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I've just seen Planet of the Apes so I was inspired to have a little think about special effects. I came out of the movie - a bit puzzled by the ending (which I know understand) but had thoroughly enjoyed it. However the thing that I liked the most were how realistic the apes looked. They were incredibly detailed and quite scary looking. They looked hardly like humans at all. And their leaping around was also amazing to watch.
Then I thought. What would Planet of the Apes be like without special effects. What would it have been like if the film makers couldn't make the apes look that realistic (or as realistic as in the first). What if we were restricted to fake blood and normal leaping monkeys. Would it have been as good to watch? Even the original planet of the apes had special effects. They may have been primitive in comparison to this but they were still good. If we look back to Shakespeares times playwriters (the equivilant of writers for films today) would have to find ways around places where special effects would normally come in. And they were restricted to sword fights where they break bags of blood.
We've certainly come along way with special effects. I believe the black and white film "Pyscho" used a substance (I think it was chocolate) that wasn't even red to be blood (since it's black and white it doesn't matter). Then they have got better and better...
Remember those scenes in cars which are moving where you repeatedly go past the same shop? Look where we are now.. when an actor is able to drive a car normally (and climb out of it and shoot at other cars!)
Even films in the 90s seem outdated in special effects. They only get better! Compare the Terminator 1 mask Arnold Schwarzenegger clearly has on when he is operating on his eye. It looks rather unconvincing. Then if you look at Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes well.. need I say more?
Well where do we go from here is the question we must ask ourselves. How can special effects get better? Will there be a time when people giving others mouth to mouth will look totally realistic rather than very fake (you can die if you do it to a live person). Will The Matrix look outdated in the future? Will someone remake it as a result! I can't see that now but it COULD happen! It seems unbelievable now but I wouldn't be suprised.
Will animation become more important in the future? Those who have seen Final Fantasy will surely have been amazed... however in the future will we get to a time where graphics are 100% similar to real life - so we get to a time where it is impossible to distinguish between real life and animation. If films do take this route of using animation we can expect greater things from films.. special effects will look simply amazing I'm sure. Sound will also play an important part. I imagine speech will feel like it's being said right in front of you. I can only imagine.
OR are we at a dead end? Eventually we surely must come to a time where Special Effects can't get better. Toy story to Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy to a distant computer graphic animation that looks 100% real. However what happens when we get to this 100% real looking milestone? Then where do we go? Millions of remakes? Then where..... a new technology....
Then I thought. What would Planet of the Apes be like without special effects. What would it have been like if the film makers couldn't make the apes look that realistic (or as realistic as in the first). What if we were restricted to fake blood and normal leaping monkeys. Would it have been as good to watch? Even the original planet of the apes had special effects. They may have been primitive in comparison to this but they were still good. If we look back to Shakespeares times playwriters (the equivilant of writers for films today) would have to find ways around places where special effects would normally come in. And they were restricted to sword fights where they break bags of blood.
We've certainly come along way with special effects. I believe the black and white film "Pyscho" used a substance (I think it was chocolate) that wasn't even red to be blood (since it's black and white it doesn't matter). Then they have got better and better...
Remember those scenes in cars which are moving where you repeatedly go past the same shop? Look where we are now.. when an actor is able to drive a car normally (and climb out of it and shoot at other cars!)
Even films in the 90s seem outdated in special effects. They only get better! Compare the Terminator 1 mask Arnold Schwarzenegger clearly has on when he is operating on his eye. It looks rather unconvincing. Then if you look at Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes well.. need I say more?
Well where do we go from here is the question we must ask ourselves. How can special effects get better? Will there be a time when people giving others mouth to mouth will look totally realistic rather than very fake (you can die if you do it to a live person). Will The Matrix look outdated in the future? Will someone remake it as a result! I can't see that now but it COULD happen! It seems unbelievable now but I wouldn't be suprised.
Will animation become more important in the future? Those who have seen Final Fantasy will surely have been amazed... however in the future will we get to a time where graphics are 100% similar to real life - so we get to a time where it is impossible to distinguish between real life and animation. If films do take this route of using animation we can expect greater things from films.. special effects will look simply amazing I'm sure. Sound will also play an important part. I imagine speech will feel like it's being said right in front of you. I can only imagine.
OR are we at a dead end? Eventually we surely must come to a time where Special Effects can't get better. Toy story to Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy to a distant computer graphic animation that looks 100% real. However what happens when we get to this 100% real looking milestone? Then where do we go? Millions of remakes? Then where..... a new technology....
Papa Santos wrote:
> There is nothing more realistic than two people standing still and
> being filmed. For all the realism that computer animated movies
> strive to attain, what's the point? Watching actual people is surely
> far more realistic than looking at pixellated images of them.
> Animated movies like Toy Story were great because they concentrated
> on things that live action couldn't, and so they offered a different
> kind of viewing experience.
If I wanted to watch ultra-realistic
> renditions of people I'd watch the real thing.
But where would you go to watch lots of guns blazing and full on action? The supermarket? I think not. We can expect filmmakers to make special effects incredibly so they literally will blow you away when there is a massive explosion during the film.
> There is nothing more realistic than two people standing still and
> being filmed. For all the realism that computer animated movies
> strive to attain, what's the point? Watching actual people is surely
> far more realistic than looking at pixellated images of them.
> Animated movies like Toy Story were great because they concentrated
> on things that live action couldn't, and so they offered a different
> kind of viewing experience.
If I wanted to watch ultra-realistic
> renditions of people I'd watch the real thing.
But where would you go to watch lots of guns blazing and full on action? The supermarket? I think not. We can expect filmmakers to make special effects incredibly so they literally will blow you away when there is a massive explosion during the film.
There is nothing more realistic than two people standing still and being filmed. For all the realism that computer animated movies strive to attain, what's the point? Watching actual people is surely far more realistic than looking at pixellated images of them. Animated movies like Toy Story were great because they concentrated on things that live action couldn't, and so they offered a different kind of viewing experience.
If I wanted to watch ultra-realistic renditions of people I'd watch the real thing.
If I wanted to watch ultra-realistic renditions of people I'd watch the real thing.
Well, personally I think that once we get to 'real', nobody will be happy with movies any more and people will just go out on the streets and make their own. You know what that means. Just think of a real life Hard-Boiled! The world's population would be instantly halved.
:)
:)
Its too late to read the whole topic but i will tommorow, I can't help but bring this one back to the top. I get so annoyed when I write a massive topic and no one takes any notice. So i will write some crap in it for now because it was looking lonely.
I've just seen Planet of the Apes so I was inspired to have a little think about special effects. I came out of the movie - a bit puzzled by the ending (which I know understand) but had thoroughly enjoyed it. However the thing that I liked the most were how realistic the apes looked. They were incredibly detailed and quite scary looking. They looked hardly like humans at all. And their leaping around was also amazing to watch.
Then I thought. What would Planet of the Apes be like without special effects. What would it have been like if the film makers couldn't make the apes look that realistic (or as realistic as in the first). What if we were restricted to fake blood and normal leaping monkeys. Would it have been as good to watch? Even the original planet of the apes had special effects. They may have been primitive in comparison to this but they were still good. If we look back to Shakespeares times playwriters (the equivilant of writers for films today) would have to find ways around places where special effects would normally come in. And they were restricted to sword fights where they break bags of blood.
We've certainly come along way with special effects. I believe the black and white film "Pyscho" used a substance (I think it was chocolate) that wasn't even red to be blood (since it's black and white it doesn't matter). Then they have got better and better...
Remember those scenes in cars which are moving where you repeatedly go past the same shop? Look where we are now.. when an actor is able to drive a car normally (and climb out of it and shoot at other cars!)
Even films in the 90s seem outdated in special effects. They only get better! Compare the Terminator 1 mask Arnold Schwarzenegger clearly has on when he is operating on his eye. It looks rather unconvincing. Then if you look at Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes well.. need I say more?
Well where do we go from here is the question we must ask ourselves. How can special effects get better? Will there be a time when people giving others mouth to mouth will look totally realistic rather than very fake (you can die if you do it to a live person). Will The Matrix look outdated in the future? Will someone remake it as a result! I can't see that now but it COULD happen! It seems unbelievable now but I wouldn't be suprised.
Will animation become more important in the future? Those who have seen Final Fantasy will surely have been amazed... however in the future will we get to a time where graphics are 100% similar to real life - so we get to a time where it is impossible to distinguish between real life and animation. If films do take this route of using animation we can expect greater things from films.. special effects will look simply amazing I'm sure. Sound will also play an important part. I imagine speech will feel like it's being said right in front of you. I can only imagine.
OR are we at a dead end? Eventually we surely must come to a time where Special Effects can't get better. Toy story to Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy to a distant computer graphic animation that looks 100% real. However what happens when we get to this 100% real looking milestone? Then where do we go? Millions of remakes? Then where..... a new technology....
Then I thought. What would Planet of the Apes be like without special effects. What would it have been like if the film makers couldn't make the apes look that realistic (or as realistic as in the first). What if we were restricted to fake blood and normal leaping monkeys. Would it have been as good to watch? Even the original planet of the apes had special effects. They may have been primitive in comparison to this but they were still good. If we look back to Shakespeares times playwriters (the equivilant of writers for films today) would have to find ways around places where special effects would normally come in. And they were restricted to sword fights where they break bags of blood.
We've certainly come along way with special effects. I believe the black and white film "Pyscho" used a substance (I think it was chocolate) that wasn't even red to be blood (since it's black and white it doesn't matter). Then they have got better and better...
Remember those scenes in cars which are moving where you repeatedly go past the same shop? Look where we are now.. when an actor is able to drive a car normally (and climb out of it and shoot at other cars!)
Even films in the 90s seem outdated in special effects. They only get better! Compare the Terminator 1 mask Arnold Schwarzenegger clearly has on when he is operating on his eye. It looks rather unconvincing. Then if you look at Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes well.. need I say more?
Well where do we go from here is the question we must ask ourselves. How can special effects get better? Will there be a time when people giving others mouth to mouth will look totally realistic rather than very fake (you can die if you do it to a live person). Will The Matrix look outdated in the future? Will someone remake it as a result! I can't see that now but it COULD happen! It seems unbelievable now but I wouldn't be suprised.
Will animation become more important in the future? Those who have seen Final Fantasy will surely have been amazed... however in the future will we get to a time where graphics are 100% similar to real life - so we get to a time where it is impossible to distinguish between real life and animation. If films do take this route of using animation we can expect greater things from films.. special effects will look simply amazing I'm sure. Sound will also play an important part. I imagine speech will feel like it's being said right in front of you. I can only imagine.
OR are we at a dead end? Eventually we surely must come to a time where Special Effects can't get better. Toy story to Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy to a distant computer graphic animation that looks 100% real. However what happens when we get to this 100% real looking milestone? Then where do we go? Millions of remakes? Then where..... a new technology....