Today we will briefly look at the key live-action films that pushed CGI integration forward. Then we will look at how these effects are incorporated into films. Before finally discussing what the rise of CGI has meant for the industry and audiences.

A Brief History

While films using CG images date back quite far (Vertigo’s opening (1958), A Computer Animated Hand (1972), etc.), 1973’s Westworld was the first live-action feature to use CGI within the narrative.

Live-action films made further strides in CGI incorporation throughout the 20th century. Star Wars (1977) featured wireframe computer animation. Tron (1982) put real actors into a CG world for the first time. Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) is widely considered to be the first live-action film to feature a computer-generated character. The Abyss (1989) and Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) helped to perfect CG liquid textures. And Jurassic Park (1993) blended CGI with practical effects to create realistically textured, moving dinosaurs.

The 2000s, thanks to widening software availability and increasing computer speeds, saw films using much more CGI. Several CGI-intensive franchises like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings (which revolutionised motion capture) debuted. Smaller projects, like District 9 (2009), also used it to realise its alien people and technology. But Avatar (2009) redefined what CGI was capable of. Featuring a vast computer-generated world that blended real actors and effects seamlessly it became the highest-grossing film of all time. Paving the way for other huge effects blockbusters like the MCU.

How CGI Becomes Part Of A Film?

With CGI’s capabilities making huge strides, how do film productions go about integrating the effects? CG elements are mostly created separately alongside filming and are combined with the filmed elements during post-production. Green screens, chroma key suits, motion capture suits, placeholders etc. provide guidelines during production for effects artists and actors as to where the CG elements will go. However, CGI is not just separate work utilised in post-production.

CG pre-visualisation has started to gain prominence. This is where CGI is used to visualise part of a movie prior to production. It gives camera operators, directors etc. an idea of what the film will look like. Allowing them to plan and experiment with how something will be shot.

Advancements now also allow CGI to be visible and filmable during film production. For example, LED Volume and the Unreal Engine have been used to create and visualise realistic CG background elements which can be filmed and edited during planning and production. This technology, which displays CG environments through vast background screens, was recently used during the filming of the short Fireworks and The Mandalorian season 3. Although the technology has some workload and implementation issues this advancement allows workers to create intricate, detailed CG backgrounds. While actors are given more definitive visual aids to perform against. Helping make the drama more believable to audiences.

How CGI Has Changed The Industry?

CGI has completely transformed the movie experience. It has allowed audiences to see incredible creations and has been the basis for many beloved movies. However, with some recent films having a majority of their shots containing visual effects like CGI and many recent articles addressing how bad CGI can negatively affect audience experience, CGI advancement clearly does not automatically produce good art.

CGI is a tool and many factors influence its effectiveness. If VFX artists are not given enough time to complete their work the quality suffers. The oversaturation of effects-heavy blockbusters has also accustomed audiences to a certain level of quality, making subpar CG more noticeable. And if films fail to ground their effects or engage viewers narratively or emotionally the effects can lose their impact. 

These represent the main issues for CGI moving forward. If the industry wants to maintain audience interest in an age of CG oversaturation it must consider these points and not just focus on advancement for its own sake. As George Lucas said, a special effect without a story is a pretty boring thing.

Also Read: A.I Generated Art & Movies: A Collision Course

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Full disclosure: these are three film franchises that I adore, so apologies in advance if this gets emotional.

Let’s do them chronologically, just to keep things simple.

Avengers: Endgame

The Endgame title was revealed just last month, along with a decidedly threadbare teaser trailer. We saw Tony Stark saying his goodbyes to his beloved, a clean-shaven Captain America concocting a plan, and the reappearance of some faces notably absent from Infinity War. This next (and very much not final) entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be the 21st in the series since Iron Man kicked it all off in 2008, which is in itself a remarkable achievement.

Hopes and fears:

The Avengers find themselves in a sticky situation, with a significant portion of their team (along with half of all beings in existence) wiped out by the jolly purple giant Thanos at the end of Infinity War. Plenty have speculated, but no-one really knows exactly how everything’s going to work out fine in the end for our superheroes, though Ant-Man and his quantum tunnel machine thing surely have something to do with it…right?

Personally, I’m excited to see how Captain Marvel fits into this increasingly-complex puzzle – is she the key to defeating Thanos? More importantly, just where did everyone go after The Snap? I hope the Russo brothers can deliver another perfectly-balanced visual spectacle to follow on from the first film, with solid performances from a very talented cast and plenty more breath-taking MCU action. My only fear is that Endgame won’t live up to expectations, and that the weight of eleven years-worth of interwoven narratives and characterisation finally collapses in on itself.

Fingers crossed we can make it beyond April without that happening…

Star Wars Episode IX

The as-yet-untitled final episode in the new trilogy is perfectly poised to surprise, I believe. The Resistance has been reduced to a handful of rebels stuffed into the Millennium Falcon, with the ever-angry Kylo Ren now the Supreme Leader of the First Order hell-bent on wiping them out. Han’s gone, Luke’s gone, and, as a result of tragic real-life circumstances, Leia probably won’t feature for long in the new movie. That leaves us solely with the new cast, as well as Lando Calrissian, who is due to make another appearance in that galaxy far, far away.

Hopes and fears:

I’m pretty hopeful for the final act in the Skywalker saga since J.J.Abrams retook the reins. The Force Awakens was excellent, while The Last Jedi was marmite (I loved it, for what it’s worth). Abrams is one of the best currently in the business, and with the story right on the brink of something truly special, I’m already getting excited about seeing how the inevitable Kylo-Rey-Finn love triangle pans out (don’t lie, you were thinking it too).

My fears for Star Wars always stem from Disney’s control over the final product. The worst part of The Last Jedi (ie. the middle bit at the casino) had clearly come about based on the advice of executives who wanted to retain a fun, child-friendly element in what was otherwise a darker and more interesting storyline. If Abrams and his writing team can keep the pesky Mickey Mouse meddlers out of production, we could have an epic space opera on our hands that’s worthy of George Lucas’s original vision, before pod-racing and Jar Jar Binks.

Jurassic World 3

I know a lot of people didn’t like Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and I understand why. I also know that, as a long-time fan with rose-tinted glasses fused to my face, I will always find a silver lining in every velociraptor-shaped cloud that floats my way, so I’ll do my best to be objective here.

The Jurassic World movies, though clearly not as expertly-crafted as the original movie, are fun to watch, and have introduced a whole new generation of movie-goers to the classic cloned reptiles. And I think that’s great.

Hopes and fears:

My hope for the final movie in the new trilogy, which hits the big screen in 2021, is that all of the potential that’s been simmering under the surface throughout the first two instalments comes together in the way I’ve always hoped it would. No more weak writing, no more ‘filler’ characters, and no more sauropods left behind on lava-soaked docks as I try not to die inside.

Colin Trevorrow, who did a fine job of resurrecting the series back in 2015, has returned to the director’s chair after being let go by Disney (“creative differences”, and all that jazz), and I think that might be enough to get the trilogy over the line in a satisfactory way – while Fallen Kingdom was often preoccupied with trying to either scare or sadden us, Trevorrow leans more towards giving JP fans what they always wanted to see.

The bottom line

Of the three series in question, Jurassic World 3 has the most potential to crash and burn, which I desperately hope it doesn’t. I think Avengers: Endgame and Star Wars Episode IX are both in great hands and stand a much better chance of delivering, especially since both franchises are guaranteed to carry on beyond 2019 with plenty more Marvel movies in the works and an entirely new Star Wars trilogy reportedly under development.

Fingers crossed for satisfying conclusions featuring copious amounts of Hulk smashing, lightsabre clashing, and T-rex jaws gnashing.

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