Beyond the Mind's Eye

even though the technology now is way beyond what was possible in 1992, Beyond the Mind's Eye is a landmark work of computer animation and imagination. Its artfulness, beauty, and thoughtfulness will remain. wonderful music by Jan Hammer help to make each segment unique and enduring.

Beyond the Mind's Eye - indeed.

BEYOND THE MINDS EYE is a surreal voyage bridging the gap between reality and imagination. Travel through the inner depths of the human psyche to the outer reaches of the universe. BEYOND explores worlds that may exist in alternate dimensions - or only in the minds of the worlds leading computer animators.

"Brilliant" - Steven Churchill

"Surreal" - Michael Boydstun

"Real, yet imaginative" - Jan Hammer

"As 'modern Fantasia' this video steps BEYOND" - G. Paul Sullivan

Comprised of mini-stories; including Afternoon Adventure, Theater of Magic, and Nothing But Love.

You will have some real afternoon delight.

The tracks and ideas in this video are much better defined than in the original Mind's Eye. This series of videos really were on the cutting edge of the ray-tracing technology available. So what you see in this video is probably some of the best ray-tracing/modeling that could be done at that time. But as this series goes on, you can see most of the artists moving towards a style of realism and away from the surreal.

The sequel to "The Mind's Eye," this computer-generated animation piece has some very inventive stuff in here. In this field, there seems to be a big advancement which was especially true in these experimental years in the late '80s and early '90s. I can't imagine what a 2007 version of "The Mind's Eye" would look like, but I'd like to see it.

This version featured some good music by Jan Hammer of TV's "Miami Vice" fame. Most of the visual material in this 45-minute presentation comes in short 2-3 minute segments, so if you don't care for something stick around because it will change quickly.

I enjoyed most of it and found it very creative, a couple of years after it had been released and liked it even more on the second viewing, some five years after that. It did not appear dated. Some parts of just stunning, real eye-poppers.

For me, however, watching animation with no dialog, is not easy to do for more than 20 minutes at a time so I broke this viewing into two segments. No matter how inventive it may be, your mind can wander after 20 minutes of this.

First, let me say that I am a true fan of Jan Hammer's work (after all he made Miami Vice watchable). But under "altered" moods, Hendrix "Electric Ladyland" and some dark/colorful room lighting makes this movie a true experience ;-)