WF Graphics

Some 3D graphics I made in the mid-1980s while a member of Wessex Films, the film-making club at Southampton University. This kind of thing is now a piece of cake on modern computers, but back then it was hard without a budget!

I used a BBC Microcomputer (anyone remember them?) with a BASIC program to render the frames one by one. When each frame was complete, I used the *MOTOR command to send an on/off pulse pair to the cassette motor control line of the cassette DIN interface on the back of the machine. A custom-built cable wired this up to the shutter control of a Super8 film camera. The whole thing could take hours, and had to be done in a darkened room unattended, so I would always have to estimate the amount of time required and come back when it had definitely finished. Then we had to wait a week or so (I think) for the film to be developed.

The young people of today using cheap CGI software don't know they're born!! :)

Most of the music is created by me. The copyrighted works are brief extracts in very low quality audio, but if there is a problem I will be happy to replace the audio at that point.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• 3D
• computer
• graphics
• super8
• Acorn
• BBC
• Micro
• wessex
• films
• southampton
• university

[nytrex2001]

That was excellent. Totally cool.

By the way, is the music starting at 00:45 your own music? It sounds very familiar, but can't place it.

Thanks for uploading.

[macronencer]

Thanks very much for you kind comments!

The music at 00:45 is Pulstar by Vangelis.

[nytrex2001]

Thanks for the music info.

BTW, do you still produce animation? Or do you move in different circles these days?

[macronencer]

Well, my efforts to work in the industry in the 80s failed - largely because (a) I'm in the UK and (b) I didn't know what Pixar would become (if I'd known, I think I would have sold a kidney if it would have got me into the USA).

I'm still interested in the maths behind it all, but for the last 20 years I've been working as an "ordinary" software developer. That's getting boring so now I'm moving into media music (and don't worry, I'm significantly better at it now than this video indicates!)

[Fangornmmc]

Why are there so little views?? This is absolutely amazing, I have grown up With pentium III Pc's so I have not seen much of these really old things but I am very intrested in it! Can you perhaps PM me some Info about the computer you used (an Acorn Electron?) and about BBC Basic? Currently I am working In a joint procces for creating a 3D standard on TI Calculators using the BBC Basic module for them. 5/5!

greetings from The Netherlands (no, we don't speak german!)