Digital Productions, a small but influential force...

Digital Productions, a small but influential force in the field of computer-based special effects for motion pictures, has elected a former Control Data Corp. executive as its new chairman.

James E. Davis’ arrival at Los Angeles-based Digital Productions is part of a deal struck last September with Control Data, said Alan Markizon, senior vice president, chief financial officer and counsel at Digital. Under terms of the agreement, Minneapolis-based Control Data became a co-guarantor of Digital’s expanded $10-million line of credit and in return was given the option of purchasing an undisclosed interest in the company and the right to name a chairman, he said.

“We had known Davis here for some period of time, and we’d wanted him to be that person,” Markizon said. He added that Davis has left Control Data and “has come here as a full-time executive employee . . . They haven’t lent him to us.”

Davis’ arrival also signals a move to introduce Digital’s expertise outside the entertainment field. The Los Angeles-based company has pioneered the use of ultra-high-resolution, three-dimensional computer graphics in movies and advertising with the help of a so-called supercomputer--a Cray X-MP, considered to be one of the most powerful computers ever developed. Digital’s film credits include “2010” and “The Last Starfighter,” and it has produced commercials for Sony, American Airlines and General Motors, among others.

Davis, 50, a 22-year Control Data employee, was not available for comment Friday. In a prepared statement, however, he noted that Digital has reached “total acceptability” in entertainment and advertising and that the next step “is to show that the leading edge of graphics technology . . . also can be used in manufacturing industries.”

“Digital is the only producer of graphics with a super computer,” Davis said. “This gives it a tremendous lead, not only in the arts but in the scientific, manufacturing and engineering arenas. I find that exciting.”

In fact, the day after Digital Productions announced the election of Davis last week, it announced that it will begin licensing its software and providing consulting services and computer time “for the scientific, engineering and manufacturing communities.”

Co-founders John Whitney Jr., 38, and Gary Demos, 34, will remain president and executive vice president, respectively. The company, which is privately held, expects sales in excess of $10 million this year, Markizon said.