posted
FC came out over a decade ago. People have been obsessing over these ships ever since. And you've only just now noticed that they are not super-detailed.
I would say that means the modellers did their jobs just fine.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
I forgot how long ago FC came out. Considering this, it's not surprising how bad the model is. In fact, for it's day, it might have been the most advanced type of CGI Model available.
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted
Well, okay, not the best available. But we've come a long way baby from 1996.
Registered: Feb 2005
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Daniel Butler
I'm a Singapore where is my boat
Member # 1689
posted
I'm rewatching seaQuest. A review I read claimed the CGI holds up well even today. Errrrr yeah right. It's like something out of a mid-budget PS2 game. This was 1993, and looking at FC in 96, even remembering it was a movie and not a TV show, I'd say it was definitely very good for its time.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
I was watching Jurassic Park just the other day. Granted, most of the dinosaur effects in the movie were practical, but ILM's CGI dinosaurs from 1993 still hold up pretty well and closely match the practical effects.
I think that within a few years movies will enter an era where the special effects won't become dated. The final hurtle will probably be making CGI humans (or humanoids) that can deceive the eye. Right now they just don't move or look right; for example, the clones from Episode II and Episode III or the vampires/zombies from I Am Legend (which really should have been realized with practical effects).
-------------------- "Having is not so pleasing a thing, after all, as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true."
Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
In defence of I Am Legend, you'd need allot of freakish fit anorexics to look and move like that. They're certainly getting close, Gollum for instance looked totally convincing to me. So much so that I'd often forget I was looking at an animated character, though I imagine most of that has to do with the performance capture technology.
Not that that always works, I saw a bit of polar express a while back and it just looked damn freaky and in a weird way the characters were more wooden than in FF:The Spirits Within. Beoful is so far the closest they've come to photoreal lookign humans, however as soon as the beasties show up, you become suddenly aware you're watching animated characters again.
As with the Akira, most of what the human eye looks for is motion. So if it moves right you've done half the work already.
posted
I always felt that Mainframe Entertainment did a good job simulating human movement of characters in their shows. Most importantly they were able to seamlessly sync the characters mouths to the actors voices. I recall one kid's show where the CGI was of poorer quality. The characters moved as if they were stuck in jell-o and also suffered from lockjaw.
Registered: Feb 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Reverend: In defence of I Am Legend, you'd need allot of freakish fit anorexics to look and move like that.
Yeah, I think contacting a model agency isn't too difficult.
Except for the freakishly fit part. I doubt those girls have any kind of endurance for running, jumping and being scary, having not much in terms of muscle mass and all...maybe those Chinese martial arts/gymnasts types or ballet dancers at a stretch, but not models.
quote:I always felt that Mainframe Entertainment did a good job simulating human movement of characters in their shows. Most importantly they were able to seamlessly sync the characters mouths to the actors voices. I recall one kid's show where the CGI was of poorer quality. The characters moved as if they were stuck in jell-o and also suffered from lockjaw.
That's just good old fashioned Ray Harryhausen style key frame talent. Still, as I recall the models on that show were relatively basic, so the movement doesn't have to be THAT realistic because the brain can see it's clearly not "human". It's when things get so that in a still image, they look like they (almost) could be real but if they move wrong, it's all the more noticeable. Part of the whole "uncanny valley" effect I believe.
posted
Well Reboot was one of Mainframe's earlier shows. They also did a Spider-man cartoon on MTV which had characters which moved pretty realistically(save for Spidey and assorted villains). Of course those characters also suffered from not being realistic. Yet that was more because all the male characters were buff and all female characters were freakishly thin with large breast.
Registered: Feb 2005
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Daniel Butler
I'm a Singapore where is my boat
Member # 1689
posted
I think FF:Spirits Within would've looked very realistic if they'd use motion capture (which as I understand they didn't, they wanted it pure CGI). I remember hearing that they rendered the wrinkles on their skin in 3D instead of as 2D textures, even, and if you watch the chick's hair, it's very realistic - I think they actually had several hundred thousand strands of it. I read somewhere most of the rendering time was spent on her hair.
Registered: Jul 2005
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