Paul Montgomery
Encyclopedia
Joseph Paul Montgomery was an American
entrepreneur
and inventor. In the mid 1980s, he was among the first to see the potential of personal computer technology in the field of video production and 3D animation. As Vice President of NewTek
and Co-Founder and President of Play, Inc., Montgomery drove the creation of the first widely-successful digital video products, including the Emmy-award winning Video Toaster
and the Snappy Video Snapshot.
In the 1996 book, The Age of Videography, Montgomery was cited as one of the 25 most influential people in the history of videography. Montgomery received a Primetime Emmy award for his personal contributions in creating the Video Toaster
. He is listed as an inventor on U.S. patents 6,380,950 and 6,941,517 regarding low-bandwidth television.
. In 1985, the Amiga computer featured graphics, audio and multi-tasking capabilities greater than other personal computers of its time, making it a suitable platform for early 3D animation, video production and audio production products.
Montgomery first came to the fore in the Amiga community as a founder of the First Amiga User Group (FAUG, pronounced "fog") in California's Silicon Valley
. FAUG meetings often featured the hardware and software engineers responsible for the creation of the Amiga, since the Amiga Corporation
headquarters was in nearby Santa Clara, California. During this time, Montgomery worked for Trip Hawkins
at video game pioneer Electronic Arts
as product manager. Montgomery later credited Hawkins' experience at Apple with the Steve Jobs
-like product and marketing strategy Montgomery used at both NewTek and Play. Montgomery met hardware engineer Brad Carvey
in a computer store, and upon viewing a demonstration of inventor Tim Jenison's early Amiga experiments, arranged for Carvey and Jenison to meet.
computer rather than the Amiga, Montgomery left and moved to Topeka, Kansas to help Jenison build NewTek. At that time, Jenison, Carvey and others were developing a Video Black Box for the Amiga capable of real-time video effects.
Under Jenison and Montgomery's leadership, this Video Black Box evolved into the Video Toaster. Billed as the "television studio in-a-box", the product combined the traditionally separate, dedicated pieces of traditional video production hardware into a single, relatively inexpensive add-on for the Amiga. It included a real-time video switcher, real-time video efforts, luma-keyer, character generator, still store, paint software and the Lightwave 3D animation software. The Video Toaster altered the video production industry by proving a personal computer could make high-quality television visuals at a low price point.
Montgomery brought fellow FAUG members Allen Hastings and Stuart Ferguson to NewTek to create Lightwave. Borrowing a slogan from Apple Inc., NewTek was aggressive in promoting Lightwave as the 3D animation software "for the rest of us". Lightwave was inexpensive and ran on the Amiga personal computer, while its competition at the time was expensive and ran on dedicated Silicon Graphics workstations. Lightwave was used to create animation and special effects for many television and feature films including Babylon 5
, Star Trek
and Titanic.
The NewTek team was featured in USA Today
, Time
, Newsweek
, Forbes
and Fortune
as well as being dubbed "revolutionaries" by Tom Brokaw
on NBC Nightly News
and featured as "the bad boys of video" in Rolling Stone Magazine. In 1993, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
awarded Montgomery and the other inventors of the Video Toaster a Primetime Emmy award. That same year, Fortune estimated the privately held company's sales at US$25 million.
In 1994, Montgomery and Jension split. Montgomery left, taking most of NewTek's programmers and some top marketing staff with him. After several months, the group founded Play Incorporated together with Amiga software leader Digital Creations and video hardware developer Progressive Image Technologies, and focused their efforts on the Microsoft Windows platform.
Play's first product, the Snappy Video Snapshot, was released in April 1995. Snappy was a still-image digitizer which could take video input from a VCR, camcorder, TV or any video source, and capture true-color (24-bit) high-quality digital still images. Snappy was the first mainstream video input device for Windows personal computers, with Play selling over US$25 million of Snappy in its first year. Byte Magazine awarded Snappy its Technical Excellence award in December 1995, stating "Every once in a while, we see a product so impressive, it makes us rethink an entire category. That was certainly the case with Play Inc.'s Snappy."
Play's next consumer-oriented product was Gizmos, a suite of utilites, games and multimedia software for Windows personal computers. PC Magazine said Gizmos was one of the "Best Products of 1998".
Play created Trinity as the next-generation Video Toaster for the Windows personal computer platform. Trinity included real-time 3D video effects, digital component video switcher, chroma-keyer, still and video clip store, character generator, paint system, and non-linear video editor. After several delays, Trinity shipped in August 1998 to wide critical acclaim. To many in the industry, Trinity became the logical successor to the Video Toaster. Play also acquired 3D animation software developer Electric Image in November 1998. Electric Image animation system was re-launched for both Mac and Windows platforms as Electric Image Universe.
Play also launched 'Play TV', an online network of shows broadcast from Play headquarters, the San Francisco Bay Area and as far away as Revelstoke B.C. and streamed over the internet. The network was the first live internet TV network and an early precursor to the internet video revolution.
, Herbie Hancock
, Penn and Teller, U2
and Oingo Boingo
. Montgomery's leadership and marketing skills helped NewTek and Play obtain major national press attention for its products, including feature stories on NBC
Nightly News and an article in Rolling Stone Magazine. He was the self-proclaimed P.T. Barnum of NewTek.
, who briefly moved to Topeka to work for NewTek, called Montgomery "the soul of NewTek and the soul of Play" in his book Just a Geek. NewTek employees were often spotted roller blading, playing laser tag, video games and working long hours.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and inventor. In the mid 1980s, he was among the first to see the potential of personal computer technology in the field of video production and 3D animation. As Vice President of NewTek
NewTek
NewTek, Inc. is a San Antonio, Texas-based hardware and software company that produces live and post-production video tools and visual imaging software for personal computers...
and Co-Founder and President of Play, Inc., Montgomery drove the creation of the first widely-successful digital video products, including the Emmy-award winning Video Toaster
Video Toaster
The NewTek Video Toaster is a combination of hardware and software for the editing and production of standard-definition and high-definition video in NTSC, PAL, and resolution independent formats on Commodore Amiga computers and subsequently on computers running the Windows operating system...
and the Snappy Video Snapshot.
In the 1996 book, The Age of Videography, Montgomery was cited as one of the 25 most influential people in the history of videography. Montgomery received a Primetime Emmy award for his personal contributions in creating the Video Toaster
Video Toaster
The NewTek Video Toaster is a combination of hardware and software for the editing and production of standard-definition and high-definition video in NTSC, PAL, and resolution independent formats on Commodore Amiga computers and subsequently on computers running the Windows operating system...
. He is listed as an inventor on U.S. patents 6,380,950 and 6,941,517 regarding low-bandwidth television.
Beginnings of Desktop Video
Although Montgomery started his career in real estate and artist promotion, in the early 1980s he became enamored by technology and personal computers, in particular with the Commodore AmigaAmiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
. In 1985, the Amiga computer featured graphics, audio and multi-tasking capabilities greater than other personal computers of its time, making it a suitable platform for early 3D animation, video production and audio production products.
Montgomery first came to the fore in the Amiga community as a founder of the First Amiga User Group (FAUG, pronounced "fog") in California's Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
. FAUG meetings often featured the hardware and software engineers responsible for the creation of the Amiga, since the Amiga Corporation
Amiga Corporation
Amiga Corporation was a United States computer company formed in the early 1980s as Hi-Toro. It is most famous for having developed the Amiga computer, code named Lorraine.-History:...
headquarters was in nearby Santa Clara, California. During this time, Montgomery worked for Trip Hawkins
Trip Hawkins
William M. 'Trip' Hawkins III is a Silicon Valley American entrepreneur and founder of Electronic Arts, The 3DO Company and Digital Chocolate....
at video game pioneer Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
as product manager. Montgomery later credited Hawkins' experience at Apple with the Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
-like product and marketing strategy Montgomery used at both NewTek and Play. Montgomery met hardware engineer Brad Carvey
Brad Carvey
Bradley William "Brad" Carvey is an American engineer best known as the builder of the first wire-wrapped Video Toaster, a system used in the production and editing of movie and television video...
in a computer store, and upon viewing a demonstration of inventor Tim Jenison's early Amiga experiments, arranged for Carvey and Jenison to meet.
NewTek
When Electronic Arts decided to focus product development efforts on the Apple IIGSApple IIGS
The Apple , the fifth and most powerful model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The "GS" in the name stands for Graphics and Sound, referring to its enhanced graphics and sound capabilities, both of which greatly surpassed previous models of the line...
computer rather than the Amiga, Montgomery left and moved to Topeka, Kansas to help Jenison build NewTek. At that time, Jenison, Carvey and others were developing a Video Black Box for the Amiga capable of real-time video effects.
Under Jenison and Montgomery's leadership, this Video Black Box evolved into the Video Toaster. Billed as the "television studio in-a-box", the product combined the traditionally separate, dedicated pieces of traditional video production hardware into a single, relatively inexpensive add-on for the Amiga. It included a real-time video switcher, real-time video efforts, luma-keyer, character generator, still store, paint software and the Lightwave 3D animation software. The Video Toaster altered the video production industry by proving a personal computer could make high-quality television visuals at a low price point.
Montgomery brought fellow FAUG members Allen Hastings and Stuart Ferguson to NewTek to create Lightwave. Borrowing a slogan from Apple Inc., NewTek was aggressive in promoting Lightwave as the 3D animation software "for the rest of us". Lightwave was inexpensive and ran on the Amiga personal computer, while its competition at the time was expensive and ran on dedicated Silicon Graphics workstations. Lightwave was used to create animation and special effects for many television and feature films including Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
, Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
and Titanic.
The NewTek team was featured in USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
and Fortune
Fortune (magazine)
Fortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc. Founded by Henry Luce in 1930, the publishing business, consisting of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, grew to become Time Warner. In turn, AOL grew as it acquired Time Warner in 2000 when Time Warner was the world's largest...
as well as being dubbed "revolutionaries" by Tom Brokaw
Tom Brokaw
Thomas John "Tom" Brokaw is an American television journalist and author best known as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004. He is the author of The Greatest Generation and other books and the recipient of numerous awards and honors...
on NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News and broadcasts. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is located in the center...
and featured as "the bad boys of video" in Rolling Stone Magazine. In 1993, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences or NATAS was created in 1955 to advance the arts and sciences of television. Headquartered in New York, NATAS's membership is national and the organization has local chapters around the country....
awarded Montgomery and the other inventors of the Video Toaster a Primetime Emmy award. That same year, Fortune estimated the privately held company's sales at US$25 million.
Play Inc.
Tensions began to rise at NewTek between Jenison and Montgomery over technical, marketing and personal issues. Commodore's business was failing, the Amiga platform was at risk, and Jenison was slow to accept a new strategy.In 1994, Montgomery and Jension split. Montgomery left, taking most of NewTek's programmers and some top marketing staff with him. After several months, the group founded Play Incorporated together with Amiga software leader Digital Creations and video hardware developer Progressive Image Technologies, and focused their efforts on the Microsoft Windows platform.
Play's first product, the Snappy Video Snapshot, was released in April 1995. Snappy was a still-image digitizer which could take video input from a VCR, camcorder, TV or any video source, and capture true-color (24-bit) high-quality digital still images. Snappy was the first mainstream video input device for Windows personal computers, with Play selling over US$25 million of Snappy in its first year. Byte Magazine awarded Snappy its Technical Excellence award in December 1995, stating "Every once in a while, we see a product so impressive, it makes us rethink an entire category. That was certainly the case with Play Inc.'s Snappy."
Play's next consumer-oriented product was Gizmos, a suite of utilites, games and multimedia software for Windows personal computers. PC Magazine said Gizmos was one of the "Best Products of 1998".
Play created Trinity as the next-generation Video Toaster for the Windows personal computer platform. Trinity included real-time 3D video effects, digital component video switcher, chroma-keyer, still and video clip store, character generator, paint system, and non-linear video editor. After several delays, Trinity shipped in August 1998 to wide critical acclaim. To many in the industry, Trinity became the logical successor to the Video Toaster. Play also acquired 3D animation software developer Electric Image in November 1998. Electric Image animation system was re-launched for both Mac and Windows platforms as Electric Image Universe.
Play also launched 'Play TV', an online network of shows broadcast from Play headquarters, the San Francisco Bay Area and as far away as Revelstoke B.C. and streamed over the internet. The network was the first live internet TV network and an early precursor to the internet video revolution.
Management Style
Montgomery's enthusiasm for technology and people helped both NewTek and Play develop a passionate customer base, including high-profile celebrity users. Early users of the Video Toaster included Todd RundgrenTodd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...
, Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
, Penn and Teller, U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
and Oingo Boingo
Oingo Boingo
Oingo Boingo was an American new wave band. They are best known for their influence on other musicians, their soundtrack contributions and their high energy Halloween concerts. The band was founded in 1972 as The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, a performance art group...
. Montgomery's leadership and marketing skills helped NewTek and Play obtain major national press attention for its products, including feature stories on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
Nightly News and an article in Rolling Stone Magazine. He was the self-proclaimed P.T. Barnum of NewTek.
Company Culture
NewTek and Play both contained employees passionate about Montgomery and the products they created. Wil WheatonWil Wheaton
Richard William "Wil" Wheaton III is an American actor and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Gordie Lachance in the film Stand by Me and Joey Trotta in Toy Soldiers...
, who briefly moved to Topeka to work for NewTek, called Montgomery "the soul of NewTek and the soul of Play" in his book Just a Geek. NewTek employees were often spotted roller blading, playing laser tag, video games and working long hours.