What Matters in a Movie? - [website] Published: 7th of Nov 2011 by: Miss Knowitall
CGI (computer-generated imagery) in movies is being used more and more as new technologies are made available, so much so that during the filming of The Green Lantern star Ryan Reynolds didn’t even wear the trademark green costume.
This, and the fact that there have been some slight changes to the suit, has sparked controversy in the movie world with people saying that this just isn’t how it should be done.
Being a novice when it comes to the inner workings of the film industry, however, I fail to see what the big deal is, and instead have chosen to embrace it.
So the reason Reynolds didn’t don a costume during filming is because with CGI technology the suit would be edited onto him, giving Reynolds the muscles his character is supposed to possess – so in essence it’s all about the visual side of things.
The thing is, when you go see a movie you’re only really interested in the final product, not (unless you’re a movie buff) the techniques used to make the characters fly or spout fire from their noses.
As the end-user I’m interested in how the film looks, sounds and makes me feel – all things experienced within the movie house. I’m not concerned with how many cameras it took, how many hours or how many stagehands; all I want to see is well presented movie – that’s what I’m paying for.
Having said that if you’re going to use CGI and the like to jazz up your movie it’s got to be done flawlessly; there’s nothing worse than watching a film that purports to be cutting-edge but in reality looks like a bad photoshop job.
For me it’s all about the end product – for actors, I imagine, the story is slightly different – this is their job and changes in filming techniques etc. directly affect them.
What do you think about the use of CGI in films, is it used too much, or too little, or hadn’t you really noticed any changes?
