People at that time also got acclimated to computer graphics through the history of Hollywood film. For example, John Whitney developed the effect that was used in 2001: A Space Odyssey for the time tunnel sequence.
Casey Reas, Casey Reas on the History of Generative Art - Part 2
After a while, I returned to the MIT Media Lab for a graduate degree, then worked in Hollywood for a while, and then returned to Thinking Machines.
Karl Sims, Karl Sims & Alexander Mordvintsev on Merging Technology and Biology