Compufilms: A computer animation process

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Abstract
Compufilms is a computer-generated animation tech nique developed jointly by Pennsylvania Research Associates Inc. (PRA) and film producer, Stanley Rose. A medium-scale general-purpose digital compu ter (RCA Spectra 70/46) is used to generate display instructions for a Digital Equipment Corporation PDP 8/338 connected as a satellite computer via telephone lines. The DEC 338 CRT display is photographed with a motor-driven motion picture camera having a "single frame" feature. Special effects and color are added at this point. The basic movie generating softwave was written at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering, Univer sity of Pennsylvania, on sponsored projects. The developers have been able to extend the use of this software and combine it effectively with special animation and cinemagraphic processes to create Compufilms. This article describes the system and its operation, and illustrates its use as a practi cal animation process.

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