Oral History of Edwin Catmull

Interviewed by John Hollar on March 1, 2013, at Pixar in Emeryville, California, X6771.2013
© Computer History Museum
Edwin Catmull's career began at an important stage in the development of computer graphics, when declining costs of memory and computing power allowed for experimentation with new graphical techniques. After graduating from the University of Utah with a PhD in 1974 (in physics and computer science), Catmulll worked at graphics workstation vendor Applicon for a brief period. He then led the computer graphics group at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) where he worked with Alvy Ray Smith and others on computer animation techniques, culminating in the experimental film "Sunstone" by Smith and Ed Emshwiller.
Invited by Hollywood director Steven Spielberg, Catmull, Smith and others then formed the computer graphics group at Lucasfilm. The group spun out, creating Pixar, in 1986, which attracted financing from Apple Computer, Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs. Pixar was sold to Walt Disney Studios in 2006 where Catmull was made CEO of the newly-formed Walt Disney Animation Studios.
In this oral history, Catmulll describes his long career and accomplishments in an interview with Computer History Museum CEO John Hollar.
* Note: Transcripts represent what was said in the interview. However, to enhance meaning or add clarification, interviewees have the opportunity to modify this text afterward. This may result in discrepancies between the transcript and the video. Please refer to the transcript for further information - www.computerhis....
Visit computerhistory.org/collections/oralhistories/ for more information about the Computer History Museum's Oral History Collection.

[@gregglawson7945]

I thought I've seen almost every Ed Catmull video out there, and this was a very nice surprise. Gained various bits of information I've never heard before of his journey, and a much deeper understanding of Ed and his technical, creative and leadership influence over the decades. Love the transparency.
Thanks for the upload!

[@calabiyou]

One hardcore dude. Thanks Ed Catmull for all you have done!

[@picosdrivethru]

he's such a hero of mine, such an inspiring guy, the openness and stuff... and yet its sad to hear that recent controversy with artist price fixing he was involved in.

[@impooser]

Wow, thanks a lot for the posting. Really appreciate!

[@RayR]

Great accounting of a true pioneer of CGI. I love these from the Computer History museum. Keep them coming.

[@GrantMcDonald]

A series of books that should be read in order to gain a deeper perspective of Dr. Catmull and the events surrounding the beginnings of Pixar:
The Pixar Touch
Droidmaker
Creativity Inc
And watch a discussion with the computer history museum that featured Ed, Alvy, and Brad. Good stuff.

[@musashidanmcgrath]

Great watch, always fascinating listening to Ed. Can't help but smile when he casually talks about inventing Sub-D modeling, texture-mapping, the alpha channel...........brilliant!

[@ayfer2914]

Finally I met him thanks to S.Jobs *.
I was always curious about CGI works background!
Thanks for sharing the interviews...***

[@user-ow5mn6dn7n]

Are you kidding me? Just 4k views for interview with [basically] creator of modern 3d graphics and animation?