CGI in Cinema | grapeswriting

The Magic of CGI in Cinema

Alan looks at the increasing influence of computer generated imagery in film-making

CGI, or Computer Generated Imagery to give it its full title, has been used in cinema for a lot longer than most of us probably realise. The use of computers to generate or enhance visuals in filmmaking actually dates back to the 1950s. Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958) was the first movie to use the technique, with computer-assisted animation being used underneath the opening credits, while Westworld (1972) is generally believed to be the first feature film to incorporate 2D digital computer animation.

It was a considerable time before the techniques were sophisticated enough to become more widely used. While there are examples of computers enhancing films through the 1970s and early 1980s, it wasn’t until the late 1980s that technology was sufficient to produce a series of pioneering techniques that would see audiences leaving the cinema open-mouthed in wonder.

I will be looking at some of those watershed moments in movies and considering whether CGI is always a welcome enhancement. This is a snapshot view; there will be scores of movies that you might feel should have been mentioned. And you may well be right – in truth I could probably fill half the magazine with examples! This is a personal selection of those films where the computer effects (or lack of them) left a lasting impression on me.

Star Wars, 1977

It is a lesser known fact that the very first Star Wars movie in its original incarnation included some examples of the first use of three dimensional CGI in cinema. The prime example is a 40 second segment of the rebels’ final battle briefing, where a computer generated representation of the Death Star was displayed. This was created by Larry Cuba, from the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (known at the time as the Circle Graphics Habitat) from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

George Lucas famously revisited the first three Star Wars Films (A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi) multiple times when new CGI processes became available, and added in extra computer generated content for several subsequent re-releases of the films. This included the addition of extra aliens and craft in the backgrounds of some scenes, and also famously changing the sequence where Han Solo shoots Greedo (the bounty hunter) in the 1977 original. In revised releases this scene has changed every time. The original film showed Han shooting first. George Lucas was worried that this scene may portray him as being too cold-blooded and so changed the sequence in subsequent releases. In the first revision Greedo is shown as shooting first, with Han’s head digitally manipulated to move slightly to avoid the shot, with Han then killing Greedo in response.

Later versions showed them both firing almost simultaneously, though each subsequent version saw edits made to the frame count to alter the timing further. These changes generated a significant reaction from Star Wars fans, with many believing that the original trilogy should have been left alone. Even Gary Kurtz, the producer of the first three films, has spoken out against the edits. The evolution of the scene with Han and Greedo created significant controversy and has even led to its own Wikipedia page, entitled "Han shot first!".

Terminator 2, 1991

The development of CGI was gaining pace during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with films such as The Abyss (1989) and Total Recall (1990) wowing audiences with new and increasingly innovative effects. But it was the release of Terminator 2 in 1991 that moved the goalposts completely. James Cameron’s epic offering was utterly spectacular from start to finish and included some stunning set pieces, with the animatronics, prosthetics, miniatures, optical effects and stunt teams all contributing.

While already a magnificent film, it was the CGI used to manipulate the movement of the T1000 liquid-metal Terminator that lifted it to a previously unseen level. These pioneering effects were provided by Special Effects Supervisor Dennis Muren, from Industrial Light and Magic (ILM); an American special effects company founded by George Lucas in 1975 to work on the original Star Wars movie.

Scenes such as the T1000 rising up out of the floor behind the unsuspecting guard, morphing into the helicopter, and in particular walking through the bars in the mental hospital were unprecedented and literally left audiences (and Doctor Silberman in one instance!) open-mouthed in wonder.

Han and Greedo - but who fired first?

T2 simply blew me away. Many effects were in use for the first time, but even today they still hold up.

Jurassic Park, 1993
If Terminator 2 raised the bar in 1991, then Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park did so again in 1993. As with Terminator 2, it was Dennis Muren and his team from ILM creating the impossible, this time combining CGI, animatronics and live action for the first time on film. The viewer is treated to many incredible and memorable moments as the various dinosaurs are revealed, but the breathtaking, dramatic and terrifying introduction of the T-Rex will surely go down as one of the defining moments in cinema history.

Despite being held up as a significant milestone in the history of computer generated imagery in film (and rightly so) it is somewhat surprising that the whole movie actually only contains six minutes of CGI. This raises an interesting point. Many films might use CGI in one form or another, but it would normally be to complement other effects, which are still widely used. But nowadays, if your average movie goer sees something impressive it is too easy to immediately dismiss it as computer magic. The other special effects departments must feel somewhat unappreciated at times, as they still contribute enormously but perhaps no longer get proportionate recognition from Joe public. If the viewer simply assumes that all remarkable scenes are the result of computer trickery, after a while you lose the wow factor. The audience becomes lazy and as a result can be harder to impress.

The reality though is that extraordinary scenes in more recent films are not all CGI, even if that might seem the easiest explanation. A life-sized animatronic T-Rex was used in Jurassic Park for some closer shots. James Cameron hired real Harrier Jump-Jets and genuinely left a truck dangling off a destroyed bridge in Florida when making True Lies (1994). Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) featured a full size animatronic Buckbeak and also utilised a remote controlled Hagrid head (which sat on top of ex-England rugby forward, Martin Bayfield, for the mid-distance shots of the genial giant), and Tom Cruise really did jump between rooftops in Mission Impossible Fallout (2018). Often an impressive effect isn’t just the result of computer trickery; other more traditional types of movie-magic still play their part and remain essential.

Retaining tried and tested methods can also enable a film to appear more authentic. When shooting the thrilling driving sequences that form the core of Baby Driver (2017), producer Edgar Wright famously shunned CGI and instead opted to work with stunt drivers. He has estimated that over 95% of the film’s shots were real, with only a small amount of CGI being used alongside the real-world driving. The final result appears more genuine and delivers a more believable feel.

We all remember the first time we saw the T-Rex...

Star Wars – Attack of the Clones, 2002
This brings us rather neatly to the three Star Wars prequel films, which fell squarely into the trap of overusing CGI and subsequently being criticised by audiences. As an example, the majority of Attack of the Clones was filmed using a technique known as green-screen. This is the process of filming sequences against a backdrop of a single colour rather than using traditional sets. Then, by digitally removing that colour, computer-generated backgrounds and other content can be added in post-production. This process enables the use of fantastic and elaborate locations, but too much can make a film feel artificial and the viewer may be left feeling almost as if they are watching a cartoon.

This is a shame, as it wasn’t a bad release by any means; probably being the best of that trilogy. The extended use of CGI allowed for some gloriously elaborate and visually impressive sequences, particularly during the battle for Geonosis, but the movie also managed to almost completely lose the feeling of being real (even allowing for the suspension of disbelief that any fantasy title requires). While CGI may be impressive, that alone isn’t always enough of a reason to use it. If it removes the legitimacy of what we are watching then perhaps it isn’t the best choice.

Film or cartoon? Sometimes it's hard to say...

The Matrix, 1999 and The Matrix Reloaded, 2003
The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded are great examples of the use of terrific and, conversely, less than perfect CGI. Back in 1999 The Matrix shook the world with the pioneering use of 'bullet-time'. To create the effect, 120 still cameras and two movie cameras were positioned surrounding the focal point of the scene. During a take the still cameras were used to take pictures of the action at precise intervals against a green-screen backdrop.

These pictures were then electronically stitched together by computer with the background being digitally added in, to generate the effect of a camera shot rotating about the action as time slows down. It was another huge landmark moment in cinema and earned John Geata and his team an Oscar for visual effects.

The Matrix Reloaded built on the success of the first film and raised the bar further still. I remember the trailer for the long-awaited sequel which included the scene of the agent jumping onto a car bonnet and flipping the vehicle in the freeway chase scene; this looked absolutely epic and made me moist with anticipation (this is the only film in my entire life I saw at one minute past midnight on the day of release!).

However, repeat viewings of the film demonstrate that some of the CGI used, while pioneering, was also maybe pushing the envelope of what was possible at the time just a little too far. A closer inspection of the scenes where Neo flies, and in particular the fight scene against multiple Agent Smiths, reveals that while the sequences are in some ways hugely impressive (the sheer number of participants in the fight is notable), the characters are actually lacking in texture and leave you with a distinct feeling that you are flicking between real action shots and watching a computer game.

On the flip side, the chase scene on the freeway demonstrates the very best that CGI can offer. The Wachowskis spent $2.5 million building a mile and a half of their own freeway on a disused military base in California, which was then used as the backdrop to one of the greatest cinema chase scenes of all time.

We follow Trinity and the Key-maker on a Ducati 996 motorbike, slaloming traffic in order to evade the pursuing agents. This is a high-octane and exhilarating passage with the bike travelling against traffic flow at speed and continually missing oncoming vehicles, seemingly by millimetres. This scene was not nearly as dangerous to film as it appears though; three-quarters of the vehicles in the finished version were computer generated, with the CGI cars and trucks blending seamlessly with the traffic captured in the original shot. This is a perfect example of using computers to augment real world footage to produce exciting, spectacular and, most importantly, authentic looking action sequences.

Bullet-time. Cinema history rotating in front of your eyes...

The fight scenes in The Matrix Reloaded were spectacular but on closer inspection did look like a computer game.

One of the best chase sequences ever.

This scene from the trailer ensured that I was at the cinema at midnight on the day of release!

Avatar, 2009
I can’t write about cinema CGI without mentioning one of the best examples of large scale use of computer effects we have seen to date. Avatar was another James Cameron epic, with CGI making up over 60% of its mammoth two hours and 41 minutes run time. The film took four years to make, and new ground was again broken in production with innovative motion-capture technology being used to digitise live actors.

It is rumoured that Cameron actually started work on the film in the 1990s, but kept delaying production until the available technology had caught up with his requirements. It was only when he saw the character Gollum in Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers (2002) that he believed that technology had advanced sufficiently to deliver his vision.

While earlier in this article I suggested that too much CGI may not always be a good thing, it certainly did Avatar no harm, as it currently sits proudly on top of the league table of the highest grossing movies of all time, having earned a little under $3 Billion!

Pixar
Of course we can’t talk about CGI without mentioning Pixar, who pioneered the use of new rendering processes to produce a stunning series of animated films. Starting with Toy Story (1995) as the first full length release, the movie made such an impact that John Lasseter, the film’s Director, was awarded a special Oscar in 1996. There followed a wonderful catalogue of computer animated releases with Monsters Inc. (2001), The Incredibles (2004), and Up (2009) being personal favourites.

Don't open your eyes, it never ends well...

There is subtle CGI throughout the film to complement the huge set peice scenes...

Don't make him angry, you wouldn't like him etc. etc.

The beach landing scenes are absolutely epic and are best viewed on the big screen.

Edge of Tomorrow – Live Die Repeat, 2014

Before we finish I want to mention one of my favourite films, which seemed to pass the world by. It was considered a flop having grossed only $100 million compared to a production cost of $178 million. Perhaps by being marketed under two names (take the title above and split it) didn’t help, which is a shame as it was truly spectacular and is now slowly developing a reputation for being one of the top science fiction movies of the 2010s.

The film sees the Earth under attack from aliens and follows the personal journey of an American General (Tom Cruise) from coward to world-saving hero of the day, after being catapulted (very much against his will) into the front line of battle. After his death in action he becomes stuck in a time loop whereby he relives the same day repeatedly. If you imagine a cross between Groundhog Day and Independence Day with Cruise taking the place of Bill Murray you won’t be too far away.

Nine visual effects companies worked on the film under the direction of Visual Effects Supervisor Nick Davis. There is extensive use of CGI and the beach battle sequences in particular were vast, epic and extraordinary, especially when viewed on the big screen. To be fair the film is a long way from being perfect - there is very little character development throughout (you struggle to even remember the character names of many that appear), but it doesn’t really matter. This is all about the performances of Cruise, his co-star Emily Blunt and the special effects department, and all three shine. If you like science fiction/action and this one passed you by at the time; it is definitely one to add to your must-watch list!

Epilogue
We have come an extraordinarily long way in a relatively short space of time, and we are reaching a point where the available technology makes almost anything possible. CGI characters can now be dropped into films and can appear virtually indistinguishable from the real actors they share the screen with; digital representations of a youthful Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, along with younger versions of Linda Hamilton and Edward Furlong as Sarah and John Connor at the start of Terminator - Dark Fate (2019) being great examples. The only limit would appear to be the imagination of the film makers.

So where are we now? Does more CGI make a better movie? As it becomes ever more advanced have we reached the tipping point where it will become increasingly cheaper and far less complicated to simply revert to it for all large set pieces? Or is there still a place in the world for those films made using traditional methods? I will answer this with Neo’s final words from The Matrix. Maybe we have reached, “A world without rules and controls, without borders or boundaries. A world where anything is possible. Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you...”.

Other notable films I probably should have included but didn’t have room!

Tron (1982)
The Lawnmower Man 1992
Titanic (1997)
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001 – 2003)
Beowulf (2007)
Gravity (2013)

AG Jan 2023

Featured in Pixel Addict magazine, issue 09.