Biography
Tim Jenison founded Texas-based computer software and hardware producer NewTek, specializing in tools for the gathering and editing of desktop video media. Following the formation of the company in Topeka, Kansas, alongside the late Paul Montgomery, NewTek went on to become renowned for the creation of the Commodore Amiga video tools DigiView and DigiPaint, which were highly popular applications at the time. Jenison later appeared as the subject of the feature documentary "Tim's Vermeer" (2014), about his efforts to digitally recreate the painting technique of the Dutch baroque painter Johannes Vermeer. In his early life, Jenison took inspiration from his electrical engineer father, and a lot of his own early work came as a result of his obsession with music; as a youth he played in rock bands, although his main love was customizing and improving their instruments and studio equipment. Among his successes with NewTek were the Video Toaster for the Amiga and later Windows, a product which won the 1993 Emmy Award for Technical Achievement, and latterly animation system LightWave 3D, live broadcast system TriCaster, and slow motion replay system 3PLAY. A casual art fan himself, Jenison was inspired by the writings of artist David Hockney and art historian Philip Steadman to see whether rumoured primitive photographic techniques in Vermeer's paintings were possible. "Tim's Vermeer," directed by magician Teller and featuring his partner, Jenison's friend Penn Jillette, documented his artistic process. The film earned an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature in 2014.
