Fact Finder - Movies

While many assume 'Star Wars' or 'Tron' pioneered digital effects, the first feature film to use 2D computer-generated imagery was 'Westworld' (1973). To represent the 'pixelated' vision of the Gunslinger robot (played by Yul Brynner), the production team used digital image processing to break down film frames into colored blocks. This process was incredibly slow; each 10 seconds of digital footage took months to render. Three years later, the sequel 'Futureworld' (1976) featured the first-ever 3D CGI—a digital hand and face. These early experiments paved the way for the digital revolution that would eventually allow movies like 'Jurassic Park' and 'Avatar' to create entire worlds inside a computer, forever changing the role of physical sets and practical effects in Hollywood.