The typical entry in the ''Mind's Eye
series is a short package film, usually 50 to 60 minutes long, with an electronic music soundtrack over a series of music video-like sequences. The original film, titled The Mind's Eye: A Computer Animation Odyssey'', by director and co-producer Jan Nickman and producer Steven Churchill, consisted of a non-rigid structure of many semi-related sequences. The general style which characterizes the series is light and cartoonish, due to the difficulty of rendering more complicated images using the computers of the day. The series features
computer-generated animation sequences created by various studios and artists, which were edited into continuous programs accompanied by electronic music. The computer animation sequences that appeared in the films were generally not produced specifically for the ''Mind's Eye
series but rather were work originally created for other purposes, including demo reels, commercials, music videos, and feature films. Nickman then assembled these sequences into a narrative through creative editing, which resulted in a double platinum selling film considered to be a milestone in the field of computer animation. As a result, The Mind's Eye: A Computer Animation Odyssey
reached No. 12 on Billboard'''s video hits chart. This approach gave Churchill access to the best-quality computer graphics of the time without having to bear their substantial production costs. The soundtracks for the films were composed by
James Reynolds,
Jan Hammer,
Thomas Dolby and
Kerry Livgren (founder and guitarist for
Kansas). While most of ''The Mind's Eye'' music tracks were instrumental, "The Gate to the Mind's Eye" featured two
Thomas Dolby compositions with lyrics and vocals by astrophysicist and recording artist
Fiorella Terenzi: "Quantum Mechanic" and "N.E.O.". Dolby also provided vocals on his track "Valley of the Mind's Eye". ==Films==