|
|
The Two Towers (A Review of CGI)by Will BurtonWell I've just seen part 2 of Mr. Jackson's epic adaptation of Tolkein's masterpiece and I must say words almost fail me to describe the supreme effort to put onto film what is considered to be the most challenging of the three books. How anyone will not be stirred by this creative master-class is beyond me. As a designer I can find no fault with the cgi (used more extensively in this film) with Gollum, location shots and New Zealand in particular standing out as if they came straight from my mind when reading the book for the first time. When cgi (Computer Generated Images) is used in films it should be used well and must also help the storyline. Too many films recently have used it for an excuse for the creative guys to show off. Instead of one monster to fight we end up with 3 different monsters because the Design department created so many designs they wanted to show off and use all of them and substitute this for actual plot. If for example the story dictates that you need 10,000 slobbering Uruk-Hai then of course you need to have a little help from your digital friends. With the demand for CGI now at fever pitch for most major films quality has dipped as well. Companies such as ILM and the UK's Framestore find themselves working round the clock on several movies at once and to shorter timescales. It's not a question of money but really time is the factor. The creating is the quickest part although not the easiest. What dictates the finished result is the Render time (the time it takes the computer or computers to animate characters as this can take an age and can be like watching paint dry) Take for example the travesty of 'The Mummy Returns'. ILM were responsible for all the animation of which practically every scene had some. Now to most this would seem a challenge as the script demanded pygmy mummies, a scorpion king, lavish settings, magic and vast armies. But hang on a second, ILM are the Godfathers of CGI I hear you cry, harking back to Star Wars. Well that was the problem wasn't it. They had been so busy making the Phantom Menace almost totally CGI that other projects looked, shall we say a little bit shoddy. This was followed up by the first Harry Potter Movie (again suffering from ILM concentrating on Attack of The Clones - even more CGI as it was shot on digital camera as it is easier to supplant cgi characters into it and lets face 99% of them were) It's interesting to see that solutions are now being found. The latest Harry Potter film outsourced the CGI segments to several companies (including Framestore and ILM) rather than have all of it done by one company busy doing other projects as well. Leading Lights such as Mr. Spielberg have even gone out on a limb to slate digital filmmaking and overuse of CGI when not relevant to helping the story (is that a ticking off for his mate George or what?) Peter Jackson took the extreme and to get everything right and formed his own company - WETA Workshops, much in the same vein as Lucas's ILM was formed for the original Star Wars. The end result is a level of Belief that the CGI characters have a sense of solidity and character of a real being (gollum took 5 years to make) which has not been rushed into creation because another studio needs a romping dino or a Three-headed Gary Lyon (now that is scary) for their film by next week. Above all, Battle scenes can now take on epic proportions that give a sense of brutality not often seen on-screen (the exception being Braveheart, although even then you can see the bored extras practically standing around in the background waiting for the lunch wagon). No longer do you have to hire half the Eastern Bloc Army to re-fight the Battle of Waterloo (re-enactors fall on their swords in despair all over the world) or reduce regiments of thousands to six men and a whippet a la Sharpe. It's interesting to know that when Jackson planned out his big scenes he used miniature figures on a tabletop for each army to get a feel for how the battle would unfold. If that is the case then if Games Workshop provided the figures we now know why it cost so much to make. Above all The Two Towers makes you want to believe in characters such as Gollum which is testament to a great creative team given the time and story to work with. Remember the golden rules (adopting annoying Yoda speak) 'CGI does not a story make it does' EXAMPLES: The Mummy Returns, Star Wars Episodes 1, 2 and probably 3 'No Good it will, if character look impressive but have personality of wood or have annoying voice it have' EXAMPLES: Any Star Wars Character circa 2000 onwards. Jar Jar Binks and Yoda obvious candidates. 'CGI Bond doing clever stunt equals Stretch Armstrong Para Surfing on cheap Budget does it not?' EXAMPLES: The Mummy Returns, The latest Bond Flick As a side note, The Uruk-Hai would have won the battle of Helms Deep if they had had a couple of Giants, the odd Wyvern and a bucket-load of Goblin Magic Dice - not forgetting Fanatics and Madcap Mushrooms…or perhaps some lovely cheese. |