metalrahul

"I made this film in 1979-80 to accompany a SIGGRAPH paper on how to synthesize fractal geometry with a computer. It is the world's first fractal movie. It utilizes 8-10 different fractal generating algorithms. I used an antialiased version of this software to create the fractal planet in the Genesis Sequence of Star Trek 2, the Wrath of Khan. These frames were computed on a VAX-11/780 at about 20-40 minutes each."

Loren Carpenter

I think this is one of the most commonly used algorithm in 2D and 3D computer graphics today. To know more about its humble beginnings, read Act II of Micheal Rubin's book driodMaker.