Is cgi ruining films?

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Kuala BangoDango

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Mar 19, 2009
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Bad CGI may have detracted from some movies for me, but so far has never actually RUINED a movie for me. It might be because if I know the CGI is gonna be bad I tend to avoid that movie (like I may do with G.I. Joe after watching the preview).

Now the bad CGI in those made-for-tv SciFi shows definitely ruins the show, even when the story might actually be semi-interesting. I guess CGI CAN be done too cheaply.

As others have said, CGI makes possible a lot of movies that would probably never be made due to real life limitations, ex. LotR, Transformers, etc. And while I do kinda miss the old school animated movies I do admit that I like the all CGI animated movies (Shrek just wouldn't be Shrek if he were an old-style cartoon).

What DOES tend to ruin a movie for me is the way a lot of movie-makers are skimping out on good action sequences by simply doing the new-style "zoom in on the action and shake the camera showing only half-second shots of everything". Trying to force me into a sense of excitement by showing split-second angle shots of the action only ends up making me confused as to what's supposed to be happening. This is why I hated Cloverfield (and other "Hey I'm using a camcorder through the whole movie" movies) and was also one of the only negatives I had with the new Star Trek movie.
 

Uncompetative

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Jul 2, 2008
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fedpayne said:
Uncompetative said:
Without CGI they could not have made the ultimate movie, which manages to combine:

- high school romance
- family comedy including a cute dog
- kung-fu
- the President of the United States
- car chases
- the U.S. Military
- cybercrime
- alien invasion
- Arctic exploration
- killer robots
- mysterious "Men in Black"
- breakdancing
- Musical numbers*

With visuals so pervasive and convincing that I totally forgot that I was watching CGI after the first ten minutes.



*Note: Bumblebee communicates through excerpts of songs on the radio.
I guess I can hope this was all sarcasm. Alright alright, the CGI in that film is great, pretty damn good, but it is the hollow, emotionless CGI of Michael Bay wanking off in my face for two hours. It is not the CGI that makes it bad - it is just a bad film

CGI is still kinda new, it can be done well, it can be done badly. At time of writing it does age worse than well made models, but as people have been quick to point out it can be done well, and it can be done badly.

Would you rather have this shit [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyophYBP_w4] than this? [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saGaBJMqQo8]. Not that Children of Men is that great, but it looks fantastic.
I was being quite sincere when I said that I thought that Transformers was the Ultimate movie. Sure, not the best film ever, or the finest work of Cinema, but 'Ultimate' in the specific category of crowd-pleasing, popcorn-eating, box-office grossing, merchandising 'Movie'.
 

fedpayne

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Sep 4, 2008
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Uncompetative said:
fedpayne said:
Uncompetative said:
Without CGI they could not have made the ultimate movie, which manages to combine:

- high school romance
- family comedy including a cute dog
- kung-fu
- the President of the United States
- car chases
- the U.S. Military
- cybercrime
- alien invasion
- Arctic exploration
- killer robots
- mysterious "Men in Black"
- breakdancing
- Musical numbers*

With visuals so pervasive and convincing that I totally forgot that I was watching CGI after the first ten minutes.



*Note: Bumblebee communicates through excerpts of songs on the radio.
I guess I can hope this was all sarcasm. Alright alright, the CGI in that film is great, pretty damn good, but it is the hollow, emotionless CGI of Michael Bay wanking off in my face for two hours. It is not the CGI that makes it bad - it is just a bad film

CGI is still kinda new, it can be done well, it can be done badly. At time of writing it does age worse than well made models, but as people have been quick to point out it can be done well, and it can be done badly.

Would you rather have this shit [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyophYBP_w4] than this? [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saGaBJMqQo8]. Not that Children of Men is that great, but it looks fantastic.
I was being quite sincere when I said that I thought that Transformers was the Ultimate movie. Sure, not the best film ever, or the finest work of Cinema, but 'Ultimate' in the specific category of crowd-pleasing, popcorn-eating, box-office grossing, merchandising 'Movie'.
Crowd pleasing? Didn't please me, although it did please some people I know I guess. Agree to disagree? Also, I bet I could make a bad film incorporating all the elements you discussed.

Also, I watched Starship Troopers earlier. Not bad special effects, considering that it's CGI from over a decade ago. Some of it looks pretty solid.
 

Utarefson

Senior Member
Apr 15, 2009
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Always remember this:
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2746482969/
I clearly prefer bad cgi over that.