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Addendum Issue 012
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Addendum Issue# 12 - 13th March 2002
URL: http://www.adden.tr.cx/
Author : Steak, at least it looks like me...
===================== CGI: Computer Generated Idiots =======================
Computer generated imagery or CGI for short is the relatively new buzzword
of the decade. It enables you to create wonderfully complex and intricate
detailed images on the screen, images that further enhance the story line
and add to the narrative edge
All that taken into account they still can't make it look real. Any time I
see any computer generated picture I can instantly tell the difference
between that so picture and a real life one.
If you were to ask me I would tell you that I feel that computer generated
imaging is no substitute for the "real thing" I realise that sometimes
there are some things that cannot be done in reality such as the close
up plane crash in Jurassic park three, or the close up of the grapiling
hook in the enterprise 'broken bow' pilot episode
however some shows or movies feel that they need to use CGI wherever possible
did you know that they have not created an actual model of the enterprise
for the new star trek series? It is all totally CGI. And it looks so fake,
granted we can have nice close up shots of phasers charging and cool
stuff like that, but for the actual long shots we have to look at CGI.
If you look at the next generation episodes and watch any space shots it all
looks much more realistic than anything in the later voyager and early
enterprise episodes. That I think is why the earlier episodes of
next gen and voy contain a feeling of reality and not fantasy
We have actually gotten to the point now where we believe so much that our
CG is flawless that we create entire movies out of it just to be on the
"cutting edge" we are no where near advanced enough yet to be able to
do this kind of thing, give it ten years or do maybe, but not now.
Alien Resurrection was slightly better, it used puppets for close up shots
and for scenes where the creature was moving it used CGI that is how it
should be done, Things that are close ups and scenes that contain things
that just cannot possibly be done should be CGI while most stuff should
use men-in-suits, models and puppets. Actually filming something for
real, now anyway is much better than creating it in a computer
And I just want to add here that I do believe that the man-in-suit version
of the aliens in the first and second alien films looked a lot more
realistic than anything that the fourth film conjured up in there
over-hyped apple Macs
I also believe that if they choose to make another predator movie they
will opt for a computer animated yuitja which in my opinion will
be an absolute sacrilege, if you watch the first two, the creature is
very convincing almost to the point of complete believability, there
is no man-in suit feeling there. You believe that what you are seeing
is actually an intergalactic hunter that is systematicley killing its
armed prey for trophies and its damned scary. its a tribute to the
creative work at the Stan Winston studios and to the man himself. If
we resort to computer generated images for anything and everything
that I feel that we will lose the creativeness that these people
posses, the same way that we have lost the ability to write long
novels in beautiful calligraphy or calve monster size cathedrals out
of stone as we used to in the past.
If anybody from the movie business reads this then I plead for you
to not to over use CGI just for the pleasure of putting "Amazing
Visual Effects" on the film poster.
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Addendum Issue# 12 - 13th March 2002
(C) Steak March 2002
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