The Mind's Eye Experience: Computer Animation Collection VHS Boxset

Before Pixar, before Toy Story, before computer animation was a household concept, a series of VHS compilations assembled the most extraordinary CGI work being produced anywhere in the world and set it to original music. The result was something genuinely new: not a movie, not a music video, not a demo reel, but a sustained visual-musical experience with loose narrative threads running through abstract imagery of creation, evolution, consciousness, and the cosmos. The three tapes in this box set document three years of CGI's most explosive developmental period.

The Mind's Eye: A Computer Animation Odyssey (1990) was directed and edited by Jan Nickman of Miramar Productions and produced by Steven Churchill. It collects work from approximately 300 artists worldwide - ray-traced landscapes, fluid simulations, morphing faces, abstract forms - assembled into a loose story of Earth's creation and civilization's rise, set to an original score by James Reynolds. It reached No. 12 on Billboard's video sales chart and achieved multi-platinum sales, making it one of the best-selling video releases of its era. Roger Ebert championed the sequel on Siskel & Ebert as his Video Pick of the Week.

Beyond the Mind's Eye (1992) was directed by Michael Boydstun of Odyssey Visual Design with an original score by Jan Hammer - the composer of Miami Vice - and selected by Roger Ebert as his Video Pick of the Week for December 23, 1992. It features work from studios including Rhythm and Hues, Kleiser-Walczak, and XAOS, with segments including the widely remembered "Particle Dreams" by Karl Sims and the insect predation sequence "Afternoon Adventure." Pantera used footage from this tape in their music video for "Planet Caravan" from Far Beyond Driven (1994).

The Gate to the Mind's Eye (1994) was directed by Michael Boydstun with an original score by Thomas Dolby, and was designed as a more continuous cinematic experience than its predecessors - a narrative thread connecting CGI from Sega, Rhythm and Hues, Angel Studios, Boss Films, BUF, MacGuff Ligne, Karl Sims, and others. The music drives the structure throughout, with Dolby's score drawing from historical, architectural, and painterly source material alongside the series' signature futuristic imagery.

Notable Staff

The Mind's Eye (1990):
Director / Editor: Jan Nickman (Miramar Productions)
Producer: Steven Churchill (Odyssey Productions)
Music: James Reynolds
Publisher: BMG / Miramar

Beyond the Mind's Eye (1992):
Director: Michael Boydstun (Odyssey Visual Design)
Producer: Steven Churchill
Music: Jan Hammer (Miami Vice composer)
Publisher: BMG / Miramar
Roger Ebert's Video Pick of the Week, December 23, 1992

The Gate to the Mind's Eye (1994):
Director: Michael Boydstun
Producer: Steven Churchill
Music: Thomas Dolby
Contributing Studios: Sega, Rhythm and Hues, Angel Studios, Boss Films, BUF, MacGuff Ligne, Karl Sims, Kleiser-Walczak, XAOS, Lamb & Company, Santa Barbara Studios, and others
Publisher: BMG / Miramar

VHS Box Set Contents

- The Mind's Eye: A Computer Animation Odyssey (~40 min, 1990)
- Beyond the Mind's Eye (~50 min, 1992)
- The Gate to the Mind's Eye (~45 min, 1994)
- All three tapes in original box set packaging
- Stereo / Digitally Mastered audio on all three tapes
- Note: Beyond the Mind's Eye and The Gate to the Mind's Eye were also released on DVD by Simitar Entertainment. The original Mind's Eye was also released on LaserDisc by Image Entertainment.

Format: VHS (NTSC), Stereo Digitally Mastered

Edition Details

Contents: 3-VHS Box Set - The Mind's Eye Experience: Computer Animation Collection
Total Runtime: ~135 Minutes (3 tapes)
Release Years: Individual tapes 1990, 1992, 1994; box set compilation c. 1994-1995 (BMG / Miramar)
Publisher: BMG / Miramar Productions / Odyssey Productions
Format: VHS (NTSC), Stereo Digitally Mastered
Rating: Not Rated
Note: Multi-platinum selling series. Beyond the Mind's Eye footage used in Pantera's "Planet Caravan" music video (1994). One of the most important documents of early CGI animation history. DVD releases exist separately for Beyond and The Gate.
Genre: Computer Animation, Art Film, Music Video Compilation
Themes: Early CGI History, Computer Art, Electronic Music Score, Abstract Animation, Pre-Pixar Digital Filmmaking

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.

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