This presentation will look back at the history of computer generated animation and follow the seminal trends that have brought us to the incredible current state of the art. Beginning with Digital Effects, founded by Mr. Kleiser and others in 1978, behind the scenes imagery from Tron, Judge Dredd, Stargate, Flight of the Navigator, X-Men, Fantastic Four and others will be featured. Included will be work produced at Omnibus Computer Animation, Kleiser-Walczak Construction Company, and Synthespian Studios.

   Jeff Kleiser’s pioneering work in computer animation has spanned the history of the medium. He has contributed to films with groundbreaking visual effects including “Tron”, “Stargate,” “Judge Dredd,” “Clear and Present Danger,” “Mortal Kombat Annihilation,” “X-Men,” “X-Men United” and “X-Men: The Last Stand”. He served as senior visual effects supervisor on “The One”—a film starring martial arts master Jet Li that required the development of innovative digital face replacement techniques. More recently, Kleiser has supervised visual effects for “Son of the Mask,” “Fantastic Four” and “Scary Movie 4.” In addition to supervising visual effects projects, Kleiser has directed numerous commercials.

   With partner Diana Walczak, Kleiser has directed CG-animated stereoscopic films for projects such as the Thea and EDDY Award-winning “Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man” thrill ride (for Universal's Islands of Adventure theme park in Orlando, Florida); the Philip Glass/Robert Wilson digital opera, “Monsters of Grace”, “Santa Lights Up New York” for “The Radio City Christmas Spectacular”, and “Corkscrew Hill” an original ride attraction written by Kleiser and Walczak for Busch Entertainment.

   Jeff Kleiser has presented papers at many international events including the London Effects and Animation Festival, SIGGRAPH, INA Imagina, NAB, Opera Totale and the Virtual Humans Conference. He has served as an industry expert in interviews with The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and The ABC Evening News. Kleiser serves on the board of directors of the Visual Effects Society and the board of trustees of The Norman Rockwell Museum. He is a founder and trustee of the Williamstown Film Festival and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Kleiser also teaches a course in computer animation at Williams College.