Friday, April 18, 2014

The Overuse Of CGI In Film

By Rebecca Mills


As you can probably imagine, CGI is a component that can actually add a tremendous amount to movies. Filmmakers have been able to use it for a number of reasons, amongst them being the addition of elements that they would not have been able to incorporate otherwise. It is able to promote more dynamic landscapes and bring life to certain features. However, it can also be argued that CGI, regardless of the medium where it's utilized, is an element that has been overexposed in recent times.

It certainly appears as though CGI is becoming used to a fault. However, we have come to expect CGI, not only in terms of movies but television shows as well. There are many great visuals that have come to the surface as a result of CGI, amongst them being Iron Man as he descends from the sky in order to save civilians. However, I feel as though this is an example of CGI done in the right away, since we do not question its realism but rather allow ourselves to become immersed in the movie's universe.

Think of CGI as almost like the whipped cream atop an ice cream sundae. Of course you will want whipped cream because it adds something special to the overall dish. However, what happens when it seems as though there is too much whipped cream? That particular experience winds up leaving something to be desired. CGI is the same way; too little and the product becomes cheap. If there is too much CGI, though, it stops looking less like an authentic piece of art and more like a synthetically manufactured entity.

As you can probably imagine, CGI can be used poorly and there are a few examples of this. The first "Twilight" film is a great example of this, as its visuals in terms of the CGI werewolves were not exactly the most convincing. While I understand that werewolves are not real and that no film can change that fact, the goal of special effects is to make you believe that what is being shown can be believed. Unfortunately, "Twilight" was a case of me having difficulty as far as suspending my disbelief was concerned.

Unless "Twilight" was supposed to be self-aware - which was not the case - its usage of CGI was underwhelming, to put it mildly. CGI, depending on the party utilizing it, can vary in terms of genuine nature. You may not even realize that you are seeing something that was rendered by computers while you may be able to spot where exactly special features appear phony. In time, one can only hope that movies are able to develop to such a degree that they will be looked at as entirely genuine.




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