I would also assume it's 1000x easier and more fun for the actors to work with puppets on location or actual sets instead of being surrounded by green with the director saying "we're going to add a goofy looking alien salesman here!". Just because CG can be completely convincing these days (at times) it really should only be used when it's necessary or definitely superior to practical.
Star Wars: Force for Change - A Message from J.J. Abrams
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Bucket Mouse
Member
The practical effects ADI made for The Thing 2011 were fantastic. It's a shame much of it was replaced with CGI in the finished film.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBzpT7VmSaU
Yeah I really have no faith in a CG heavy film being able to bridge the uncanny valley (of both people and the world it is bringing to life) in a film yet. Something like Avatar works in the sense that it is 100% CGI a lot f the time, but you never get that sense of real ness, and when they start mixing CG with real people you notice the different. The correct approach will not always be CG, not yet by any means. Everything in the PT sucked but the CG stood out as especially bad, not because it was bad technically for the time in so much as they were using it for things that were also very demanding of it, beyond its means of the day, and today, under a realistic production timeline.
They are far better off using a mixture of all approaches where they deem best, an over reliance on CG to the point of eschewing practical will just lead to problems.
Demoncarnotaur
Member
This still hurts.
brandonh83
Banned
Since fans hate actually being happy for once I guarantee that they'll switch over to Team CG. Whatever it takes to be able to continue bitching on.
XiaNaphryz
LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
Which is what I'm advocating. When CG is effectively used in the right place, it doesn't stand out as CG. And there have been a lot of instances where people saw something on film and they didn't realize it was all CG, i.e. most of New York City in Avengers.
It's the "no CG at all costs, everything must be practical" camp that I don't understand.
Interceptor
Banned
Another thing bothering me: Obviously we are back to Tatooine. Again. It should be the new capital of the whole galaxy since all the shit is happening here. Most boring planet there is.
Will look great with proper lighting and post production. Absolutely.
brandonh83
Banned
Tatooine has always been a hot spot in Star Wars. It's just one of those things, but doesn't mean that a lot of the film will take place there. IMO, anything beats Endor though.
You would think this would go without saying. EVERYTHING looks bad until its on film proper.
people are just weary coming off of PT. Similarly, I bet some people are kind of sick of the needless CG in the Hobbit films. (Turning Legolas into a murder machine, needlessly long fights etc).
Demoncarnotaur
Member
Honestly, it probably has a lot to do with it being the Skywalker home planet, and the story reason for being there will likely revolve around that fact.
I want to see Hoth again though.
Yep, and logically speaking, we already know that the movie has some ties to the Skywalker family, which means it is only logical that Tatooine would be featured. Wouldn't be surprised if Luke wasn't holed up like a hermit on the planet.
Either Luke decided to "retire" there because it's his home or we're going to learn that there's something Force-ful about the place.
Yoda tells us that Dagobah is strong in the Force, maybe Tatooine is as well. It was where Anakin was Force-fully conceived (presumably by Darth Plagueis) perhaps using some property of Tatooine, although I can't say for certain the conception took place on Tatooine.
Anyway, it could be a plot point. Although I'd certainly prefer they just ignore the prequels.
DiipuSurotu
Banned
And yet PT locations are shown at the end of ROTJ Special Edition and they look as clean as they were in the PT.
brandonh83
Banned
It'll be great. My prediction is that maybe people won't like it as much as say Empire, but I think the new films will be generally regarded as being way better than the prequels.
I think ILM knows what they're doing.
It's just whether they'll be afforded the schedule to do it right.
ILM hadn't developed their Imocap tech yet for the prequels. That allows them to do CG stuff on-set without green-screen. A bunch of their work post-prequels have had less greenscreen in general as well (i.e. Iron Man films, Pirates films, Star Trek films, Avengers), a lot of the digital envroinments ended up being extensions of sets.
I absolutely love how well Davy Jones was done. One of my favorite CGI characters. Plus I mean you had Nighy as the actor with that delicious particular Scottish accent.
Napoleonthechimp
Member
I heard that guy is (was?) a bit of a shit to the OG cast.Looks horrible? What?? It looks awesome. That little fucker made me smile.
Maybe you guys would rather have an update like this.
Here we are filming star wars!
ChosenPredator
Banned
miss old school animatronic puppets
Like the prophet of truth had a baby with a camel, you mean.
How else are they going to dig Boba Fett out of the sarlacc so he can pull off the impossible thing the heroes need to do that only Fett could do?
Digital-Hero
Member
Pretty awesome non-CG alien.
I can see it now: After the opening crawl we follow the camera through the various street vendors and bazaars of the planet Tatooine. Finally, we settle on on a hooded figure bartering with a shop keeper. The alien shopkeeper appears skeptical and asks the mysterious customer 'can you afford? are you sure? No new republic credits here!'
The customer offers an aged and cynical laugh and dramatically throws back his hood' 'Of course I can afford! For it has been many years and this time I must I WILL not lose, for I am Ben Quadinaros and I require a new power coupling!'
The cinema erupts in applause and a flood of tears. J.J Abram's reputation as the true successor to George Lucas is cemented. Star Wars is back.
The customer offers an aged and cynical laugh and dramatically throws back his hood' 'Of course I can afford! For it has been many years and this time I must I WILL not lose, for I am Ben Quadinaros and I require a new power coupling!'
The cinema erupts in applause and a flood of tears. J.J Abram's reputation as the true successor to George Lucas is cemented. Star Wars is back.
so this is real?
first thing I said was: look at that cgi puppet.. -_-
It does indeed look real. What makes you think it looks CG?
Unspeakable Evil
Member
Cause JJ was clearly CG.
So much better than CGI. There is hope.
wow this one gif has finally instilled some hype in me for the new Star Wars
I dont mind CG, and im sure the final film will have a lot but its really neat they're going this route for some aspects.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
I think this is a pretty cool way to get some cash tossed Unicef's way, and if someone gets a bit part in a Star Wars movie, all the better. I like that this guy's sending notes to the production to let them know he understands the weight of what he's doing, and further, that he's using that weight to try and make the world a little bit better a...
... wait, you guys are just shitting in each other's mouths over puppets vs. cgi for 200 posts, aren't you.
Hold on
(reads whole thread)
hm.
Well, I thought it was an okay puppet. Looks cool. I like the idea of a space camel slanging space turkeys at the Tattooine Saturday Market. Better than that one shitheap looking thing selling space frogs, I guess. Wiupi Wiupi's right? That's what they were called?
You think there's gonna be a Sebulba thing in this movie?
WHAT IF THAT'S SEBULBA SELLING THE SPACE TURKEYS??
... wait, you guys are just shitting in each other's mouths over puppets vs. cgi for 200 posts, aren't you.
Hold on
(reads whole thread)
hm.
Well, I thought it was an okay puppet. Looks cool. I like the idea of a space camel slanging space turkeys at the Tattooine Saturday Market. Better than that one shitheap looking thing selling space frogs, I guess. Wiupi Wiupi's right? That's what they were called?
You think there's gonna be a Sebulba thing in this movie?
WHAT IF THAT'S SEBULBA SELLING THE SPACE TURKEYS??
maybe it is the crappy animation, idk.
What's worse is his dialog here was written by George Lucas without anyone to edit it!
Shin Johnpv
Member
It's not animated.
cheststrongwell
my cake, fuck off
I have faith this will be good. CG isn't good enough for me yet. Maybe in ten years.
Oh, you've seen the full film already?
Messypandas
Member
Me and my friend always joke about this. I think he genuinely dislikes Baker, because Daniels comes from a theatre background and Baker is a little more working class. It must be in one of the documentaries because we've been joking about it for years.
Sapiens
Member
Ignorant shit like this needs to stop.
I agree.
I'm having trouble understanding the anti-CG sentiment.
People would be shocked at how much model work, puppetry and such still go on in modern cinema and how a lot of CG simply goes over their heads.
Do you really want to go back to purely optical effects with little blue halos around every one of thousands of elements? Do you want to go back to matte painting on glass? Really?
Ether_Snake
å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®
It could look the same as the original Star Wars and it would be fine to me! Just make it a fun movie with a good story and characters.
Fudgepuppy
Banned
Great thing about practical sets and puppets, is that you get a trailer earlier.
Dawn of the planet of the apes just released its first trailer, a month before release because every scene in that movie has CG that needs to be done.
I'm all for passion fused in the creation of movies, and sets, puppets etc. seem to invoke a lot of hands-on love from directors, so this pleases me.
Dawn of the planet of the apes just released its first trailer, a month before release because every scene in that movie has CG that needs to be done.
I'm all for passion fused in the creation of movies, and sets, puppets etc. seem to invoke a lot of hands-on love from directors, so this pleases me.
sankt-Antonio
Banned
Well, lightning on this puppet is better then anything done in , let's say, the avengers.
Love puppets and hope they are used extensively on set.
Love puppets and hope they are used extensively on set.
Forceatowulf
G***n S**n*bi
Get that cgi shit outta here! JJ really is the chosen one =O
Based JJ. *bows*
Based JJ. *bows*
brotherbean
Member
CG is great for background effects but I get a little annoyed with the overuse for representing people and characters. I'm a hopeless fanboy so I've been excited ever since the announcement, but this gif has me even more so.
the puppet move clumpy
brandonh83
Banned
This. CG is just a tool. If CG would have been around back then, it would have been used. I'm not saying it can't be overused or that it can't look awful, because it can in both regards, but so can practical effects. I do think the prequels went overboard with it. There were plenty of times where CG is just there to be there or was used as a quick way out of something and it baffles me why there are some shots where for instance in the fight with Jango on the Kamino landing platform Obi-Wan was completely CGI for certain shots that could have just been handled by a stuntman or something.
In this shot for example, it's a CG model. Why? All he does is get pulled off-screen. Any stuntman could do that, hell Ewan could have.
I think people are too hard on CG but I do agree that it should be treated more carefully. If you can do something practically without much of a hassle, do it. If you need to have this massive canvas full of things that don't exist I don't see why it can't be used. I don't want Episode VII-IX to look like Jim Henson productions (rest his brilliant soul) but I am eager for a more careful balance of CGI and practical. It doesn't have to be this black and white thing as people like to paint it. CG isn't inherently evil.
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