Information International, Inc., commonly referred to as Triple-I or III, was a computer technology company, particularly noted for early work in computer animation done by the Motion Pictures Product Group. They created some of the first computer-generated special effects for major motion pictures, and employed a number of computer graphics pioneers.

Triple-I was located in Culver City, Calif. It was founded in 1962, as a manufacturer of image processing hardware such as digital film scanners and film recorders.

Computer animators Gary Demos and John Whitney, Jr. began using equipment at Triple-I in the early 1970s for animation, including the first use of computer imaging in a feature film — the "android vision" effect in Westworld. In 1974, Demos and Whitney convinced Triple-I to establish the Motion Pictures Product Group. In 1976, they scanned and animated Peter Fonda's head for Futureworld, the first appearance of 3D computer graphics in a film. They created an early demo animation called "Adam Powers, The Juggler"; this animation was later referenced by Pixar's short film Red's Dream. They were also responsible for effects in the film Looker, and animation tests for films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Star Wars.

Circa 1976, prior to becoming an artist-in-residence at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, pioneering computer artist David Em spent nights at Triple-I for eighteen months, learning to use their systems and create his first 3D, shaded, digital imagery.

When Disney began production of the film Tron, they hired four companies to create the computer graphics — Triple-I, MAGI, Robert Abel and Associates, and Digital Effects. Triple-I and MAGI were responsible for the majority of the roughly thirty minutes of computer animation. Triple-I created the Master Control Program, the Solar Sailer, and Sark's Carrier. Whitney and Demos left before the end of work on Tron, to found Digital Production. Partly due to their departure, Triple-I was unable to complete as much of the effects as planned, and MAGI took over some of the work.

Triple-I owned the one-of-a-kind computer, the Super Foonly F-1, the fastest PDP-10 ever made. Jim Blinn, Frank Crow, and others developed the company's rendering software TRANEW for the Foonly. Craig Reynolds created the Actor/Scriptor Animation System (ASAS), a procedural animation language based on LISP, at the MIT Architecture Machine Group, and then at Triple-I integrated it into their Digital Scene Simulation System. Larry Malone developed 3D modeling software for the Tektronix 4014 display.

In 1982, the management of Triple-I decided to shut down the Motion Pictures Product Group. Triple-I merged with Autologic, Inc. in 1996. The combined company was purchased by Agfa-Gevaert in 2001.

References

1962 establishments | Computer animation | Visual effects companies