To be fair, who’s watching Death on the Nile for the special effects? The only thing the film wants you to remember about the pyramid shot is that the kite guy’s coat is red. It was fine.
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“I believe CGI is getting worse even as the tech advances.”
31–40 of 47 posts
Re: “I believe CGI is getting worse even as the tech advances.”
#32CGI is like Squarespace: beautiful, powerful technology commoditized into the hands of fools.
Re: “I believe CGI is getting worse even as the tech advances.”
#33Disagree. CGI is getting "easier" in the sense that even low budget films can do things that used to only be reserved for large budgets. And there's so much CGI in use that you don't notice these days because it's so seamless / not the center of attention (e.g. check out this before/after about Wolf of Wall Street: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP2sJqoZD7g ). But at the end of the day, you still need good direction…
> Dune
Worth checking out interviews with the (now Oscar® winning) cinematographer Greig Fraser.
The scene with the Sardaukar floating down into the abandoned science station was supposedly one of the more challenging shots:
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8228w-XzV4
They could only shoot the scene between 10:31 and 10:53 so that the shadow is in the exact place that they wanted it. It was all natural lighting (the sun) because artificial lights (HMI) couldn't give them the look that they wanted.
Re: “I believe CGI is getting worse even as the tech advances.”
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think you can see a similar effect in the music industry. Technology has practically eliminated the barrier to entry for recording. On top of that, sales are down, recording budgets are slashed. Why spend valuable studio time tweaking amp settings and mic positioning when you can record direct and scroll through a list of plugins - or so the logic goes.
To be frank, "tweaking amp settings and mic positioning" was never a requisite for good music. Just an obsession, inspired by the Beatles and later bands "use the studio as an instrument", that often worked to the detriment of traditional musical skills, and is part of what turned the focus from songwriting to production, that enabled today's "just scroll through presets".
"It don't take me no three days to record no album." — John Lee Hooker
Re: “I believe CGI is getting worse even as the tech advances.”
#35Maybe it is exactly this:
"Begin by learning to draw and paint like the old masters. After that, you can do as you like; everyone will respect you." - Salvador Dali
What Dali was likely referring to was the difficult photo-realistic techniques of the great masters, combining perspective, detail and understanding of shadow, light, color, texture, refraction, and everything else.
The computer-graphics-in-movies industry proved itself by mastering photo-realism, and so now nobody questions whatever it does.
Re: “I believe CGI is getting worse even as the tech advances.”
#36Disagree. CGI is getting "easier" in the sense that even low budget films can do things that used to only be reserved for large budgets. And there's so much CGI in use that you don't notice these days because it's so seamless / not the center of attention (e.g. check out this before/after about Wolf of Wall Street: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP2sJqoZD7g ). But at the end of the day, you still need good direction…
> Dune Worth checking out interviews with the (now Oscar® winning) cinematographer Greig Fraser. The scene with the Sardaukar floating down into the abandoned science station was supposedly one of the more challenging shots: * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8228w-XzV4 They could only shoot the scene between 10:31 and 10:53 so that the shadow is in the exact place that they wanted it. It was all natural lighting (th…
Timestamp?
Re: “I believe CGI is getting worse even as the tech advances.”
#37Maybe it is exactly this: "Begin by learning to draw and paint like the old masters. After that, you can do as you like; everyone will respect you." - Salvador Dali What Dali was likely referring to was the difficult photo-realistic techniques of the great masters, combining perspective, detail and understanding of shadow, light, color, texture, refraction, and everything else. The computer-graphics-in-movies industr…
The interesting thing about old paintings is that they are not “photorealistic”. They don’t replicate photos, as they weren’t invented yet. They paint reality, as seen by the naked eye.
When seeing some of the portraits of the great masters in a museum, at real scale, with your own eyes, the effect is profound, as you perceive that it works in a very different way than a photography.
Re: “I believe CGI is getting worse even as the tech advances.”
#38Disagree. CGI is getting "easier" in the sense that even low budget films can do things that used to only be reserved for large budgets. And there's so much CGI in use that you don't notice these days because it's so seamless / not the center of attention (e.g. check out this before/after about Wolf of Wall Street: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP2sJqoZD7g ). But at the end of the day, you still need good direction…
> Disagree. CGI is getting "easier" in the sense that even low budget films can do things that used to only be reserved for large budgets (...) But at the end of the day, you still need good direction and editing What you disagree with? Because that's exactly what the OP said: “I believe CGI is getting worse even as the tech advances.” (the tech being CGI tech, and the first reference to CGI meaning "CGI as applied b…
There's definitely an angle of "actually this unrealistic treatment is director's intent", but it's hard to know on the basis of one out-of-context clip.
The live action Speed Racer film also got blasted at release for overuse of "cheesy" techniques that mimic the cartoon source material rather closely. It's become a cult classic, though.
A lot of this is predominant tastes preempting the discussion. American pop culture has focused for quite some time on achieving high detail and realism in photographic treatments, so when the trend is bucked for any reason it gets dinged as being not serious.
I kind of like the "90's FMV game" look to it, myself. Though it probably won't make me watch the film.
Re: “I believe CGI is getting worse even as the tech advances.”
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Disagree. CGI is getting "easier" in the sense that even low budget films can do things that used to only be reserved for large budgets (...) But at the end of the day, you still need good direction and editing What you disagree with? Because that's exactly what the OP said: “I believe CGI is getting worse even as the tech advances.” (the tech being CGI tech, and the first reference to CGI meaning "CGI as applied b…
There's definitely an angle of "actually this unrealistic treatment is director's intent", but it's hard to know on the basis of one out-of-context clip. The live action Speed Racer film also got blasted at release for overuse of "cheesy" techniques that mimic the cartoon source material rather closely. It's become a cult classic, though. A lot of this is predominant tastes preempting the discussion. American pop cul…
Near the end of Speed Racer is maybe the best use of CGI I've ever seen, and it has nothing to do with trying to be realistic.
The movie is worth it just for that part, which I rewatch every couple of months on its own.
Re: “I believe CGI is getting worse even as the tech advances.”
#40If the barrier to entry to CGI use lowers, for a given new production lack of artistic skill and experience (not necessarily incompetence, failing to predict challenges and not having the budget to do a good job is enough) can vastly offset superior technology.