5 ms·

Programming computer animation in 1964 [video]

80 points by Outdoorsman 11y ago

fla 11y ago
The very first draw call I guess.
DyslexicAtheist 11y ago
Interesting. I always thought the first animation ever was Kitty (a cat) by Konstantinov in 1968 on the BESM systems: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O4mm3hXNgA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O4mm3hXNgA But if this correct it would actually predate the Kitty animation. Are the computing history/pioneer claims on most of the web wrong? (do a search for Sergey Lebedev and Konstantinov and Kitty and you get claims everywhere that it was the first ever animation ...)
- DyslexicAtheist 11y ago
  OK I posted too quickly. I realize most sites make the claim of the first animated arts being done by Konstantinov which is different from the claim of first animation ever.
- paulmd 11y ago
  It probably depends on what you mean by "animation". One of the very first animations was a hula girl programmed on the AN/FSQ-7 console (part of the SAGE interception system). It was also interactive. She would dance to music played through the console's buzzer when you used the switches. If you used the light gun on her navel, her skirt would fall off. Operators report seeing it in use around 1960. No pictures are known to exist,but I would guess that it switches between a couple fixed poses rather than being a full animation. Bit of risque fun for the all-male crews of the time, but it also served as a diagnostic program. Similarly (but much later) SpaceWars would be used as a diagnostic program by DEC technicians. Those type of simple games exercise a variety of subsystems pretty well. http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/01/the-never-before-told-story-of-the-worlds-first-computer-art-its-a-sexy-dame/267439/ http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/01/the-ne... Apparently William Fetter was working on wireframe graphics in 1960. It seems that by 1968 they had moved on to art too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phVN_HS5Fy8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phVN_HS5Fy8
- martinpw 11y ago
  It looks like there are even earlier ones than this current one. There is one here from 1963: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RocLdMyUG-4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RocLdMyUG-4 and this wikipedia page lists a Swedish animation from 1961: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_computer_animation_in_film_and_television https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_computer_animation...
  - muterad_murilax 11y ago
    > a Swedish animation from 1961: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhNT501DsJI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhNT501DsJI
fao_ 11y ago
It's interesting how much simpler and higher-level this is, compared to other (newer) interfaces for drawing to the screen.
aidos 11y ago
So good. It never ceases to amaze me what could be done in such constrained systems (I guess it'll always look like that in retrospect). For anyone who has never seen it, Sketchpad, from the 60s: https://youtu.be/USyoT_Ha_bA?t=3m47s https://youtu.be/USyoT_Ha_bA?t=3m47s Edit: With commentary from Alan Kay! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=495nCzxM9PI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=495nCzxM9PI
GnarfGnarf 11y ago
I remember seeing the first computer animations in the 60's. There was something magical and exciting about it. No one will ever experience that culture shift again, as we are all jaded by cumulative accomplishments.
- Yhippa 11y ago
  Growing up in the 80's and 90's I thought the same thing about video game graphics. How could this stuff get any better? Whenever I get too satisfied about how far things have come in always remind myself of that. At some point computer graphics will be so realistic we won't be able to distinguish it from reality.
mrspeaker 11y ago
I love the simplicity of the algorithms too - they looks so nice on a vector-esque display! I had to test out that PLYGN function: http://mrspeaker.github.io/old-anims/ http://mrspeaker.github.io/old-anims/
meatsock 11y ago
computer animation history buffs will have already noted the earlier works, few as pretty as john whitney's kerrison predictor animations https://youtu.be/ZrKgyY5aDvA https://youtu.be/ZrKgyY5aDvA which he explains here https://youtu.be/5eMSPtm6u5Y https://youtu.be/5eMSPtm6u5Y

80 points by Outdoorsman 11y ago

fla 11y ago

The very first draw call I guess.

Interesting. I always thought the first animation ever was Kitty (a cat) by Konstantinov in 1968 on the BESM systems: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O4mm3hXNgA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O4mm3hXNgA But if this correct it would actually predate the Kitty animation. Are the computing history/pioneer claims on most of the web wrong? (do a search for Sergey Lebedev and Konstantinov and Kitty and you get claims everywhere that it was the first ever animation ...)

DyslexicAtheist 11y ago
OK I posted too quickly. I realize most sites make the claim of the first animated arts being done by Konstantinov which is different from the claim of first animation ever.
paulmd 11y ago
It probably depends on what you mean by "animation". One of the very first animations was a hula girl programmed on the AN/FSQ-7 console (part of the SAGE interception system). It was also interactive. She would dance to music played through the console's buzzer when you used the switches. If you used the light gun on her navel, her skirt would fall off. Operators report seeing it in use around 1960. No pictures are known to exist,but I would guess that it switches between a couple fixed poses rather than being a full animation. Bit of risque fun for the all-male crews of the time, but it also served as a diagnostic program. Similarly (but much later) SpaceWars would be used as a diagnostic program by DEC technicians. Those type of simple games exercise a variety of subsystems pretty well. http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/01/the-never-before-told-story-of-the-worlds-first-computer-art-its-a-sexy-dame/267439/ http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/01/the-ne... Apparently William Fetter was working on wireframe graphics in 1960. It seems that by 1968 they had moved on to art too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phVN_HS5Fy8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phVN_HS5Fy8
martinpw 11y ago
It looks like there are even earlier ones than this current one. There is one here from 1963: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RocLdMyUG-4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RocLdMyUG-4 and this wikipedia page lists a Swedish animation from 1961: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_computer_animation_in_film_and_television https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_computer_animation...
- muterad_murilax 11y ago
  > a Swedish animation from 1961: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhNT501DsJI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhNT501DsJI

fao_ 11y ago

It's interesting how much simpler and higher-level this is, compared to other (newer) interfaces for drawing to the screen.

aidos 11y ago

So good. It never ceases to amaze me what could be done in such constrained systems (I guess it'll always look like that in retrospect). For anyone who has never seen it, Sketchpad, from the 60s: https://youtu.be/USyoT_Ha_bA?t=3m47s https://youtu.be/USyoT_Ha_bA?t=3m47s Edit: With commentary from Alan Kay! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=495nCzxM9PI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=495nCzxM9PI

GnarfGnarf 11y ago

I remember seeing the first computer animations in the 60's. There was something magical and exciting about it. No one will ever experience that culture shift again, as we are all jaded by cumulative accomplishments.

Yhippa 11y ago
Growing up in the 80's and 90's I thought the same thing about video game graphics. How could this stuff get any better? Whenever I get too satisfied about how far things have come in always remind myself of that. At some point computer graphics will be so realistic we won't be able to distinguish it from reality.

mrspeaker 11y ago

I love the simplicity of the algorithms too - they looks so nice on a vector-esque display! I had to test out that PLYGN function: http://mrspeaker.github.io/old-anims/ http://mrspeaker.github.io/old-anims/

meatsock 11y ago

computer animation history buffs will have already noted the earlier works, few as pretty as john whitney's kerrison predictor animations https://youtu.be/ZrKgyY5aDvA https://youtu.be/ZrKgyY5aDvA which he explains here https://youtu.be/5eMSPtm6u5Y https://youtu.be/5eMSPtm6u5Y