When they can stop making CG look too shiny and wet to be real, I'll be more impressed. Actually, when directors make decisions that use more story and less CG, I'll be more impressed. You really don't need thousands of computer generated orcs to tell your story of overwhelming odds and shiat always in the way on the screen, you really really don't.

Best thing about The Hobbit - Del Toro.

The man is a visual genius.

galactus5000: Quick - stop saying good things about Avatar, or Bill Frist will come in.

As if I haven't had my dose of comedy for the weekend. Yay.

So the Hobbits will look like weird cartoony Jake Buseys?

Improved CGI is awesome, but I hope 3D doesn't become a standard, not all movies benefit from 3D.

Also some people can't even see 3D films so you're left watching what could be an inferior version.

Nobody's mentioned this yet?

article date
August 31, 2009

Remember when movies had, like, people in them?

Came here to say this:
zez: Nobody's mentioned this yet?

article date
August 31, 2009
so 3D might still be an option...

This isn't news.
This isn't even not-news.

Repeat an article from the release of Return of the King and just replace all references to it with "Avatar" and you've got the same thing.

hubiestubert: Weta is pretty much storming the ILM gates at this point.

They don't have the resources to go up against them for the volume of projects that ILM can put together, but the more quality work they do, the more tech they vet, perfect, and then work over again the more work they will get.

The good news is it's the kind of competition that ILM has really needed to get them pushing forward as well.

Except for the fact that ILM did a lot on Avatar as well. No one shop could have done that entire film in a timely manner. There's like 5 frames in the entire movie with no CG.

But the insane part is that WETA did most of the CG and Cameron was in LA. I can't even begin to think about trying to do most of the conceptualization and planning on a video conference. fark that.

gadian: When they can stop making CG look too shiny and wet to be real, I'll be more impressed.

They already learned that trick, it's just too processor intensive.

Skin is translucent, and it needs to reflect differently from different depths. I'm not a CGI guy, but it sounds to me like that means for each image you'd need to do multiple nested renderings of each creature.

Donald_McRonald: Remember when movies had, like, people in them?

Yes, actually. Anything from The Hurt Locker to, oh, Did You Hear About The Morgans. Also, that Sharlto Copley guy in District 9 acted pretty durn good for onna dem showy flicks.

Funny; you can get the same ratio of crap to quality either way. Amazing that maybe technology in film can enhance as well as detract from a film.

Red Mundus: Improved CGI is awesome, but I hope 3D doesn't become a standard, not all movies benefit from 3D.

Also some people can't even see 3D films so you're left watching what could be an inferior version.

Look, I'm all for political correctness but we need to stop catering to the cyclops lobby.

I am an avid hater of CGI. Probably half the FARK showbiz threads I express movie nerd outrage pertaining to the overuse of that crap. But this movie is where it belongs, and they didn't fail.

Where there's a whip, there's a way.

wolvernova: I am an avid hater of CGI. Probably half the FARK showbiz threads I express movie nerd outrage pertaining to the overuse of that crap. But this movie is where it belongs, and they didn't fail.

I read a comment somewhere else asking whether Avatar would be as 'impressive on an ipod/iphone'. Well, of course it wouldn't. Some of the complaints about story, which I agree was predictable and straightforward, are dismissing the film because they are separating it from the visuals. To me, this film is the first real representation that the CGI technology and 3D experience cannot be separated out from the story and they are all there to complement each other equally.

Because the world was so lush and fleshed out, because there was so much detail to it, it sucked me into the story and gave the final conflict more weight. I hated to see such an incredible world come under threat of destruction.

This is not a film that is made to be seen on an iphone or ipod. Hell, it's not even made to be seen at home (unless you have a gigantic HDTV). Cameron has once again changed filmmaking and I am very thankful for that.

from the comments in this thread i know that the Weta digital imaging studio has a huge facility and their tech is expanding and getting more advanced. My question is, Is anyone else afraid it's processor will link up with the LHC and become self aware on December 21, 2012? or is my weed making me paranoid?

Maybe they can make gollum less fake looking

/am I the only one?

Anyone know how long it took to render Avatar? I mean we have the ability to create super computers with today's graphics cards which are purpose built to do this kind of thing but Pandora was amazingly detailed...

wolvernova: Donald_McRonald: Remember when movies had, like, people in them?

Yeah, I saw one of those today. You should check it out.

Yes, I saw it too.

I love SF.

I am very fond of Fantasy.

James Cameron has made some really excellent movies.

Avatar isn't one of them.

Way too long. Way too cliche. Way too predictable.

That said, the 3D and visuals were very advanced.

Postal Penguin: Anyone know how long it took to render Avatar? I mean we have the ability to create super computers with today's graphics cards which are purpose built to do this kind of thing but Pandora was amazingly detailed...

It's a distributed problem, so there is no render so complicated that it can't be overcome by simply throwing money at more hardware

Lost Thought 00:
It's a distributed problem, so there is no render so complicated that it can't be overcome by simply throwing money at more hardware

the last time I threw a $20 bill at my computer, it didn't run any faster :(

I like how subby assumed no one knew of Weta.

I just finished sitting through "Ben-Hur", so I'm getting a kick out of this thread.

Sandbox Leprechaun: I hated to see such an incredible world come under threat of destruction.

"Dances With Wolves" meets "Ferngully", in space. Meanwhile, we're still arguing about climate change, greenhouse gases, endangered species, and so on. Perhaps if we'd blown $400 million on preserving what we already have on our own world, instead of creating 3D movies full of CGI about destroying lush alien worlds, the guilt driving such productions would be unnecessary.

Just saw avatar today, that movie delivers, haters will find a reason to hate, but they cant help themselves.

Considering Avatar uses the same technology (though, used a zillion times as much) that LOTR used for Gollum... this isn't a surprise.

FormlessOne: I just finished sitting through "Ben-Hur", so I'm getting a kick out of this thread.

Sandbox Leprechaun: I hated to see such an incredible world come under threat of destruction.

"Dances With Wolves" meets "Ferngully", in space. Meanwhile, we're still arguing about climate change, greenhouse gases, endangered species, and so on. Perhaps if we'd blown $400 million on preserving what we already have on our own world, instead of creating 3D movies full of CGI about destroying lush alien worlds, the guilt driving such productions would be unnecessary.

But we already have millions of dead injuns that supposedly weigh upon our conscious, decades after the last people cared.



Jean Jacques Rousseau can suck my dick in eternity in hell for that one.

FormlessOne: I just finished sitting through "Ben-Hur", so I'm getting a kick out of this thread.

Sandbox Leprechaun: I hated to see such an incredible world come under threat of destruction.

"Dances With Wolves" meets "Ferngully", in space. Meanwhile, we're still arguing about climate change, greenhouse gases, endangered species, and so on. Perhaps if we'd blown $400 million on preserving what we already have on our own world, instead of creating 3D movies full of CGI about destroying lush alien worlds, the guilt driving such productions would be unnecessary.

Ben-Hur is amazing, looking back. The chariot scene! Sooo insane. I don't want to see Avatar because the plot is so lame and cliche, though I very eagerly await the Rifftrax. Also, blue cat people who fly around on dragon-y things are the best he can come up with, even with the tons of creative talent and cash he threw into that movie? District 9's prawns are much more awesome and believable.