Animusic is arguably one of the most sophisticated computer-generated animations out right now, certainly one of the most sophisticated produced outside of Hollywood. The rhythmic robots, sometimes seen on PBS, are instead born out of a mothership-looking facility, in Ithaca, NY.

“It's computer animation combined with digital music,” said Wayne Lytle of Animusic. “What really makes our stuff different than the typical animation you see out there is our characters, instead of telling a story, they're playing a piece of music. So instead of dialogue, their hands or little moving parts are playing music.”

While the final product is fascinating enough, what you may find even more interesting is that it's all done by just two guys, Lytle and his partner Dave Crognale, who not only create all the animations, produce all the music, but they even develop much of the computer software that makes it all happen.

Animusic takes computer animation well into future

It's what musical performances of the future will look like if you were to maybe ask George Orwell or just about any 12-year-old.

Despite having at their disposal around two dozen computers and seemingly every piece of high-tech musical equipment known to man, the duo says it still takes at least four to five months for a single performance. The first two DVDs are comprised of about eight each.

“We can start an animation from any number of angles,” said Lytle. “You could start literally writing all the music first and then deciding what the instruments look like. We've done that before. We could actually design a whole instrument without figuring out any music for it to play until it's done and we've done that as well, or the ideal way to do it is where you're co-developing the music and the instruments together.”

The duo is currently working on DVD number three, but they won't put the added pressure on themselves of discussing when it will be complete.