Louis (Bo) Gehring began work at Magi in 1972, starting the Synthavision division with Bob Goldstein. While there, Bo created several CG tests for Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, before the idea was dropped in favor of Doug Trumbull's traditional miniature and practical effects approach. Instead of returning to NY and Magi, Bo stayed in LA and originally formed his company as Gehring Aviation in 1977. Based on his experience with computer controlled machine tools, he sought to capitalize on the new need for computer driven motion control cameras for visual effects work.