ellianabrodbeck

The world of visual effects (VFX) and computer generated images (CGI) has taken off over the last years. An example of ground breaking technology was Toy Story, a 1995 Pixar animated film. It was able to create lifelike humans and humanize toys all in one movie, however, as impressive as it is, it’s very outdated compared to today. It became outdated because it was a new craft then, but with it being introduced, it took off, and no longer was a difficult thing to acquire as everyone was using it. That same idea still holds today, for example, StageCraft is a new technology that was invented by Lucasfilm and Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) for the show The Mandalorian. The effect is used to project animated characters and backgrounds around an actor while filming, so essentially, it's an evolved version of a green screen, another technology that once took off. Now as CGI is criticized, it’s still evolving, and new effects (like StageCraft) will most certainly follow it’s steps and change movie making furthermore (Abrue).

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Toy Story (1995) vs Toy Story 4 (2019) and The Mandalorian (2019 - ).

A man working on the CGI dinosaurs in Jurassic Park (1993).

Computer-generated imagery (CGI) at its most basic level is the creation of visual or still animated content with computer software. But it gets more complicated, for example, there are many methods to working with CGI and many jobs that go into the process. But to get there, CGI started at a very simple level. People would take a real visual, such as a hand or head, draw on it any needed imagery or lines to animate, and then finally digitalize it. However, as time went on, people started being able to use animated grid outlines and create the entire thing on computers, such as in Jurassic Park (1993) or Toy Story (1995). Movie viewers have become critics and point out what is bad, which has posed problems for some directors and animators, as they have to work more to please people’s demands. But no matter what, we now stand at a point in time where every film has CGI, whether it’s right up front, hidden in the background, good, or bad (McDonald).

While computer-generated imagery can be used well, it can also be used badly. Shows like The Flash, often have small budgets, but still, use CGI to get the effects of heroes using their superpowers. However, with the budget, and the show’s dependency on technology, it ends up glossy and very easily told to be fake. CGI can also make filming difficult, as actors’ performances can be poor due to not having anything real to act along with. But CGI can also be used very little and make a show or film perfect. For example, creating animals is very difficult, but if directors pay attention to real animals and movement, the illusion they create is well received and causes the brain to not realize it’s fake. As a whole, CGI can be used for good or bad, as long as it is not used to carry an entire story, or if it is used in moderation, it can be beautiful (Immortal Entertainment).

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 (2017) de-aged Kurt Russell.

With CGI becoming so popular, people are beginning to ask, “Will CGI replace actors?” As of now, no. Actors are still needed to give the element and realism to their character. CGI if anything, has enhanced the actors’ skills and their demand. For example, in the last scene of Iron Man 3, Robert Downey, Jr. gives a speech as Tony Stark. However, that's not really him, it's a stunt double with RDJ’s face. They did this because he couldn’t be on set the entire time, so using technology allowed him to still fulfill his role. Ideas like these allow actors to be included in new ways, whether it's being made young again, digitally enhanced, or digitally put in a scene, therefore, in no way is CGI replacing actors (Corder).