The Abyss

In 1989 James Cameron's underwater action movie The Abyss was released. This was the first cinema movie to include photo-realistic CGI integrated seamlessly into live-action scenes. A five-minute sequence featuring an animated tentacle or "pseudopod" was created by ILM, who designed a program to produce surface waves of differing sizes and kinetic properties for the pseudopod, including reflection, refraction, and a morphing sequence. Although short, this successful blend of CGI and live-action is widely considered a milestone in setting the direction for further future development in the field.