Movies - Mind's Eye

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	Movies - Mind's Eye

The Mind's Eye series consists of several art films rendered using computer-generated imagery of varying levels of sophistication, though it is far outstaged by the CGI used in recent movies such as the Lord of the Rings adaptations, and even by the early examples in Jurassic Park. The series began in 1990. It is produced by Animation Entertainment.(Formally know as Odyssey Productions & Miramar Productions).

The typical entry in the Mind's Eye series is a short movie, usually 50 to 60 minutes long, with an electronic music soundtrack over a series of music video-like sequences. The original movie, simply titled The Mind's Eye, consisted of a less rigid structure of many semi-related sequences. The general style is usually a light, cartoony feel owing to its ease of rendering.

Viewers are mixed over whether they prefer the visual or musical side of each movie, for at least one is usually seen as flawed. Some viewers will mute the video and play their own music, searching for synchronicity, while others will enjoy it as a pure audio experience. The music has more distinguished names behind it, with contributors including James Reynolds, Thomas Dolby, Jan Hammer and Kerry Livgren, a guitarist for Kansas.

The Mind's Eye was the first effort, and served as a very useful demonstration of computer animation when the art was still in its relative infancy. It is composed of a sequence of the segments that ambitiously chronicles the the formation of Earth ("Creation"), the rise of human civilizations ("Civilization Rising"), the technological advances of humanity from the advent of agriculture to the future exploration of the cosmos. The video speculatively concludes with a segment of what might be the next sentient species to arise on Earth (birds?). The superb soundtrack by by James Reynolds stands on its own merits.

Beyond the Mind's Eye featured the efforts of Jan Hammer and included the first vocal tracks, such as Too Far and Seeds of Life, a sequence themed around planet-colonizing seeds. The DVD included both the vocal version of Seeds of Life (sung by Chris Thompson) that blended the animation segment and footage of Hammer and his band performing, with an instrumental version of the same track. The DVD contains 11 tracks.

The Gate to the Mind's Eye continued the trend of vocal tracks, along with music by Thomas Dolby. Over half of its 9 tracks include vocals: Armageddon, a sequence depicting massive devastaion; Neo, an astronomy-themed song; Valley of the Mind's Eye, a song about the progress of human technology; Nuvogue, its first jazz track; and Quantum Mechanic with guest vocalist Dr. Fiorella Terenzi.

Odyssey Into The Mind's Eye features a soundtrack by Kerry Livgren and two more vocal tracks, One Dark World (sung by Darren Rogers) and Aspen Moon (sung by Livgren's son Jason).

Two more,Luminous Visions and Ancient Alien were made, taking the series in a drastic turn. Then the Computer Animation series began.

The series is no longer labeled as part of the Mind's Eye, but is as least marked "from the creators of 'The Mind's Eye' ".

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