The Computer Programme (1982)

Concept and creative process

Titles for a series on computer literacy, presented by Chris Serle and Ian McNaught-Davis.
The idea behind 'The Computer Programme' series was to introduce people to computers and show them what they were capable of. A wise owl was chosen as the prime symbol for the series. In order to appeal to this broad audience, the opening sequence had to be light and fun, so traditional animation was chosen rather than the basic computer animation available at that time. Flying across the evening rooftops an owl enters through the window of a domestic household. It settles on the series logo inside a television set. After storyboarding the sequence, the animation was produced by Ian Eames Animation using traditional paint and trace cel acetate animation. Filmed stop frame on a rostrum camera, the exterior and interior backgrounds were panned behind the animation of the owl in flight to create the illusion of movement. The music chosen for the track was Kraftwerk's 'Computer World', taken from their 1981 album.

Series Producer - Paul Kriwaczek.

Animation – Ian Eames.