Computer Generated Imagery - Essay Example

? Computer Generated Imagery CGI stands for Computer Generated Imagery and it refers to any static or moving visual image whose creation or finishing had become possible due to the help and graphics added by the computer. Without any doubts, CGI has one of the most important technologies, which are responsible for revolutionizing the film, television, video game, and entire media (Page, pp. 52-59). When CGI first came onto the scene and when for the first time digital or virtual elements were added to the real scene, it was easy even for a nonprofessional to identify that which elements were real and which were fake. However, with the passage of time, the technology improved and now it has become virtually impossible for the naked eye to differentiate between the real and computer generated image. Film industry like any other industry is facing the pressures of globalization and competition. Gone are the days when filmmakers had no concern about the budgets of the film, expenses, and costs of the projects only because the idea and the cast of the film were too strong. Producers are now looking for efficient methods of filmmaking with maximum and high quality results (Page, pp. 52-59). Much of the technological innovation is the result of the same and so is the CGI technology. It allows the filmmakers to save great amount of time, money, and effort. With CGI, filmmakers do not have to make efforts towards gathering the entire cast, crew on a single shooting location for a scene but a scene can be shot at any location, and CGI will do the rest. Furthermore, CGI can also create scenes, which are not only costly but dangerous as well. Consider the example of scene where the filmmakers have to show a building exploding with many people around it. Quite understandably, allowing a real explosion to happen with people around it would not only be costly but would also pose serious threat to the lives and property of many people. Thanks to CGI that it is troublefree to shoot these scenes. The only thing, which the filmmakers will have to do, is to take shots of the building from every angle and the computer experts would then set it on fire sitting on their computers (Miller, Vandome & McBrewster, pp 152-155). Another important reason why CGIs are worth the appreciation and support is that they have allowed and encouraged the filmmakers to broaden the horizon of their imaginations. What we saw in inception and 2012 recently, there is the probability that the directors of 70s or 80s may have thought on these lines but failed to translate their imaginations and ideas on screen because of absence of this technology. Today, the filmmakers have the liberty to think beyond what is known by science and technology. In fact, with their imagination and its on screen translation with the help of CGI, filmmakers even provide new directions to the scientists and experts to think (Page, pp. 52-59). Moreover, it has also benefited the video game industry because now it has become possible for the videogame creators to produce videogames of many movies and television series, which are on screen. Examples like Tomb Raider, Max Payne, Saw, Home Alone, Hit Man, Resident Evil, Doom, Mortal Kombat, Prince of Persia, The Karate Kid, The Mask of Zorro, Star Wars, Street Fighters, Spider Man, Alice in wonderland and others (Miller, Vandome & McBrewster, pp 152-155). CGI has allowed people to achieve real and higher level entertainment from the movies. Without any doubts, the audience usually forms strong associations with the movies, their characters, plots, and scenarios. Furthermore, moviemakers earn a lot from these movies as compared to other professions. This is because the people are ready to pay huge amounts to see certain movies. The point here is that with CGI, the entertainment industry, in the real scene has been the “entertainment” industry. People are getting value for their money. They get to see stuff, which is beyond their imagination, they heroes doing stunts which allow them to conquer the hearts and minds of the audience and pictures which the audience has never seen before (Page, pp. 52-59). There are numerous examples of how CGI has allowed movies to transform from ordinary movies to super hits. In fact, it is even difficult to imagine their existence in the first place in the absence of CGI. Consider the example of inception, which is a recent blockbuster hit and currently ranks on the 25th in the list of highest grossing movies of all time. This movie has bagged eight Academy Award nominations and has been to get four awards. This movie, which had more than 500 virtual shots, was able to get praise both from the critics and the audience (Miller, Vandome & McBrewster, pp 152-155). One of the biggest recent examples in this regard would be of Avatar, which currently ranks at the top on the list of the highest grossing movies of all time. This movie which is largely based on Computer generate imagery was nominated for eight Academy awards and was able to win three of them. This is the only film in the history of Hollywood, which has grossed the amount of 2 billion US dollars in sales. David Cameron, the director of the film wanted to release this film in 1999 but he said the same could not happen because the necessary advancement in CGI had not taken place until that time. It was not until the summer of 2006 when Cameron was sure that CGI technology is there for him to create this film and provide the biggest hit of the entire history to the audience and entire film world (Graber, pp. 78-82). Other notable examples include movies like terminator, Star Wars, 2012, Star Trek, spider man, Transformers, Iron Man, Eagle Eye, Doomsday, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Land of the Lost, The invasion, I am Legend, 28 days Later, the Fountain, War of the Worlds and may others (Miller, Vandome & McBrewster, pp 152-155). However, one important con or claim against the use of CGI which has came up in the recent years is the fact that today many filmmakers somewhat overrate the use of CGI in their films and forget to pay attention to plots and other details (Graber, pp. 78-82). For the time being, may be the audience would prefer watching these plot less virtual worlds but in this way, these filmmakers would take away the essence of the film from these movies and that is the plot of movie. For the past few years, many movie critics have been raising their voice against the same, forcing the directors to pay attention towards the real essence of the movies (Graber, pp. 78-82). Towards the end, it is understandable to conclude that in the absence of CGI or in the absence of the recent advancements, which have taken place in CGI, the audience would have found themselves deprived of much needed entertainment and imagination. CGI has not only revolutionized but also provided great benefits to the industry and the audiences. However, it is important for the filmmakers not to lose focus of other essential elements of filmmaking while using CGI (Page, pp. 52-59). Works Cited Graber, Sheila. Animation: A Handy Guide. A&C Black, 2011. Miller, Frederic P., Vandome, Agnes F., & McBrewster, John. Computer-Generated Imagery. Alphascript Publishing, 2010. Page, Simon. Special effects in film. Heinemann, 2005. Read More