Nah, Spielberg's been doing great...

Posted by Brett Maverick Lambert from edtntnt8-port-79.dial.telus.net (161.184.198.79) on Thursday, July 25, 2002 at 2:44pm :

In Reply to: Oh, goody. More Lucas bashing. posted by KyleS from ? (209.191.163.10) on Wednesday, July 24, 2002 at 1:33pm :

: : I agree on your points, but there is only one thing that concerns me: George Lucas.

: : He thinks movies are video games now. "How many CGI shots can we cram in this movie with a crow bar?" That would be a disaster. Hopefully Steven and Harrison will keep him from screwing it up.

: I'm going to have to disagree with your point, MK. George Lucas is a storyteller and a damn good one in my book. Lucas uses CGI to tell the story in the best way he possibly can. If you're telling a story and it's set in New York you can easily go to a real place and film there. But if your city is on a fictional planet that is one immense megaopolis then what do you do? You use the best tools and techniques possible get your vision on the screen. For every amazing over the top VFX sequence there are probably ten invisible effects that you don't even notice but help to envelope you in the story. A few clouds in a digital sky, a ploom of smoke, an extra hallway, safety wires from a stunt, birds in a tree, etc., etc. You may or may not agree. I was just reading in latest issue of Cinefex, regarding Episode II, how in the scene where Anakin brushes Padme's hand while talking that it wasn't the actor's hand doing that. The take that Lucas liked didn't have Hayden Christenson touching Natalie Portman's hand so they shot someone elses hand doing that movement and then inserted it into the shot. You can't even tell! That's just one example of how digital effects can enhance a scene with out calling any attention to themselves.

: Imagine if Lucas and Spielberg had the digital tools they have now when filming 'Raiders.' Think of how much time it would have saved them to digitally remove all the television antenna's from the tops of all those buildings in "Cairo." Instead they probably spent days with several crews going through out the city removing those antenna's physically. And then they probably had to put them all back up. All that work for just a few shots. Today they could film it and move on to the next set up while an artist removes the antennas in post-prod.

: Now I do appreciate the physical effects as much as anyone. The truck chase in ROTLA would not be the same if they had green screened it. The fact that the background is actually racing by as Indy climbs in the truck is what puts you directly in that scene. Contrast that to the airplane/car chase in LC. Ugh. CGI would have probably enhanced that sequence.

: I for one am more concerned with Spielberg. His track record has been less than great this past decade. I did enjoy MINORITY REPORT though.

: -Kyle

I thought his last three movies (Private Ryan, A.I. and Minority Report) were all great. I say he's getting back in the groove of things!

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: : : I agree on your points, but there is only one thing that concerns me: George Lucas. : : : He thinks movies are video games now. "How many CGI shots can we cram in this movie with a crow bar?" That would be a disaster. Hopefully Steven and Harrison will keep him from screwing it up. : : I'm going to have to disagree with your point, MK. George Lucas is a storyteller and a damn good one in my book. Lucas uses CGI to tell the story in the best way he possibly can. If you're telling a story and it's set in New York you can easily go to a real place and film there. But if your city is on a fictional planet that is one immense megaopolis then what do you do? You use the best tools and techniques possible get your vision on the screen. For every amazing over the top VFX sequence there are probably ten invisible effects that you don't even notice but help to envelope you in the story. A few clouds in a digital sky, a ploom of smoke, an extra hallway, safety wires from a stunt, birds in a tree, etc., etc. You may or may not agree. I was just reading in latest issue of Cinefex, regarding Episode II, how in the scene where Anakin brushes Padme's hand while talking that it wasn't the actor's hand doing that. The take that Lucas liked didn't have Hayden Christenson touching Natalie Portman's hand so they shot someone elses hand doing that movement and then inserted it into the shot. You can't even tell! That's just one example of how digital effects can enhance a scene with out calling any attention to themselves. : : Imagine if Lucas and Spielberg had the digital tools they have now when filming 'Raiders.' Think of how much time it would have saved them to digitally remove all the television antenna's from the tops of all those buildings in "Cairo." Instead they probably spent days with several crews going through out the city removing those antenna's physically. And then they probably had to put them all back up. All that work for just a few shots. Today they could film it and move on to the next set up while an artist removes the antennas in post-prod. : : Now I do appreciate the physical effects as much as anyone. The truck chase in ROTLA would not be the same if they had green screened it. The fact that the background is actually racing by as Indy climbs in the truck is what puts you directly in that scene. Contrast that to the airplane/car chase in LC. Ugh. CGI would have probably enhanced that sequence. : : I for one am more concerned with Spielberg. His track record has been less than great this past decade. I did enjoy MINORITY REPORT though. : : -Kyle : I thought his last three movies (Private Ryan, A.I. and Minority Report) were all great. I say he's getting back in the groove of things!

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