book.chapter Initial period: utah, nyit

In the 1960s and early 1970s, Salt Lake City became an unexpected hub for computer graphics, thanks to the University of Utah's burgeoning computer science department. This period saw the convergence of exceptional talent, akin to the gathering of dramatists in Elizabethan London or philosophers in ancient Athens. The department attracted pioneers in the nascent field of computer graphics, and its graduate students were laying the groundwork for the industry's future. Among these students was Ed Catmull, who harbored a seemingly outlandish dream: to create animated films using computers. Despite the primitive state of computer graphics at the time, Catmull pursued this vision, inspired by Disney classics like Peter Pan and Pinocchio. His doctoral thesis introduced concepts such as bicubic patches, texture mapping, and the Z-buffer, which would become fundamental to computer graphics. After completing his doctorate, Catmull took a programming job in Boston to support his family. However, his path took a dramatic turn when Alexander Schure, an entrepreneur who had acquired computer graphics hardware from the University of Utah, offered him the chance to lead a computer animation lab at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT). Catmull seized the opportunity, assembling a team of passionate individuals to push the boundaries of computer animation. The NYIT Computer Graphics Lab, housed in a converted garage, became a hotbed of innovation, thanks to Schure's generous funding and Catmull's leadership style, which fostered a collaborative and self-directed environment. Despite the lab's success, Catmull realized that technical prowess alone was insufficient for filmmaking; a deep understanding of storytelling was also essential. Seeking to bridge this gap, Catmull and his colleagues reached out to Hollywood studios. Their efforts caught the attention of George Lucas, who was interested in leveraging computers to revolutionize filmmaking. Catmull was invited to head the Computer Division at Lucasfilm's Industrial Light and Magic, a proposition he accepted with alacrity. The transition from NYIT to Lucasfilm was strategic and discreet, to avoid potential legal issues with Schure. Over time, several key members from NYIT joined Catmull at Lucasfilm. There, Catmull found a new patron in Lucas, a celebrated filmmaker with an openness to innovation. While Lucasfilm had not explicitly planned to produce films through the Computer Division, Catmull was optimistic that this goal could be realized in time.