Discussion How do you want the new films to be made? CGI or Practical FX?

Mark Hamill in his surprise May 4th interview said that he wants to see less reliance on CGI and more on traditional film visuals and trickery.

There's also been announcement that Episode VII is going to be shot in UK studios, as well as a rumour that it's going to be filmed on location in Scotland.

How does everyone else feel?

Less green-screen? More? More sets and on-location shooting?


MODified: Edited the title to get this set up as the home for this discussion. - ACOD

 

I want them to be made well

 

I think I want less CGI except for the shots that really need it. Some of my favourite scenes in the PT are ones that don't really utilise CGI all that much.

 

I think they do need to do a better job of balancing green screen and practical sets.

 

Part of my concern is that CG effects can start to look dated over time. Whereas I think the part of the OT that looks dated is mostly the silly computing equipment they have the rest of the film looks fine due to virtually no reliance on CG.

 

How it's done matters nothing. If the end result is a worthy and fantastic addition to the Saga, that I can watch with the same thrill and awe as I did with the others, then I'll be a happy boy.
I don't go to a restaurant with excessive concerns over how a meal is prepared, as long as I'm satisfied with the end result - and not left hungry after the table is cleared.

 

I saw people having to actively resist discussing this topic in other threads where it was only tangentially related, so I thought I'd make the thread myself

 

Oh, come on now. I'm sure the OP thought to do a search of existing topics before starting a new (not redundant) thread.

 

Going once...

 

Wait. If that was indeed sarcasm, yes, I did do a search. And none of the other threads where this issue was discussed saw a mod going 'you want to discuss this in Thread X' so I figured I wasn't missing something.

I'm sorry if I made a mistake.

 

CGI, just as rockanroll, is here to stay. In the case of the space ships, I love the models used in the OT because they look real but their movement is clunky and unrealistic, so the moves (and also the explosions) look a lot better when they're done with CGI.
As far as sets go, the less CGI the better.
As far as Aliens, if they can be played by a human in makeup and disguise, as long as they don't require facial expressions while using a mask, go with it.
No puppets for the same reason as the humans in masks, I prefer CGI instead, when they cannot be played by humans.

 

How is it not unique? Sure it's been discussed briefly in other threads but it doesn't have a thread of its own, and I figured that consolidation would be more effective for people who want to discuss the technical production aspects as a whole and not just discuss the relevance of individual news bits.

I agree with Sum-Wan - masks should be used as much as possible. They did a great job in the PT with how slimy the Neimoidians looked. But others should definitely be CG, if it can't convincingly be played by a human in a suit/costume/makeup/mask.

Anyone have an opinion on film vs. digital?

What about 3D? I personally could really do without 3D.

 

Right. I'll give the OP a topic extension...
The OT was filmed with archaic practical effects and trial and error attempting to make the impossible possible. It was a group of inexperienced creators using what they had to get the job done, and in the process they created an entirely new way of doing things. With the PT, technology in computer effects and 3D environments were used to do what could never be done. This allowed the creators total freedom in realizing on film anything they could imagine and bring it into reality.
Going forward, should Disney/ILM rely on what has worked in the past, or should they 'pass the torch' and allow for the same kind of ground-breaking, forward-thiniking innovation that propelled Star Wars into what it has become?
Star Wars has always been a proving ground for the future of special effects in film. We've seen practical, and we've seen digital. What's next?
Discuss.

 

Is there anything beyond digital? Other than making digital FX look more and more realistic?

 

Soo... Uncanny valley practical?

 

3D holofilms!

Watch it from any angle...