2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

First digital computer animation in a movie

Video (4K)

Trivia:

1) First digital computer animation in a feature film - vector graphics used only for onboard computer screen of the ship.

2) Douglas Trumbull (visual effects supervisor) cites avant-garde animator John Whitney as a direct inspiration for the 2001 stargate sequence. Readers may be familiar with Whitney's work on the opening title sequence of Alfred Hitchock's Vertigo, which happens to be one of the first instances of mechanical computer animation in a film. Whitney's experiments with mechanized long-exposure, combined with slit-scan, form the basis of Trumbull's approach for the stargate effect in 2001.

3) Filming the special effects shots took 18 months at a cost of $6.5 million (the film's total budget was $10.5 million). In 2022 with iflation film budget is 80 000 000 dollars.

4) Second film ever that used digital computer animation was Westworld (1973).