Since the birth of cinema, filmmakers have found various ways of telling their stories. They’ve needed to “cheat”, in a sense – to make the impossible possible. Visual effects were created to fill a gap in the filmmaking toolbox. Since there are only two ways to accomplish VFX, there are those on either side of the debate: Practical v. CGI. Let’s dive into that debate and see what we find! The birth of VFX There are so many great resources on the web where you can find the history of VFX, so I won’t bother paraphrasing what’s been said better. But it is worth mentioning that the first visual effect in a film was the edit. A simple cut from one shot to the next. As simple as it was, it was revolutionary. And it didn’t stop there. A shot from ‘ Le Voyage dans la Lune’ (A Trip to the Moon) from 1902. Source: BFI. As films evolved, visionaries such as Georges Méliès, Eugen Schüfftan, and Ray Harryhausen advanced the world of VFX, whether by simple camera trickery or inventing new techniques (such as stop-motion). The next paradigm shift came in the 1990s when artists used computer-generated effects to create things that never existed. Things that could never exist. After that, we had several years of really bad CGI in films before redefining our standards. I know several people who cringe when they see heavy use of CGI in any film. But, those same people are willing to forgive...
Published By: CineD - Saturday, 4 November, 2023