John Whitney demonstrates his analog computer

This sequence is an excerpt from a documentary called "Computers: Challenging Man's Supremacy".

[@ultort]

Where is it possible to watch the full documentary ?

[@MrJoelLive]

With my KZbin channel, I'm working on bringing a similar artistic expression back but with a rather modern and current touch :) I was searching for inspiration and found that video. I didn't know John Whitney before. His work just blows me away!

[@7karlheinz]

His Brother James Whitney's films are even more mindblowing in my opinion.

[@sebdos]

wanna see the whole thing !

[@datashat]

Any idea where I could get hold of the whole doc?

[@Jeffrey314159]

The narrator of this film claims that these 'analog computing machines' are responsible for creating the 'Star Gate' effects in 2001 Space Odyssey. What about controlling the movement of the cameras?

[@Jeffrey314159]

Some of the spfx demonstrated in this video are like those used in Star Trek: The Motion Picture from 1979. Another example is in a 1970's film: UFO Target Earth

[@RobinParmar]

The narrator is not quite correct. The slit-screen technique was also invented by John Whitney Sr. but is not the machine shown. Further, Whitney did not work on "2001"... his idea was basically stolen after he sent Kubrick a demo.

[@circusitch]

Bob Abel did a lot of that kind of work. He worked with Whitney and helped develop the slit scan technique.

[@hfuy8005]

@@circusitch Is all of what's shown here even analog? Whitney's lines were plotted on some IBM workstation as I recall.

[@circusitch]

@@hfuy8005 From what I know, it was just filmed off of a cathode ray tube, CRT.

[@pablogaracenas]

¡ Very good contribution to find new sounds and show ideas for paradigm shifts

[@ufoengines]

I ran across this old digital computer patent 3190554 that uses compressed air to run the logic gates instead of electricity. Was such a computer ever built and used for anything? Could a 3d printer be used to make such a computer today?

[@Jeffrey314159]

Are you talking about a digital computer based on pneumatic-relay-logic, or a fluidic binary system?

[@ufoengines]

I guess so. I read about this kid Horton Billy Mitchusson Patent 3107850 that came up with this digital air computer idea in the 1960's and if you check out the patent, he gave the idea to the world . ( Electronic digital made the idea a non starter even then I suppose.) However if you check the links from the patent everybody was giving the idea a look see. I like the idea that if Babbage had gone this way he could have had the pipe organ guys make his Analytic Engine for him and Lady Ada would have invented COBOL. Now I'm checking around to see if anybody is using Brush Bots to demonstrate Collision Based Computing. The kids have got to dig that!

[@francismassen]

I built for my pseudo-PhD in ~1971 a bottle filling machine using only fluidic elements (some of which which were self made), where compressed air steered the fluid (=water) and fluidic elements made the digital part (very elemental!).

[@Talmurid]

I know this comment thread is relatively old, but I believe you’re talking about a gas flow computer.

[@EbayUsedGoods]

@@ufoengines NYUFO you gotta see the Electric Shoes sketch on snl, I got a playlist of related videos with the same title

[@DougWIngate]

I'm looking for a software where you can add these sort of effects to video

[@lisacole]

you can generate patterns with a programme called Processing

[@phil7]

Watching analog computer with analog recording!

[@boimesa8190]

well if he does all the visuals... who made all the audio to his artworks??

[@interwebzful]

pretty sure that final audio isn't something mr. whitney would not have added himself

[@RobinParmar]

Whitney trained in music as well as photography. He composed soundtracks for several of his films. For others he used composers such as Terry Riley (for "Matrix III"). The music in this video has been added for the documentary.

[@yaboimaxwell9031]

Gosh, that 16 millimeter film.

[@voiceoftreason1760]

what a visionary

[@adric137]

cool stuff

[@ufoengines]

Cool!

[@GertrudeMyrtle]

♥ it.

[@andre1onate]

aahhh... how innocent the pre-photoshop time :)

[@theprstc]

Hasn't got absolutely anything to do with photoshop, not even remotely. Both involve "computers" and output images but so does MRI...

[@peters972]

Silly music for amazing calculations.

[@el0x]

@Josh Swann I think it fits the animations surprisingly well