AWR3/4MI
Film Studies
8Gr8 CGI Movie Moments
Tron
Why watch it?
Although the original Tron didn't do particularly well at the box office thanks to competition from Blade Runner and ET, there's no denying the film was a turning point in the use of visual effects and CGI movie history. It may not have aged well but the production of Tron marked the first time that computer-generated imagery had been extensively used in a feature film.
Interestingly, Tron was disqualified from competition for 1982's Visual Effects Oscar because computer aided effects were considered cheating.
Jurassic Park
Why watch it?
Because it's potentially the biggest, most eagerly awaited reveal shot in cinematic history. To tackle the task of creating dinosaurs, Industrial Light and Magic scanned in chunks of a model brachiosaurus to create patch meshes, then used software developed for Terminator 2, to create an overall mesh.Finally, a Dinosaur Input Devicewas developed just like a stop-motion armature, this rig translated movement into keyframes, enabling the stop-motion artists to transfer their well-honed skills into the digital realm.
The Matrix
Why watch it?
Not only is this film one of the greatest sci-fi creations, this particular scene has become renowned for its use of special effects within the entire film industry. The 'bullet-time' special effect is a time rendered simulation that creates variable speed to show objects such as flying bullets in slow motion.
The method used for creating this effect involved a technically expanded version of an old art photography technique known as time-slice photography, in which a large number of cameras are placed around an object and triggered nearly simultaneously. When the sequence of shots is viewed, the viewer sees what are in effect two-dimensional 'slices' of a three-dimensional moment. It's no wonder then, that the team went on to win an Academy award for their efforts.
Gladiator
Why watch it?
Rome wasn't built in a day and neither were the academy award nominated special effects created for this epic Roman tale. The Visual Effects Supervisor was quotedas saying that "it was always our concept to treat the Colosseum like it was the Super Bowl, in that you're going out on the field with the players and you have 40,000 people screaming for your head".
A model of the colosseum was about one storey high and didn't even complete the full circle. To recreate the 3D colosseum, Nelson and his team used the blueprints and added a further two storeys, a roof, the outside wall, the back end of the colosseum and of course, the crowds. They photographed the textures, the patina and stucco used on the actual colosseum and then added those textures to the CGI movie version. The 540-degree camera shot in the film really shows off their skill.
Inception
Why watch it?
Inception is a surreal story about dreams within dreams that keeps the audience awake with its truly masterful VFX. When architect Ariadne starts to "mess with the physics of it all" within her own dreamscape, she casually folds up Paris in one of the film's most complicated and impressive sequences.
To achieve the intricate effect, the Double Negative team spent two weeks taking thousands of stills and working from millimetre-accurate scans to replicate a photorealistic model of four Parisian apartment blocks. Digital cars and people were also added to the upended cityscape and using a specialized mapping technique developed for the movie. The team also had to devise a series of cheats to fully achieve the shots needed, including hiding intersecting buildings behind other geometry and a set of careful camera moves.
Labyrinth
Why watch it?
Although it may not be the most impressive effect today, back in 1986 this digital owl made quite a stir among cinema goers. It was the very first attempt at creating a realistic looking CGI animal. Although Jim Henson is more widely known for his puppetry skills (which were put to good use in the film), he managed to help create the computer-generated characters that would eventually replace them.
Pearl Harbour
Why watch it?
With a laboured script, leaden acting, turgid pace, and insensitive factual inaccuracies... the only reason Pearl Harbour is worth seeing is for the recreation of the infamous 1941 attack. Unbelievably, there are only four shots that are totally CG in the movie, including the two shots of the USS Arizona exploding, with the wide camera angle taking four months of constant effects work to perfect. So while it's a dreadful film, one can't help but applaud the truly brilliant CG effects.
Cloverfield
Why watch it?
This may be a spin-off of Godzilla, as mysterious and severely peeved creatures attack New York, but what a spin-off it is. Cloverfield is an amazing example of how to mix hand-held live-action with quality CG effects.
The most terrifying sequence happens early on, when the Statue of Liberty's head is catapulted down the road by an unknown and unseen force. Visible for several seconds in full frame, the head itself had to be built as an extremely detailed 3D model with precise texturing.
What movie do you think did the best job of “suspending reality”?
What do all of these movies have in common?