The state of modern special effects

[LordKaruku]

The revolution that began in 1989 with Willow and The Abyss came to a crest ten years later with The Phantom Menace. Computer graphics has now completely taken over the special effects world, with many directors praising the freedom it gives them to explore fantastic worlds in ways that weren't possible with traditional techniques. But CGI catches a lot of flack for overuse or shoddy work. Nearly every sci-fi or action movie released nowadays gets complaints about the "bad special effects." Interestingly enough, effects that some say are laughably bad can be seen as photorealistic by others. (Gladiator is a case in point.) CGI can look photorealistic (see the first half of Contact-- and if you just said "What CGI?" then my point is made) but can look terribly out of place just as often.

Will CGI keep getting better, or will special effects always look fake? Is "looking fake" simply a psychological consequence of knowing the images you're viewing aren't real? What do you think will be possible in 2010 and beyond that can't be done now? Discuss. http://www.joblo.com/ubb/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by LordKaruku (edited 12-10-2001).]

[This message has been edited by LordKaruku (edited 12-10-2001).]

[Ender]

Basically, it's just a matter of an audience becoming "smart" to CGI tricks. Ten years ago, no one even knew what CGI stood for ("What the hell do computers have to do with movies?!"). Now, 90% of the audience can pick out a computer effect in the first viewing. The more we see it, the better we get at recognizing it, and as such, we become more jaded.

[LordKaruku]

So do you think that this trend will continue, or will CGI keep getting better until people start being impressed by it again?

[Cyclonus]

Hopefully it will improve! Right now I don't think they've worked out all the bugs yet!

[ak]

I see CGI like I see drugs. The more you get a certain drug, the more your body will build up an immune to it. The same applies to CGI. We've seen so much of it over the years that it's simply only stunning, or jaw dropping when we see something truly special. Ironically, special effects are hardly special in many a film.

Will they get better? Of course.

How much better? Well, realism is the only boundary, what next after true realism? Well, one thing is making people believe in things that aren't realistic, more so than what we've had before.
The Human is notoriously difficult to create through CGI, it's just not possible at the moment, I think this is the true holy grail of CGI, and once it's done, well, no one knows what's after that....

[FeverDog420]

CGI effects look real, but they feel fake; the organic quality of handmade craftsmanship is missing. Give me special effects made with care by an artist with a keen attention to detail. I'd hate to see what a special effects movie like, say, Little Shop of Horrors would look like created on a computer.