I thought the animation in FF was incredible, and easy to watch (even though there were still problems with hand movements and lip movements). Somehow, whatever they did for FF, they did NOT do for PE.
River ,'War Stories'
Buffista Movies 3: Panned and Scanned
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And now I'm thinking about a Polar Express that could have worked -- a half-hour TV special, no padding added to the book, and Sky Captain's technique, with real actors weaving their way through fuzzy-edged nostalgic/futuristic computer-generated sets with a muted watercolor glow that perfectly echoes Van Allsburg's illustrations. That could have worked, beautifully, dammit. Zemeckis, you bastard, you bastard, Zemeckis.
but I did experience a lot of something akin to cognitive dissonance, as some scenes did look totally real to me and some (most) did not.
I actually had some of that during Incredibles. Not the characters, but the backgrounds -- there were several bits where I momentarily forgot it was animated because the water was so bloody fantastic.
Not the characters, but the backgrounds -- there were several bits where I momentarily forgot it was animated because the water was so bloody fantastic.
They really upped the bar on some digital elements that were previously hard to get right.
I think Final Fantasy benefited in that it was ramping up themes of gloom and alienation, so the visceral uneasiness brought about by the Uncanny Valley figures in it fit the mood. Also, freaky-looking alien creatures handy for tranferrence of the creepiness actually being generated by the human figures.
If someone wants to make an animated horror movie, they need to go to the Polar Express people for tips about animation technique.
If someone wants to make an animated horror movie, they need to go to the Polar Express people for tips about animation technique.
Or ask the ILM folks about Jar Jar.
I think in that case they'd want Lucas' scripting techniques rather than the ILM folks' CGI ones.
I think Pixar in particular is at the point where it can make anything non-organic look absolutely, fool-the-eye realistic. A few of the scenes in Syndrome's fortress had moments when there weren't any people on screen, and the rockets and computers and things were flawless. But with people, plants and animals they go cartoony, and I hope it stays that way. Nobody's good enough for true photorealism yet, and the attempts just look creepy.
I think Pixar in particular is at the point where it can make anything non-organic look absolutely, fool-the-eye realistic.
It will be a weird day when they can make totally realistic computer animated people. Think of all the dead famous people who will be appearing in new movies....
Like Steve McQueen in car commercials?