Gary Yost

Yost created the Antic Software publishing unit for Antic Magazine in 1984 after Jack Tramiel bought Atari Computer from Warner Communications and shut down the Atari Program Exchange.{{Cite web|url=http://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-193-gary-yost-the-catalog-and-cyber-studio|title=ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast : ANTIC Interview 193 - Gary Yost, The Catalog and Cyber Studio|website=ataripodcast.libsyn.com|access-date=2016-08-19}}

Yost met Tom Hudson at the Fall 1985 Comdex trade show and they began planning a suite of 3D animation tools for the Atari ST line of microcomputers, which became the Cyber Studio suite of animation products, beginning with CAD-3D 1.0, released autumn 1986.{{cite web|url=http://doudoroff.com/atari/|title=The Antic Cyber Graphics Software and the Pre-history of Autodesk 3D Studio and Discreet 3ds max|website=Martin Doudoroff LLC|accessdate=19 August 2016}} Stereo CAD-3D 2.0, released in late 1987, was built on an open-architecture framework and incorporated support for creating stereoscopic animations using the Tektronix “StereoTek” liquid crystal shutter 3D display.{{cite journal|date=August 4, 1986|title=Antic Prepares 3-D Glasses For CAD Graphics Program|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uy8EAAAAMBAJ&q=gary+yost+infoworld&pg=PA16|journal=InfoWorld|volume=8|issue=31|page=16|last1=Mace|first1=Scott|accessdate=19 August 2016}}{{cite journal|date=July 1988|title=Review CAD-3D|url=http://www.atarimagazines.com/st-log/issue21/86_1_REVIEW_CAD-3D.php|journal=Atari Magazine|issue=21|page=86|author1=Andy Eddy|author2=Charles F. Johnson}} The StereoTek display was the first low-cost mass-market 3D display for microcomputers.{{Cite web|url=http://www.verycomputer.com/10_7c9f12dca27b87ab_1.htm|title=Stereoscopic Display for ST|website=www.verycomputer.com|access-date=2016-08-19}}

In 1988 Yost left Antic Software to form “The Yost Group” when Autodesk offered him a software licensing agreement to create a suite of affordable animation tools for the IBM PC, beginning with Autodesk 3D Studio and Autodesk Animator,{{Citation|last=Jerry Leon|title=Autodesk Animator Demo (hard to find reel)|date=2010-12-30|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P359Z4vVtD8|accessdate=2016-08-19}} which was a 2D cel animation tool written by Jim Kent for The Yost Group. An obscure fact about Yost in 1988 is that, along with Computer Graphics pioneer Jim Blinn, he played percussion on the Todd Rundgren album "Nearly Human," which was recorded at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K1WFL1CgvDIC&q=gary+yost+todd+rundgren&pg=PA286|title=Myers, Paul "A Wizard, A True Star: Todd Rundgren in the Studio"|isbn=9781906002336|access-date=2017-07-01|last1=Myers|first1=Paul|date=15 October 2010 |publisher=Jawbone Press }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zepxgMEz5IM |title=Youtube "Todd Rundgren, For the Want of a Nail"|website=YouTube |date=14 July 2006 |access-date=2017-07-01}}

Working with Tom Hudson, Jack Powell, Dan Silva, Rolf Berteig and Gus Grubba, Yost led the team that created Autodesk 3D Studio versions 1-4 for the MS-DOS platform. Don Brittain, former VP of Research for Wavefront Technologies, was brought into the Yost Group to help create the re-designed 3D animation program called Autodesk 3ds Max, based on the Microsoft Windows NT platform and it was first shown at the Association for Computing Machinery’s SIGGRAPH conference in Los Angeles in 1995{{Cite web|url=http://www.siggraph.org/s95/|title=SIGGRAPH 95|website=www.siggraph.org|access-date=2016-08-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011225407/http://www.siggraph.org/s95/|archive-date=2012-10-11|url-status=dead}} before its 1996 release.

Yost and his engineering team applied for and received eight US patents for the technology they invented for Autodesk 3ds Max and in 1997 they sold their rights to the source code and inventions to Autodesk, ending Yost’s involvement with the product.

In 2004 Yost joined Berlin-based mental images, GmbH & Co. as Executive Vice President of their US-based operation.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=43602353&privcapId=7388583&previousCapId=7388583&previousTitle=NVIDIA%2520ARC%2520GmbH|title=Gary Yost: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek|website=www.bloomberg.com|access-date=2016-08-19}} Yost and mental images’ founder Rolf Herken had formed a relationship when Yost licensed the mental ray rendering library and other software components from mental images for Autodesk 3ds Max.{{Cite web|url=http://www.animationmagazine.net/people/mental-images-visualizes-gary-yost-as-exec-vp/|title=mental images Visualizes Gary Yost as Exec VP|date=2004-01-26|language=en-US|access-date=2016-08-19}} mental images was acquired by NVIDIA,{{Cite web|url=http://www.nvidia-arc.com/news/detail/article//mental-image-21.html|title=NVIDIA Advanced Rendering: mental images® Appoints Key Business Development Executives|website=www.nvidia-arc.com|access-date=2016-08-19}} and Yost’s involvement wound down by 2011.

In 2013, Yost joined Rolf Herken’s Mine Innovation as an engineering advisor.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mine.com/people.html|title=People – MINE Innovation Engineering|website=www.mine.com|access-date=2016-08-19}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/mine-reality-ventures-founded-create-conducive-environment-engineers-scientists-solve-1854131.htm|title=MINE and Reality Ventures Founded; Create Conducive Environment for Engineers and Scientists to Solve Daunting Technological Challenges|last=|first=|date=|website=Market Wired|publisher=|access-date=August 18, 2016}}

In 2020, Yost was interviewed about his life's experience in CGI on the 300th episode of the CG Garage VFX podcast.{{Cite web|url=https://www.chaosgroup.com/blog/gary-yost-3ds-max-development-team-leader-wisdomvr-project-founder|title=GARY YOST — 3DS MAX DEVELOPMENT TEAM LEADER & WISDOMVR PROJECT FOUNDER|website=www.chaosgroup.com/blog|access-date=2020-12-09}}

Yost has been a photographer for over 50 years{{Cite web|url=https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2012/11/26/gary-yost-as-a-photographer|title=Gary Yost Reflects on More Than 40 Years as a Photographer {{!}} Photoshop Blog by Adobe|website=Photoshop Blog|access-date=2016-08-20}} and began pursuing photography more seriously in 2012 when he created the viral video “A Day in the Life of a Fire Lookout,” about the Gardner Fire Lookout on Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County, California. That video won a Vimeo Staff Pick award.{{Cite web|url=http://www.marinij.com/general-news/20121103/magical-mount-tam-video-goes-viral|title=Magical Mount Tam video goes viral|date=3 November 2012 |access-date=2016-08-19}}{{Cite web|url=http://blogs.adobe.com/photoshop/2012/11/photographer-gary-yost-captures-a-day-in-the-life-of-a-fire-lookout.html|title=Photographer Gary Yost Captures 'A Day in the Life of a Fire Lookout' {{!}} Photoshop Blog by Adobe|website=Photoshop Blog|access-date=2016-08-19}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/video/archive/2012/10/this-bay-area-fire-lookout-might-have-the-best-view-in-the-world/466827/|title=This Bay Area Fire Lookout Might Have the Best View in the World|last=Baldegg|first=Kasia Cieplak-Mayr von|website=The Atlantic |date=25 October 2012 |language=en-US|access-date=2016-08-19}}{{Cite web|url=http://kalw.org/post/audiograph-mt-tamalpais-fire-tower#stream/0|title=Audiograph: Mt. Tamalpais Fire Tower|last=Caine|first=Julie|access-date=2016-08-19}}

He spent seven years working with the Marin Municipal Water District and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy on a trilogy of films about Ground Equipment Facility J-33, the abandoned Mill Valley Air Force Station on the West Peak of Mount Tamalpais in Marin County, California.{{Cite web|url=http://www.marinij.com/article/NO/20160428/FEATURES/160429813|title=Paul Liberatore's Lib at Large: Gary Yost's final film in trilogy uses music to heal Mt. Tam's war wounds|date=28 April 2016 |access-date=2016-08-19}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Magical-Mt-Tamalpais-303192051.html|title=Magical Mt. Tamalpais|date=9 May 2015 |access-date=2016-08-19}}{{Cite web|url=http://ww2.kqed.org/forum/2014/02/20/restoring-mount-tamalpais/|title=Restoring Mount Tamalpais|date=20 February 2014 |language=en-us|access-date=2016-08-19}} Yost's Mt. Tamalpais film series {{Cite web|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/nativeson/article/A-day-in-the-life-of-Mount-Tamalpais-in-5-minutes-13267083.php/|title=A Day in the Life of Mt. Tamalpais in 5 Minutes {{!}} San Francisco Chronicle|access-date=2018-09-30}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.garyyost.com/mt-tamalpais/|title=Mount Tamalpais Short Films {{!}} Gary Yost portfolio website|access-date=2016-12-19}} covers a wide range of topics, including a short doc about artist Zio Ziegler and his Mill Valley mural that was inspired by the Sitting Bull monument on Mt. Tam.{{Cite web|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/12/19/sitting-bull-plaque-mystery-enhances-mount-tams-legend|title=Sitting Bull plaque mystery enhances Mount Tam's legend {{!}} San Jose Mercury News|date=19 December 2016 |access-date=2016-12-19}}

The first film in the trilogy, “The Invisible Peak”{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3410360/|title=IMDB "The Invisible Peak {{!}} |website=IMDb |access-date=2016-08-22}} was created by Yost with help from Peter Coyote and George Daly. It has been a selection at 16 film festivals, and has won awards for Best Documentary, Best of Show, and Outstanding Environmental Vision.{{Cite web|url=https://vimeo.com/83733185/|title=The Invisible Peak {{!}} Vimeo|date=9 January 2014 |access-date=2021-07-12}} The most-recent work in Yost's Mt. Tamalpais film series is "The Way it's Supposed to Be"{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vJBXIWwrtk|title=Youtube video "The Way it's Supposed to Be" directed by Gary Yost, featuring an original song by Dore Coller|website=YouTube |date=28 June 2017 |access-date=2017-07-01}} featuring performances by Marin County musicians Bob Weir, Maria Muldaur, Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Matt Jaffe

In addition to the filmmaking work he has accomplished on Mt. Tamalpais, Yost has been working on films that document the cultural life of Fijians in 2015.{{Cite web|url=http://fijisun.com.fj/2016/02/09/filmmaker-the-beauty-of-fiji-can-make-you-cry/|title=Filmmaker: The Beauty Of Fiji Can Make You Cry {{!}} Fiji Sun|access-date=2016-08-19}}{{Cite web|url=http://fijisun.com.fj/2016/07/17/the-loss-of-fijian-oral-culture-through-the-eyes-of-filmmaker/|title=The Loss Of Fijian Oral Culture, Through The Eyes Of Filmmaker {{!}} Fiji Sun|access-date=2016-08-19}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.fijisings.com|title=Fiji Sings! {{!}} website|access-date=2017-09-21}}

His other videos include a project with Puddles the Clown, which has garnered nearly 10 million views on YouTube{{Citation|last=Gary Yost|title=Hallelujah – Puddles Pity Party at the SF Regency Lodge Ballroom|date=2014-10-16|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItXygU9SJCA|accessdate=2016-08-19}} and an innovative use of infrared cinematography{{Cite web|url=https://vimeo.com/124205165|title=Yassou Benedict "Youngblood" (infrared)|website=Vimeo|date=6 April 2015 |access-date=2016-08-19}}{{Cite web|url=http://nikonrumors.com/2015/05/23/gary-yost-on-shooting-infrared-music-video-underwater-with-a-nikon-d200-and-d5200-ir-converted-cameras.aspx/|title=Gary Yost on shooting infrared music video underwater with a Nikon D200 and D5200 IR converted cameras {{!}} Nikon Rumors|website=nikonrumors.com|date=24 May 2015 |access-date=2016-08-19}} for a project with the YASSOU band,{{Cite web|url=http://yassouband.com|title=YASSOU|website=yassouband.com|access-date=2016-08-19}} featuring synchronized swimmers from LA-based Aqualillies.{{Cite web|url=http://www.aqualillies.com|title=Synchronized Swimming for events, parties, weddings & more...|website=AQUALILLIES|language=en-US|access-date=2016-08-19}}{{Cite web|url=https://vimeo.com/124303780|title=Yassou Benedict "Youngblood" BTS|website=Vimeo|date=7 April 2015 |access-date=2016-08-19}} Yost has been actively promoting the use of time-lapse to tell stories,{{Cite web|url=http://timelapsenetwork.com/mini-tutorials/why-should-you-create-timelapse-stories-not-just-sequences/|title=Why should you create time-lapse stories, not just sequences|date=2014-04-24|website=Time Lapse Network — Free Tutorials, Videos, forum and much more!|access-date=2016-08-19}} and was a judge for the LA-based 2016 Timelapse Film Festival{{Cite web|url=http://americancinematheque.blogspot.com/2016/08/time-lapse-film-festival-emergence-of.html|title=MOVIES ON THE BIG SCREEN: TIME-LAPSE FILM FESTIVAL: THE EMERGENCE OF TIME-LAPSE AS AN ART FORM|last=Cinematheque|first=American|date=2016-08-04|website=MOVIES ON THE BIG SCREEN|access-date=2016-08-19}} along with Godfrey Reggio, the producer of the seminal time-lapse film Koyaanisqatsi.

In 2017 Yost was the recipient of the Mill Valley Creative Achievement "Milley" award from the Mill Valley, California Arts Commission, joining previous recipients including Dan Hicks (singer), John Korty, Joyce Maynard, Sammy Hagar, Jane Hirshfield and Bob Weir.{{Cite web|url=http://www.marinij.com/article/NO/20170802/NEWS/170809960|title="Mill Valley's 2017 Milley Award winners announced" {{!}} Marin Independent Journal|date=2 August 2017 |access-date=2017-09-20}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.milleyawards.org/index.html|title=Milley Awards {{!}} Mill Valley Arts Commission|access-date=2017-09-20}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.marinij.com/lifestyle/20171109/mill-valley-capturing-the-artistic-soul-of-a-community|title=Capturing the artistic soul of a community {{!}} Marin Independent Journal |date=9 November 2017 |access-date=2017-11-10}}

In both 2018 and 2019 Yost won the Best Indie Filmmaker reader's choice award in Marin County, California from the Pacific Sun (newspaper){{Cite web|url=http://pacificsun.com/best-of-marin-2018-arts-culture|title="Best of Marin 2018 Arts & Culture" {{!}} Pacific Sun|date=25 April 2018 |access-date=2018-04-26}} and he began working in the field of immersive cinema. He was the director of photography for "Circle of Dreams," a virtual reality project with the legendary SF-based art collective The Residents.{{Cite web|url=https://www.360filmmaking.com/test-blog-1/2018/12/8/low-light-residents|title="Z CAM V1 camera captures The Residents..." {{!}} 360Filmmaking blog|work=360° FILMMAKING |access-date=2018-12-12}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.oculus.com/experiences/media/2520038088111936/3469967286356999/|title=The Residents present "Circle of Dreams" on OculusTV |access-date=2021-02-20}}

Yost launched the nonprofit WisdomVR Project{{Cite web|url=https://www.wisdomvr.org|title=WisdomVR Project {{!}} website|access-date=2020-12-02}} as a 501(c)(3) with strategic partnership support from Oculus VR and the Long Now Foundation in early 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://creator.oculus.com/community/392401734765539/|title=WisdomVR experiences on OculusTV {{!}} website|access-date=2020-01-01}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.wisdomvr.org|title="WisdomVR Project" {{!}} website|access-date=2019-01-20}} As of September 2019, WisdomVR participants include Ram Dass, Betty Reid Soskin, Gavin de Becker, Peter Coyote, Shelton Johnson, Gaelynn Lea, L. Frank Manriquez, Anna Halprin, Todd Rundgren, Wavy Gravy, Joan Jeanrenaud, Malcolm Margolin, Reuben Heyday Margolin, John Law (artist), Stanislav Grof, Huey Johnson and Pearl E. Gates from Pearl Harbor and the Explosions.

In late 2020 the 501(c)(3) WisdomVR Project launched the stereoscopic 360° documentary Inside COVID19,{{Cite web|url=https://www.insidecovid19vr.com|title=Inside COVID19 {{!}} website|access-date=2020-12-02}} funded by Oculus (brand), which told the story of an American ER doctor who nearly died from the novel coronavirus and featured over 10 minutes of 360° stereoscopic molecular animation designed by Andrew Murdock and created in Autodesk 3ds Max.{{Cite web|url=https://www.oculus.com/blog/inside-covid19-sheds-a-human-light-on-the-global-pandemic-now-available-in-oculus-tv|title=INSIDE COVID19 SHEDS A HUMAN LIGHT ON THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC {{!}} Oculus Blog |access-date=2020-12-02}}{{Cite web|url=https://voicesofvr.com/963-inside-covid-19-a-doctors-personal-battle-with-the-virus-immersive-medical-visualizations/|title=Inside COVID-19: A Doctor's Personal Battle with the Virus + Immersive Medical Visualizations {{!}} Voices of VR podcast with Kent Bye |access-date=2020-12-02}}{{Cite web|url=https://thedailyedge.substack.com/p/61c2c236-f2bd-4faf-8d20-5292b878c227|title=A new VR documentary allows viewers to experience the unfolding pandemic in a powerful, unforgettable and fully immersive way {{!}} Richard Hine's "Unprecedented" Blog |access-date=2021-03-21}}{{Cite web|url=https://area.autodesk.com/life-in-3d/filmmaker-gary-yost-on-using-vr-and-3ds-max-to-tell-stories|title=Filmmaker Gary Yost on Using VR and 3ds Max to Tell Stories {{!}} Autodesk Area Blog |access-date=2021-07-01}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.chaosgroup.com/blog/gary-yost-3ds-max-development-team-leader-wisdomvr-project-founder|title=Gary Yost — 3ds Max Development Team Leader & WisdomVR Project Founder {{!}} Chaos Group CG Garage interview |access-date=2021-07-01}} Alvy Ray Smith, co-founder of Pixar, stated “WisdomVR's 'Inside COVID19' production was excellent and the interviews felt more intimate than normal (hence showing off VR in an unexpected way). The computer graphics were stunning, and the best explanation I’ve seen of COVID at work. It shows what really can be done in this new medium.” and John Carmack, founding CTO of Oculus tweeted "Inside COVID19 is a high production value documentary that just happens to be done in stereo 360, rather than a tentative exploration of a new medium. Things are maturing.” The Inside COVID19 VR documentary was nominated for the 2021 Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Interactive Program category,{{Cite web|url=https://www.emmys.com/shows/inside-covid19/|title=2021 Emmy Awards {{!}} website|access-date=2021-07-14}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.oculus.com/blog/congratulations-to-inside-covid19-and-space-explorers-the-iss-experience-on-their-emmy-nominations/|title=Oculus Blog {{!}} website|access-date=2021-07-15}}{{Cite web|url=https://uploadvr.com/emmy-awards-2021-vr-nominations/|title=2021 UploadVR {{!}} website|date=14 July 2021 |access-date=2021-07-14}} won the Festival of International Virtual & Augmented Reality Stories "People's Choice" award for best immersive video in February 2021, is a 2021 Webby Awards Honoree{{Cite web|url=https://winners.webbyawards.com/winners/virtual-remote?years=0&sort=0/|title=2021 Webby VR {{!}} website|access-date=2021-07-14}} and was selected to be featured in the 2021 SIGGRAPH VR Theater.

Yost released a series of devotional original musical videos dedicated to Mt. Tamalpais entitled “Songs from the Last Place” {{Cite web|url=https://www.marinij.com/2024/09/05/beat-poets-song-mount-tamalpais-sings-gets-new-life-thanks-to-marin-resident/|title=Beat poet's 'Song Mount Tamalpais Sings' gets new life thanks to Marin resident{{!}} website|date=5 September 2024 |access-date=2024-09-14}} in August 2024, inspired by the beat poet Lew Welch’s “The Song Mt. Tamalpais Sings.” The project's foundational video was featured at the Bolinas Film Festival in September 2024.

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{Official website|http://www.garyyost.com/}}
• [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpW23v8xxqWvDxX2eSm2Dfa3Ki6D9iD1B Songs from the Last Place, Youtube]
• [https://vimeo.com/showcase/11242586 Songs from the Last Place, Vimeo]
• [https://vimeo.com/garyyost Vimeo channel]
• [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbVljAgOpxgz9kY7tdNZOaQ Youtube channel]
• [http://www.wisdomvr.org WisdomVR website]
• [http://www.insidecovid19vr.com "Inside COVID19" VR film website]
• [http://www.fijisings.com Fijian music and dance culture]
• [http://millvalley.pastperfectonline.com/archive/B9835536-0BD9-4D3D-B849-227989878125 Mill Valley Public Library Oral History Project interview with Gary Yost (02:10:25)]

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Category:1959 births

Category:21st-century American photographers

Category:Software design

Category:Living people

Category:People from Bergen County, New Jersey