示了薩瑟蘭的這個看似隨意的想法如何發展成為一個價值數十億美元的產業。在《創新的移動》（Moving Innovation）中，湯姆·西托（Tom Sito）——一位有超過三十年動畫經驗的動畫師和業內人士——描述了CG的演進。傳統電影技術的歷史相對簡單，從盧米埃爾兄弟到米高梅。而西托在書中則將CG的歷史分為多個地點的同時成就——學術界、軍工複合體、電影特效、電子遊戲、實驗電影、企業研究和商業動畫。他的故事涉及了一群令人難忘的角色——數學宅、前衛藝術家、冷戰戰士、嬉皮士、電子遊戲愛好者和影片公司高管：這些不同類型的人因共同的願景而團結在一起。電腦動畫並不僅僅始於皮克斯；西托向我們展示了這個雜牌軍團五十年的努力如何使《玩具總動員》和《阿凡達》等電影成為可能。