John Whitney "Catalog" 1961 

Assisted by Whitney's two sons, John Jr. and Robert, original images were only black and white. And each element of the final composite was created separately, then transferred to high-contrast B&W 35mm film. Color was added to each element on a film contact (and/or optical) printer and combined via multiple passes thru the printer to create a single master negative from which final prints were made with a photographic optical soundtrack added to the edge of the film before development. This massive amount of work, creative decisions, and technical expertise was how they made all of their pioneering films, which were originally sold to colleges and libraries in 16mm by an "art-for-art-sake" distributer called "Pyramid Films" They were also the first to create fully-rendered shaded non-film color computer graphics in 1977.

I can't believe this is from 1961! I remember the hand full of primative, computer generated TV promos they were still using when I was a little kid in the late 80s. There was this one where the word "SPECIAL" would swirl around the screen in pink, echoing letters with horn fanfare music playing. They were using this before Christmas specials after the usual "... (show title) will not be seen tonight" in 1988. I really miss the warm, glowing look of the older TV graphics.

Half a century old, yet still beautiful / brilliant.

It's astonishing how the graphics at 0:48 seemingly inspired modern day graphics like the PSP startup and some Microsoft Windows transitions. I love it.

This is the best use of a gun sight I have ever seen !!

Really great stuff. Some months ago I was looking for Whitneys' movies on-line and found none, so thanks very much for sharing this pioneering piece of computer animation.

Whitney's work inspired various intros to movie of the week, and others special programs on various networks from the late 60's and into the 70's... His work also influenced Stanley Kubrick and Douglas Trumbell in the special effects of 2001 A Space Odyssey

for the one who dont know about john, this guy is the Father of Motion graphics!!!

Fun facts: Doug Trumbull's father also worked for John Dykstra at Apogee studios. John did the 'models' in 2001 - Space Odyssey and was Lucas's partner on the first Star Wars. John Whitney taught at UCLA in the early 1980's.

Gee,this was the year I was born! And they were doing this!! Incredible!

The following program was brought to you in living color! And now, live from Beautiful Downtown Burbank, Here's Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In !!!

Fantastic example of Old New Media Arts. It is important in the digital age, not to forget our analog heritage.

The slit scan process wasn't used in this film. Based on what I've read in Whitney's book "Digital Harmony" slit scan was used on Doris Day's "Glass Bottom Boat" to get the titles to look like they were shot through water. However, his slit scan is tame compared to Trumbull's. Whitney didn't use camera zooms to get the exaggerated perspective, which is really where the magic is in slit scan. It seems like slit scan was just another move his camera could do--among all the hundreds of other.

With my RU-vid channel, I'm working on bringing a similar artistic expression back but with a rather modern and current touch :) I was searching for inspiration and found that video. I didn't know John Whitney before. His work just blows me away!

amazing stuff for 1961 looks cg

Apparently the music is by Tod Machover, titled Electric Études for Cello and Computer Generated Sounds. He was one of the IRCAM composers, which is the French electronic music institute right across the square from the Pompidou Centre.

the fact that this is *analog* is mind blowing to me. if I didn't know better, I'd have sworn up and down this was CG. O_O

My God. It's full of Stars..

Thanks for the tip, I bet that will be an interesting book/pdf to peruse. We take for granted now how cutting edge this stuff was.

the animation en sensation of organique is awesome that's i really call art ^^ analogue technique is so magic.

I have responded with my video, not to compare it with this work, but as a demonstration of how I am using digital technology to capture, edit and distribute an analog "event", in this case three simple LED toy spinning fans. This was shot on a cheap Nikon still camera, on video setting, in the darkness of my bathroom, and combined with a piece of music that I created on my MacIntosh. I hope you enjoy it. You can also turn down the sound and use it with any other music. Thank you for watching.

even in this digital age I still find it stunning

same guy.. i was hooked after seeing that exhibit too!

This is amazing... 1961.

Stunning images and great music!

Some good work here, that reminds me of the opening titles to Charade, which combined with that hot Mancini theme, was a kind of ecstasy.

Great videos on your channel! Thanks!

0:49 looks like the ps3 background

via wikipedia: "The analogue computer Whitney used to create his most famous animations was built in the late 1950s by converting the mechanism of a World War II M-5 Antiaircraft Gun Director."...roughly sounds like a multi-planar camera, in which he'd use geometric cut templates to shoot overlays, then later augment via additional optical tricks & color filters.

Hi Thomas, really liked what i saw, has some real potential! Thanks for posting

Analogue Video Synthesis is lush ;) Thanks for posting...

Whitney studied music with Leibowtiz! For those who dont know who Leibowitz was, he was a pupil of Ravel, and teacher of Boulez!!

Still better explosion effects than Foodfight's.

love this thanks

Hacia el fin de los años 50, John Whitney se construyó una máquina de animación a partir de componentes reciclados procedentes de excedentes de la industria militar, un aparato analógico y mecánico propio aún de un estadio de bricolaje artesanal, pero en definitiva un aparato preciso y lleno de posibilidades, como se puede comprobar en su film Catalog (1961) -concebido como una especie de “bobina de demostración”-, o aún más en el extraordinario Lapis (1963-66) de su hermano James.

fantastic stuff.

Fascinating stuff. I'm also curius about the musical accompaniment. It fits perfectly and at times seems coordinated with the fim. Thanks for posting although the most recent comments seem to be from 10 years ago! I hope you're still posting.

So, so far ahead of his time.

i love this so much

Beautiful.

It's alright we know where you've been. Welcome to the machine.

el génesis de mi próposito de vivir¡¡¡¡ voya llorar de aqui se desprende todo,, ni los videos de vitalic está tan puros y artisticos,, de aqui saldrá todo¡¡¡

Awesome video. Analog demo with analog mechanical sort-of-calculator. Ciao Tano...

Amazing

3:26 The footage is used in the Daeyong Video Production logo

i really loved it. me encanto, la cago seco. maestro!

this makes a nice screen saver.

Have the sound on ONLY up til 1:20...then crank up that Joe Meek! ;) (especially 'I Hear A New World')

Just in the first couple minutes of this I detected the logo animation techniques for the TV networks. Wow, this is an amazing technique, much much better than anything that can be produced digitally. It hits you organically, that's why. I always knew that digital imaging, isn't. ...digi=crap.

as beautiful as ever

Looks very much like Scanimate, a technology that was developed almost a decade later.

Wow, wow, wow!

Please can we get this classic uploaded to 480p!!! Thank you!

its still pretty neat.

To vivach: Thanks for Colleen´s. It reminded me of this marvellous feat, so I appended a link to your profile.

Psychadelic!

I personally think the Scanimate is more sophisticated than digital graphics today, why? Because it's analog, and it's real-time, just amazing stuff.

thanks Father !

Very, very cool (a' la Marshall McLuhan)

You're talking about the intro CBS used for specials in the 1970s.

brilliant. Does anyone knows where it is possible to find all his works on DVD. The resolution here is too poor to be shared on a wide screen ! (not blaming the person who uploaded it !)

trippy

1961 was a few years before all that, ya know. It was basically still 1950s culture. People in 1961 who viewed this probably said "Golly! That's neat!" =P

where can i find / order the HD reproductions?? this stuff is amazing at full quality. thanks

The music is amazing, who's it by?

5:58 this is how 3d thing looks like in 1961

Indeed.

get high and watch this--lifechanging

artrageous. puts digital to shame, BUT we are getting better. yes, analog is cool but we can learn from it, and evolve digital vjing/processing to have these kind of fx. early work like this is crucial inspiration.

The soundtrack is by Ornette Coleman. Whitney had a knack for picking great music for his animations.

@Drwhofanindatardis Wrong. The optical line printing technology was a decade old, sometimes called dynamation, It involved the overlay of dozens of transparencies printed on plastic cells, which were often used as a primitive version of bluescreen rotoscoping in old films. What you see here is entirely optical, done with simple analog tricks over a light box using techniques like multiple exposure, slit-scan, kaliedoscopic mirroring, and careful frame by frame editing.

The dawn of electronic art which in turn has its roots in visual art (for example: Opus ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-aHZdDmYFZN0.html by Walter Ruttmann); To always remember, in our forgetful present.

0:56 Mac os x in 1966? lol analog graphics seem to have an organicness much like that of Analog Tape awesome :)

Does anyone know what portion of the movie is specifically made using slit scan?

Add some Tame Impala in the background and you just got yourself a ticket to Trippytown

How was this never rectreated as a working winamp visualisation?

The film version of the demoscene

that felt longer then 7 minutes

I wonder if any psychedelic groups from the mid/late 60's used such techniques in music vids or stage backgrounds, rather than the standard "oil plate" techniques.

it looks like what we do on computers now but far more fluid...

whats the music? his?

this + tripping = holy bajesus.

There are two guys that claim that have made the music on this video. Can anyone give us a link of the original composer for this Music?

Impressive. Im guessing these types of images were not easily viewable 4mass consumption(ie. television, rock shows, high brow art shows). I mean, how in the hell do you even project an image like that?, without simply just filming it&showing them on a standard projector screen?,defeating the whole purpose? You could do something much more spectacular, just not as innovative/eye-catching, thru regular animation back then. What a fascinating time. Has anyone cleaned this stuff up for HD/BRdvd?

i know that analogue computers consists of manny wheels,voltage para metrs and regulaters. but how the hell do they generate graphics & sound.? also if there,s no memory storage like tape or lp how will it ever calculate everything?????????

does analog do everything in realtime? it looks like it. i'm going into computer engineering and this could be our future along with digital computers!

Best LSD trip EVER

is this the actual soundtrack or did the uploader add this music to it

What's this genre of music called?

0:50 Is that the predecessor to the Playstation menu background?

Was the music originally made for this video?

Experimental Vintage *!*

3:16 looney tunes

what's the music?

yea, no. Hippies didnt exist till about 1968 or 1969 at least where I lived

Cool I'm high this is awesome

i got dizzy and do get eye strain.

5:57 3D graphics!

이건....자신이 보여줄 컴퓨터 효과들의 카탈로그인건지?

Do you know who currently owns the rights to this film? I'd like to licence a short clip of Whitney's work.