"Breaking the Ice" demonstrates the ability of the Symbolics LISP programmed system to permit animators to assign behavorial characteristics to animated objects (in this case birds and fish) and then direct the computer to generate action sequences with only broad direction. The artist can determine that members of flocks or schools dynamically interact in a certain way: e.g. individual birds follow the general path of a leader, avoid bumping into solid objects or other in the flock, while carrying on to a p reassigned destinations.

Technical background:

The animation was realized on a Symbolics 3670 machine with Symbolics Animation S-Products software (S-Dynamics, S-Geometry, S-Render and S-Paint).

The animation “Breaking the Ice” was co-produced by Symbolics Inc. and Whitney/Demos Productions.
Animation team: Philippe Bergeron and Craig Reynolds. Director: Larry Malone. “Breaking the Ice” was premiered at SIGGRAPH 1987.

Larry Malone received a B.F.A. in Industrial Design from the College of Art and Design, Center for Creative Studies, Detroit, Michigan and a B.A. in Human Studies from Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. He also has art training from the Rhode Island School of Design.
Larry Malone was a technical director at two companies pioneering in computer animation: MAGI, in Santa Monica, California and Information International, Inc. Culver City, California, where he both wrote modelling software and designed and realized the models for special effects in commercials and feature films, including “Looker” (1980) and “Tron” (1982), for which he created the Solar Sailer and much of the computer environment. Now Larry Malone is a Principal Member of the Technical Staff of the Symbolics Graphics Division, Los Angeles, California. He designed and continues to develop the S-Geometry threedimensional modelling package. In addition to “Breaking the Ice” he has choreographed other short pieces for the Graphics Division.


Craig Reynolds, also a Principal Member of the Technical Staff of the Symbolics Graphics Division, designed and continues to develop the S-Dynamics animation package and is the force behind the development of the behavioral animation that is the centerpiece of “Breaking the Ice”.

Philippe Bergeron is an independent computer graphics consultant in Los Angeles, California. He was formerly the Director of Production Research at Whitney/ Demos Productions. In addition to “Breaking the Ice” he characteranimated two computer animated shorts: “'Vol de Reve/Dream Flight” and “Tony de Peltrie”.