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"Futureworld", the First Major Film to Incorporate 3D Computer Generated Images

1976

The science fiction film Futureworld, a sequel to Westworld, produced by American International Pictures (AIP) in Los Angeles in 1976 was the first major feature film to incorporate 3D computer generated images (CGI).

Futureworld featured a computer-generated hand and face created by University of Utah graduate students Edwin Catmull and Fred Parke. "The animated hand was a digitized version of Edwin Catmull's left hand. The movie also used 2D digital compositing to materialize characters over a background" (Wikipedia article on Futureworld, accessed 03-13-2009).

♦ In May 2013 the 50 second sequence of Futureworld incorporating the CG hand and face was available from YouTube at this link.

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