LIGHTWAVE 3D EXPLOSION SOFTWARE
Foundation commissioned developer Perry Kivolowitz to write software to enable the Amigas to write video data onto standard digital tape drives, which they then used to deliver their video output to post-production. When Foundation Imaging received the contract for Babylon 5, they hadn't told the producers that Foundation didn't actually have any viable way to physically deliver the rendered video output to the post-production studio: internet bandwidth was too limited at the time and the Amigas were not capable of recording to Sony D-1 broadcast quality digital video tapes.
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Beigle-Bryant recalls, " and Douglas Netter basically then turned to Ronny, who said something along the lines of 'like this', and played the ten second animation sequence sitting on a VHS tape." Warner Brothers approved the series soon afterwards. The executives then asked the inevitable question about how were they going to afford to do the visual effects. Michael Straczynski did a pitch for the proposed series. Meeting with Warner Brothers executives, Babylon 5 series creator J. Thornton used LightWave 3D software on an Amiga to create a 300-frame, ten-second computer animation of a ship approaching the Babylon 5 space station, and transferred it onto a VHS tape. Although invited to submit a proposal for visual effects using physical models, Thornton began examining whether the Babylon 5 effects could be done by computer, discussing its technological and economic feasibility in detail with Beigle-Bryant. Thornton was approached by Babylon 5 producer John Copeland, whom he knew from a previous project, to create something to promote the proposed series to Warner Brothers, as the producers had had little success with other networks. Together with Beigel-Bryant, Thornton started a visual effects company, Foundation Imaging, with the name partly giving continuity from their previous venture, Foundation Systems, as well as alluding to Isaac Asimov's Foundation novels. Suddenly effects shots which previously would have cost thousands of dollars could be done for much less. Thornton used an Amiga with a Video Toaster board to experiment with creating spaceship shots where not only the spaceship design, but also the motion and lighting could be controlled by the software. At that time, Thornton started experimenting on using 3D computer graphics for pre-visualising effects shots, and also purchased his first Commodore Amiga 2000 computer. Michael Straczynski, who would both would go on to produce Babylon 5. Also involved in the series were producer Douglas Netter and writer J. Thornton ended up running the effects department for Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future. Thornton and his friend Paul Beigle-Bryant, whom he had previously known in the UK, began a business as dealers in Psion handheld devices, under the name Foundation Systems. In 1984, Thornton moved to the United States, where he worked on several different film and television projects, including Commando, Spaceballs and Robot Jox. Thornton also worked on a number of Doctor Who stories featuring Peter Davison, and created part of the Tripod models for the BBC production, The Tripods. This led to Thornton being employed at the BBC in the Visual Effects Workshop, working with Bill Pearson and Martin Bower to create the Blake's 7 ships for that season. Thornton was assigned to build the model for the ship Scorpio, working from design plans in his living room to create versions in several different sizes, including partial models, each exact in scale and proportion. When Blake's 7 entered its fourth season, a new spaceship was needed. Among other things, Thornton created guns for the Doctor Who story " Warriors' Gate" Irvine later offered Thornton work as his assistant, creating effects and electronic circuits. One of these was later used as the shuttle in Blake's 7. Thornton built a few spaceship models, showing them to Mat Irvine at the BBC Special Effects Workshop.
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After seeing the movie Alien, Thornton realised, "it dawned on me … that somebody could actually make money building plastic spaceships! That was quite amusing to me…" Thornton was born in London in 1957, studying at West Kent College, and subsequently worked at Gatwick Airport as a flight dispatcher.
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