Other Films from NYIT's Computer Graphics Lab
Given the experimental nature of the Computer Graphics Lab (it was a laboratory after all), it can be hard to draw distinctions between their projects, as they tended to overlap into one another. This page will aim to talk about other films made at the Lab, between small independent projects and large-scale efforts, original projects and commissioned works. Some of these may have overlap with The Works, and some not.
This list is organized by release year if known/applicable; if not, then the latest known year it was worked on.
"Tubby the Tuba" (1975)
Tubby the Tuba is a full-length film adaptation of the 1945 children's song on the same title by Paul Tripp and George Kleinsinger. The founder of the New York Institute of Technology, Alexander Schure, directed this project and gathered a cast of famous actors and animators to contribute to it. It was produced by the NYIT arts and animation departments.
The making of this movie is what inspired Schure to fund the exploration of computer graphics, and it was planned that computers would be used to aid in the animation process, but in the end Tubby was made using traditional animation techniques. Computer graphics would have to wait for a few years.
Tubby the Tuba is 81 minutes long, and was worked on from around 1973 to 1975. It may only be tangentially related to the lab, but I figured it deserves to be mentioned.
Links
• Tubby The Tuba full film, uploaded to YouTube by crushed241, 1 February 2023.
• Wikipedia page for Tubby the Tuba
• Animator Michael Sporn's blog post detailing his experience working on the film and the people involved, from 5 April 2007. Sporn talks about Tubby in a few of his posts: 3 November 2009, 15 June 2011, 9 April 2013.
"Sunstone" (1979)
Sunstone is an experimental short film created by artist Ed Emshwiller at the Lab, with the help of fellow lab-mates. Being surreal, there's not necessarily much in the way of a plot, but there are plenty of interesting visual effects. In the BBC Horizon episode "Painting by Numbers" (at around 21:50), Emshwiller said he took about 8 months to complete it, although he had apparently hoped to make a feature-length film.
Sunstone is 3 minutes long. Additional credits include Alvy Ray Smith, Lance Williams, and Garland Stern as computer animators; with thanks to the Guggenheim Foundation.
• Sunstone, uploaded to YouTube by VintageCG, 28 July 2009
• Pages for Sunstone shown at SIGGRAPH in1979 and 1986, from the SIGGRAPH archives
▲ A still from Sunstone.
"Swimmer (In the Abyss)" (1981)
Swimmer (sometimes subtitled In the Abyss) is a short animation of a human figure swimming downward. This is an early experiment in animating natural human motions with a realistic 3D model. Swimmer can be seen in the demo reel/"trailer" for The Works.
Swimmer is 6 seconds long. The human model was created by Ed Catmull, and animated by Rebecca Allen.
• Rebecca Allen's portfolio website page for Swimmer
• Swimmer showcased on the K21 Collection website (a blockchain related project)
• An interview with Allen regarding Swimmer and its inclusion in the K21 Collection
▲ A wire-frame view of Swimmer from an alternate angle, as seen in "Painting by Numbers", 14:58
"Lifesavers" commercial (1981)
This is a commercial for the candy Lifesavers which was made around 1981. Colourful computer-generated candies soar towards the viewer.
The Lifesavers ad is 30 seconds long and can be seen in several CGI showcases from the Lab, such as being shown in BBC's Horizon episode Painting by Numbers and in their 1982 demo reel.
• Full commercial uploaded to YouTube by Ziggy and contributed by Matthew Harris and ASDF, 25 August 2025
"Puss in Boots" (unreleased)
Not much is known about Puss in Boots. It appears 2D animated and probably used computer-generated effects and art. Animator Bob Stuhmer mentions having worked on it (and another short, Measure by Measure) with Paul Xander, Alvy Ray Smith, and Johnny Gentilella in the comments of Michael Sporn's first Tubby the Tuba post.
It makes an appearance in the NYIT CGL's 1982 "Cannes" demo reel.
• NYIT's 1982 demo reel where Puss in Boots is visible at 13:05. Uploaded to YouTube by Mattrharris1, 22 June 2014
▲ Puss in Boots and a monster, as seen in the 1982 demo reel.
"The Catherine Wheel" (1982)
The Catherine Wheel is a dance performance choreographed by Twyla Tharp, with music by David Byrne, created in 1981. The following year, a TV movie was produced for it, which includes throughout it a computer-generated wire-frame human figure (I believe using the model by Ed Catmull) interacting with a human dancer. The credits specifically credit Rebecca Allen.
The Catherine Wheel is 74 minutes long. A scene including CGI is at the beginning and lasts about 20 seconds, and there are other small scenes throughout.
• The Catherine Wheel on YouTube, uploaded by Daniel Oscar Castiblanco Regalado, 13 September 2015
• Rebecca Allen's portfolio website page for The Catherine Wheel
Will Powers' music videos: "Smile" and "Adventures in Success" (1983)
In 1983, artist and musician Lynn Goldsmith released a parody self-help album titled "Dancing for Mental Health" under the pseudonym Will Powers. Artist and computer graphics researcher Rebecca Allen was commissioned to create music videos for two of the album's singles: Smile and Adventures in Success.
"I ended up working with Lynn Goldsmith, who approached me to do a video for her album with Island Records. I agreed on the condition that I was granted complete artistic control, as I was working in a research lab and could not predict in advance how things would look. She agreed and I ended up creating two videos: Adventures in Success (1983) and Smile (1983)."
- Rebecca Allen in an interview with Valentino Catricalà. Published by Right Click Save, 28 April 2023.
• Smile official music video, uploaded to YouTube by Lynn Goldsmith, 24 July 2015
• Adventures in Success official music video, uploaded to YouTube by Lynn Goldsmith, 13 August 2015
• Wikipedia page for Will Powers
• Rebecca Allen's portfolio pages for Smile and Adventures in Success- each page lists credits
▲ Frames from Smile and Adventures in Success, respectively.
Fun fact: The colourful dancers from "Smile" appear in a piece of art by Bil Maher from 2013.
"The NFL Today" opening (1983)
Produced for CBS's television show The NFL Today, this 40-second opening features football players modeled out of rings leaping through the playing field. It was produced by Bill Feigenbaum with work from Thad Beier. It can be seen in the CGL's 1984 demo reel.
• The NFL Today opening uploaded to YouTube by Jay Cordova, 10 March 2024
"3DV" (1983 or 1984)
3DV (standing for DynaDigiDataVac) was another main project of the Lab after The Works. 3DV serves as a pilot short for a potential show in which humanoid digital newscasters User Friendly and Dot Matrix would present television programming. This concept is echoed in the short "User Abuser" from 1984; and in the character of Max Headroom from 1984, a project unrelated to the NYIT CGL, but the work of the Lab was familiar to his creators.
3DV is 5 minutes and 40 seconds long, and was worked on at least from 1982 and finished around 1984. Credits include Rebecca Allen, Carter Burwell, Richard Lundin, Bil Maher (as character designer and voice of User Friendly), and Lance Williams.
• 3DV, uploaded to YouTube by mattrharris1, 7 July 2023.
• Bil Maher's portfolio page of Dot Matrix- the image from which does not load, but the title states her model is from 1982
• Rebecca Allen's portfolio page of 3DV, listing partial credits and stating its completion date as 1984
• SIGGRAPH's page for 3DV showing that it was shown at their 1986 show and completed around 1983- but which also states it is around 10 minutes long
"Inside a Quark" (1984)
Inside a Quark is a looping animation that takes the viewer through a tunnel of vines and flowers. This animation is seen in several CGL projects, such as Strawberry Fields, and was in the IMAX film "The Magic Egg" from 1984.
Credits include Ned Greene (design, modelling, animation), Jules Bloomenthal, Paul Heckbert, and Lance Williams (software).
• SIGGRAPH page for Inside a Quark, shown at their 1985 event
• The Magic Egg uploaded to YouTube by Dan James, 9 September 2016
• Omnimax booklet from SIGGRAPH 1984, detailing the various contributors to The Magic Egg, including contributions from the NYIT CGL
"Gumby" (1984)
This is a short animation of Gumby, the claymation character created by Art Clokey in the 1950s. This short notably brings Gumby to a whole new medium. It features Gumby dancing around to music, then running out of frame while chased by a human hand.
Gumby is about 30 seconds long. It was animated by Hank Grebe, with joint software by Dick Lundin and hand model by Ed Catmull.
• Gumby on YouTube, uploaded by ethancartoons, 8 April 2018
• Hank Grebe's page on the creation of this Gumby short, with photos
▲ Gumby image courtesy of Hank Grebe, www.mediaspin.com/gumby.html
"RABL" (1985)
RABL is a film version of the live performance RAB. The creator sums it up nicely in her YouTube upload:
"RABL (1985) combines film, 3D human movement computer animation (pre-motion capture technology), and dance performance. Conceived and choreographed by Patrice M Regnier, RABL is an early exploration of human bodies interacting with technology, the real and the simulated. What starts as a normal scene, people interacting with computers in a laboratory, morphs into an abstraction where this relationship is explored. With the support of the Computer Graphics Laboratory at the New York Institute of Technology, Regnier collaborated with film composer Carter Burwell, animator/technologist Rebecca Allen and cinematographer Ed Lachman to make this experimental piece. The film was shown throughout the world, as well as a live performance called RAB that combined and examined these same subjects."
- Patrice Regnier in the YouTube description for RABL
• SIGGRAPH Archive's page for RAB, where it was performed live in 1985
• RABL on YouTube, uploaded by Patrice Regnier, 24 July 2009
