BEFLIX

BEFLIX is the name of the first specialised computer animation language.
BEFLIX was invented by Kenneth C. Knowlton at Bell Telephone Laboratories, USA.
BEFLIX was invented in 1963.
BEFLIX is a corruption of "Bell Flicks".
BEFLIX produced images at a resolution of 252 x 184 in 8 shades of grey.
BEFLIX-generated films, created using an IBM 7094 computer and Stromberg-Carlson 4020 microfilm recorder, cost approximately $500 per minute of output.

Dr. Kenneth Knowlton's home page is Knowlton Mosaics, where you can see his mosaic works and learn a little about his working techniques (all custom self-written software) and also his thoughts on computer-assisted artworks (less computer, more human, as time goes on).

Above all, Knowlton is a pioneer of computer graphics and human-computer interaction.

Stills from Pixillation by Kenneth C. Knowlton and Lillian Schwartz. The programming language here was a development of BEFLIX.

BEFLIX operations

Draw straight lines from dots
Draw curves
Copy region
Move region
Solid fill area
Zoom area
Dissolve image transition

Text, image from The Computer in Art, by Jasia Reichardt.