tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post7926645153901672384..comments2024-03-28T14:49:36.133-04:00Comments on John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV: Ask JKM a Question: CGI vs. Stop Motion?John Kenneth Muirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-16679174477891678692015-07-05T12:57:08.580-04:002015-07-05T12:57:08.580-04:00The correct answer is: puppets.
Plus stop motion...The correct answer is: puppets. <br /><br />Plus stop motion.<br /><br />Problem with CGI is that they go too far over the top and make things feel unbelievable as well as they have yet to capture reality well enough to be convincing. Which would not be a problem except CGI seems to be touting "Look! It's REAL!" Whereas stop motion and puppetry say, "Look what we've come up with!" Maybe that's just me, though. When I see Spider-Man swinging around and looking utterly fake despite millions of $ invested in CGI, it just feels silly compared to a guy on wires or a stop motion monster where the artists are just asking me to suspend disbelief and enjoy their work. Doc Savagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08783244633195233970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-64757845997337234932015-06-30T17:47:58.493-04:002015-06-30T17:47:58.493-04:00Great write up. I agree, CGI and stop motion are t...Great write up. I agree, CGI and stop motion are tools. Knowing when to use the right tool for the right job is the key. CGI can look wonderful and work great in some movies. Other times, physical models, props and costumes are a requirement. I know you're not a fan of the LOTR films, but I really think Jackson did a brilliant job using all kinds of techniques to bring Middle Earth to life. He didn't rely solely on CG and even made a point to avoid it unless it was necessary. Granted it did get pretty necessary in the battle scenes. It is the one area that I think Lucas really missed in his prequel films. He was too enamored of CG, when a approach closer to what Jackson executed would have lead to better performances in his films (at least in my opinion). Roman J. Martelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09545497713474664555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-15182039772341665582015-06-30T02:14:27.342-04:002015-06-30T02:14:27.342-04:00I'm a retrogrouch but have to admit that CGI c...I'm a retrogrouch but have to admit that CGI can work wonderfully. Jurassic Park (a movie I have SERIOUS reservations about and issues with) remains an example of just how good CGI can be. There was a lot of love and passion for the dinosaurs and the art of making realizing them for film by those involved and you can see and feel it when you watch the movie. Making almost everything in a film via CGI and going all out to make that an artistic statement using the inherent properties of the technique can also be great. That said, to me there always seems to be more "there" there when models or anamatronics are used. CGI is like autotune. It can be used in very positive ways but usually ends up being used in a cheap and nasty manner. It's not the fault of the technology itself though.<br /><br />Imagine if Fury Road had been done primarily with CGI... I know Miller wouldn't have used the impossible camera angles and positions and "shaking" effects that ruin so many movies for me but even though the actors would still have been great and the story satisfying the influence that all that mass of steel, momentum and danger that the practical stunts and effects had on the film from the inside out would have been sorely missed. nowherehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12125582590094636085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-60370280776482485402015-06-29T20:21:38.060-04:002015-06-29T20:21:38.060-04:00Thank you for posting this and sharing your though...Thank you for posting this and sharing your thoughts. It's very fitting this posts on Ray Harryhausen's birthday. He may be gone, but he'll never be forgotten. Unlike the CGI werewolves of American Werewolf in Paris, which you reminded me off. Duannehttps://www.facebook.com/duanne.waltonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-71716482868557476052015-06-29T17:59:37.711-04:002015-06-29T17:59:37.711-04:00CGI is like any other effect. It has to have 3 thi...CGI is like any other effect. It has to have 3 things to work. 1. Money. 2. Talent. 3. Vision. It can scratch by with 2, but if you have all 3, you have the single greatest monster film ever, The Host. If you don't have those 3, you have that one Sci Fi Channel film that was "Alive meets Bigfoot," a film that has the single worst suitmation and CGI known to man.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03097420555737415471noreply@blogger.com