Is the Reliance on CGI Hurting Cinema?

Is the computer-generated imagery or popularly known as CGI a good thing for the cinema world or its the other way around? People may have a contradicting view on this.

With this, filmmakers were able to add great effects on their films which are impossible using practical effects. However, if it is poorly developed it could affect audience immersion and turn the movie into a laughing matter.

We have witnessed lots of breathtaking CGI for the past years, and it has greatly affected the outcome of every movie. Because of this, the directors have made a firm stance against computer generated elements in making films. They want to revive the dying art of practical effects. For them, a heavy reliance on CGI, if done carelessly could create a movie that is absolutely unwatchable.

The Good Effects of CGI in the Film Industry

Not all filmmakers rely on CGI. Some feel that relying on computer-generated imagery can only destroy their film. However, other filmmakers think that if CGI applied properly it will help a lot in creating a realistic movie. Here some reasons why CGI should not be banned:

3. CGI Makes the Impossible Possible

For some film makers, CGI is the reason why their movies bagged the highest recognition in the movie industry. An example of this is the trilogy "Lord of the Rings." With the help of CGI, Jackson was able to achieve his vision completely. How Middle-earth should look like was shown clearly in the film.

It was also thru CGI, Jackson created Mordor, Rivendell and the famous Gollum. The said movie also managed to bring home lots of Academy Awards because Jackson was able to achieve his vision completely and featured impressive movie special effects, thanks to CGI.

2. CGI Can Make Real Life Movies Better

If in the past, faking the background has several lapses like Jackie Chan's Rumble in the Bronx movie. This is already resolved in the age of CGI. Even a simple movie that do not require digital effects can use CGI.

If your film is a real-life story and you need to show a scene from the past, the best way to do it is by using CGI. Movies like life story can make the film more realistic.

3. CGI Creates Some of the Best Computer Animated Movies

If it is not because of the success of Toy Story, computer-animated films like Finding Nemo, Inside Out and Up would not have been produced. The very first film Pixar has produced gave them the funds to produced other computer-animated films. It was also thru Pixar's success that driven Dreamworks to create their own CGI animation like Madagascar movies, How to Train Your Dragon and Shrek.

Movies Affected Negatively by Too Much Reliance on CGI

There are some movies who have relied too much on computer-generated imagery which affected them negatively. One of them is "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies." As compared to LOTR that depend so much on CGI, this film does not get the result it expected to have.

The part of the movie where the people in costumes wave around swords, without a firm plan as to how the scene would actually play out. If you check this part, you will see that this thing was a mess.

There are two reasons why LOTR achieved a better result and its the other way around for The Hobbit. One reason is that Hobbit was filmed in a rushed schedule while LOTR takes several years to complete the film. Another reason is on the visions of the two filmmakers del Toro of the Hobbit and Jackson of LOTR.

Final Thoughts

To answer our question is the reliance on CGI hurting cinema, I guess it depends on how you will use it. The success of a movie does not depend only on computer-generated digital effects. The story, preparation, length of filming and the director's vision also play a big part in the success of the movie.

Article by Angela Floyd

Read More

Gaming thoughts 1/29/12 - what I'm up to

This is going to be a long post.  I appreciate anyone with the fortitude/interest/lack of anything better to do that sticks with it, and fully understand those who do not.


It has been a busy, busy month for me.  Christmas, New Years, two of my kids having birthdays, a lengthy process at work where I was applying for the vacated manager's position of our tech support department, managing festival/holidays on my online MUD, getting tax returns around, getting a new car thanks to this story - and yes I've still been managing to squeeze in a fairly high volume of video games!

Now?  Now it feels like after about 6 weeks of craziness, I can stop and take a deep breath.  For starters, I did get the job.  *accepts applause and fanfare now*  Seriously though, I am excited.  Of course, the pay hike doesn't hurt, but the change in responsibilities presents several new challenges for me, and like most gamers, I love new challenges wherever I can find them. 

Read More

Next gen Xbox won't support used games?

So, I recall when a topic like this came out for the PS3 a long time ago, about how they were trying to patent some new technology that would prevent gamers from using a 'used' disc on another PS3 system to combat the used game marker.  I am surprised I have seen little/no references to this yet amidst the other topics about the next Xbox and whether or not it will support used games.  Now, nothing came of that Sony rumor, just as a lot of times that kind of speculation never comes to fruition when pertaining to upcoming game consoles.

That said?  A very similar rumor has come up again - this time for the next generation of Xbox 360.  IGN posted about it here.

I love gaming - and I have been playing them for longer than most people.  I get very excited when I read reports that the next Xbox will be 6 times more powerful graphically than the current generation model.  But this sort of thing is a deal killer for me if it comes to pass.  A lot of people believe that digital distribution of games is the future, and it might be - but it's not the immediate future.  There's too many problems with that distribution model (not everyone has blazing internet speeds, and as games continue to age, they also grow in size.  Compare the 10 gb downloads we have for a game now to what game sizes were a generation or two ago.  If rumor is true that the next Xbox will support Bluray the way the PlayStation does, that means that games could be quite substantial in size.  Not only will the hardware have to compensate for these potentially 15-45 gb games, but think about our bandwidth limits.  I have one ISP provider in my area, and they limit our household to 200gbs per month, and we flirt with that monthly now.

Digital at this point is an option, it's not however the only method of distributing games.

So that leaves us with discs still, which has value because people like to borrow games from friends.  They like to go over to a friend's house with some games to play.  My house has two Xbox 360's.  Would my games work on both with this model?  Under the current 360 model this is a real problem because I can play titles on both systems - but my wife and kids can't.  If the title is associated to the person's gamertag does that mean other people on the same system in the same household can't play it?

Of course, this leaves more questions than answers, and in fairness it is all speculation for gaming sites and blogs.

Of course, Microsoft wants people talking about their upcoming console - buzz is generally a good thing and it helps pique interest.  That said?  This is potentially very damaging for Microsoft, and when the PS3 rumors came out several years ago, Sony was pretty quick to respond that the rumors were false.  I really dislike the online passes and other codes that game companies use to try and get people to buy their games new, but at least used is still an option and it then falls on the gamer to decide the value of the code materials.  This is something more, something much more potentially damaging to the market I think.  It will be interesting to see if Microsoft speaks up quickly about this topic or not as Sony did a few years ago.  If not, it's only going to add fuel to the fire.

Thoughts?

Read More