Pixar began in 1974 as CGL (Computer Graphics Lab) a few computer scientists who knew they wanted to create the world’s first computer-animated film. Months later, they were $15M in the hole with nothing to show when they were invited to a meeting with Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas where they discussed the future of filmmaking.

Lucas brought CGL into part of the Lucasfilm computer division known as ‘The Graphics Group.’ The core group pioneered much of the tech that would make CG animation possible, including the alpha channel, particle effects, and an interface called REYES which stood for Renders Everything You Ever Saw.

In the next few years they created a digital compositing computer that went through several name changes. Originally called Picture Maker, it was then called Pixer, and finally Pixar.

In 82, the Pixar guys were doing special effects for ILM, but despite some advances, their group under LucasFim looked like it might be going under. Lacking the proper computing power, they knew they were still years from creating the animated movie of their dreams and decided to become a hardware company, selling the Pixar Image Computer.

One of the buyers of this Pixar computer was Walt Disney Studios who used it to migrate the 2D animation process into a more automated method. Their first movie released using the computer was The Black Cauldron.

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