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09.27.09 * The Yoda Factor: CG
or
Puppet? ..... This is not
specifically
about Yoda. The CG Yoda vs Puppet Yoda is only 'Symbolic'.
An article I read just blew me away. IMO,
strikes
at root about certain problems with CG and its overuse. You may
have
to read a number of times to try and grasp it. It's kind of
from a brain evolutionary POV and 'humans' intuitive ability to
visually perceive imagery that is believable
or not
believable. I could
never make such deep analysis & observations like this author. This
article is cogent and validates
what I
sometimes
have rambled
in past
.... That audiences already are aware of the over-hyped process of CGI
and many can unconsciously sense the separation of
the 'live' & compute  r generated
elements.
I'll try to give a
quasi summary of article: When
CGI is used to create
entire
environment including characters,
audiences are forgiving and accept in full,
that synthesized
world. However, when digital creatures occupy the same living
area of tangible objects and humans, especially when they interact with
recognizable actors
.... the
level of believability becomes more complicated
and problematic. This is partly because the fake digital characters
where not created in that environment. It does not have a real
texture element that exists in the real world.There is a disconnect.
However, if it were REAL Puppets, there is more believablity. The 'real
tangible' special effects forces
a
different CREATIVITY to tell a Story.
At the end of the article, it also validates what I have
always
said
.... MIX-UP the Special
Effects methods. It will help make the product more
believable and will not
have that homogenized CG flavor.  Think about this: Since the first 'Jurassic Park' (1993), from layman's POV, I DO NOT see that much Qualitative improvement when you compare it with today's Realistic-type CG creature characters. Sixteen years after JP and supposed mega-million dollars in more advance 'Puter Software tools technology, and so, where is that humongous leap in CGI Aesthetics/Look IMPROVEMENT on the SCREEN?? How more supposed realistic can you get? Perhaps the slight advancement that I, 'the general audience' SEEs on the screen, is CGI's ability to show-off and clone hundreds to thousands of CGI characters, space ships, animal/creature herds, flocks, swarms, ad nauseum. All to overwhelm you and you are suppose to be impressed? If you see this repeatedly over & over, it GETS really OLD (CG empty eye candy calories). Hey, you can make a DAMN GOOD MOVIE with just 3 fuggin characters!! (solid story & character development) If you have a keen eye and look at all the realistic-type CG synthesized character effects, they all have a 'Signature' to it. It's because the VISUAL IMAGERY are synthesized manufactured and filtered through the same Computer production pipeline. It may be a good performance by CG animator, but you cannot escape the 'Synthesized Pixelized Material'. It has a recognizable feel, look, and motion characteristics. That is the Aesthetic Signature of CGI. Hey 'Suits' .... Maybe the audiences want a VARIETY in their Movie Entertainment DIET? You cannot live on only Peanut Butter (CG) 24/7. It will make you sick. Anyway, light-up your pipe or cigar, pour yourself some wine, slip on your reading glasses & read the article Digital Creatures (authored by Landon Palmer) Comments to article * Is Excessive CGI and 'No Plot' becoming a trend in Movies? ..... This is kind of related to above. Good read written by Chelsea Doyle but perhaps, her article maybe not reaching the specific or wider audience. So far, she has only received minimal replies. Excellent points she m  akes but in Softer Tone
than me. I like to hit
you on
the head with a hammer with my
sometimes 'In your Face' commentary. You all know, that in past, I have
equated excess CGI
similar to
'cocaine-like high visual eye candy calories'. It's
all
empty
& temporary
satisfaction if
movie does not have solid
foundation of story & characters.
I am no expert,
but I got GUT INSTINCTS and my observations tells me
....that is the contributory factor why audiences get jaded &
bored
very FAST .... same homogenized crap they're being fed .... the drone
masses addicted thanks to the mainstream 'Tinsel Town' pushers
.....'Every high (eye candy) becomes a new low (needs more to get the
fix)'
To help reach a more targeted audience such as you
and
me, here is link
to Chelsea's
article
plus a bonus article
District
9, and the failing of CGI Effects____________________ 09.19.09 * Laika Studio does
second
round of lay offs ..... The last lay
offs were back in Dec
'08, specifically the 'computer animation department' with
about 65
let go. This current lay off is
about 63
employees and again,
in the computer animation department. In general on mass scale, hundreds of
thousands of people have very unfortunately lost
their jobs
in this depressed economic/financial period and I will attempt to
restrain myself from going off on a TIRADE
ab  out, how the
current 'USA
leadership' is contributing
to
it. The arts and entertainment industry is not immune to these economic times. It also has to contend with the general fierce competiveness of this business. According to the news byte article about Laika ..... due to positive critical praise and audience favorable reception of 'Coraline', Laika will be focusing on Stop Motion Animation projects. What can we read into this with regards to the bigger picture? Personally, I have always sensed a GLUT of CGI. Is it finally reaching a SATURATION point? The public relentlessly being bombarded with CGI and they are getting JADED. No more 'Wow' factor. The Tinsel Town 'Suits', as usual, running IT into the ground until the people are bored of it. These are observations that I have ranted many times in the past and I know you all thought that I was nuts. It's okay, I 'forgive' your blindness tetttttt. I can see the trends and how mainstream 'Hollywood' works. Just think, ONLY LAIKA Studio in the USA, a semi-mainstream, semi-large studio is offering Stop Motion production services. The majority of studios in the USA and probably worldwide, large or boutique sized, are 'Mouse Clicking CGI'. Of course, we do have the smaller boutique studios that offer 'some' Stop Motion, but they are in the micro-minority compared to CGI. Read Laika lays off 63, scrubs plans for computer-animated features Message to Laika: "Yo Travis .... whassup, whassup. Maybe suggest to your dad to forget about Laika Campus Studio. Economy is volatile right now. Concentrate your resources on your People/Talent. Good ol' warehouse works just as well. It is the END FINISHED PRODUCT that is of priority IMPORTANCE". Addendum: I am not casting aspersions at the CGI technique or the people who do the work. My primary complaint is that CGI shutting out OTHER animation styles/aesthetics. It's almost like a monopoly. It's likely the myopic 'Suits' responsible for the CGI saturation and refuse to give the public VARIETY of PRODUCTS. 'Suits' (not being creatives, visionaries, artists) just $EXPLOIT$ until its DEAD. EDIT: 09.20.09 * 'Pursuit': Stop Motion combined with Live Action ..... A demo quick rough test that the ISMC group executed. It was added to Ron S. Cole's demo reel for review by an independent producti  on studio, Giant Flick Films.
NO .... this is not
for computer animation special effects work aka CGI. In
this age of
worldwide take-over by the same ol', same, ol' homogenized CGI, it is a
rarity that
this very savvy and
thinking
out of the box
company Giant
Flick
Films
are considering
the inclusion
of State of the
Art Stop Motion Creature Effects for some of the scenes in
their upcoming film Sinbad:
The Fifth Voyage, (IMDb),
starring world renowned & respected actor, Patrick Stewart.
I already
commented about this independently produced Fifth Voyage.
What a missed opportunity for the 'Clash of the
Titans' remake (they completely ignored our appeal).
Finally, where no
mainstream studio would challenge
the onslaught of CGI creature character effects (ad nauseum), it looks
like an independent
studio might be doing some trailblazing,
and most importantly for me, they would be honoring
and paying a heart felt
sincere Tribute
to the Master
of Stop Motion,
the one and only .... Ray
Harryhausen Take a look at the 'Pursuit'
test & Here
- Messageboard
comments UPDATE:
I
received information .... NO
STOP
MOTION. I RETRACT
my previous endorsement of Giant Flick
Films until further
notice. Their Sinbad will be all CG effects content
like all
the other CG saturated products. Not a
true tribute to Uncle
Ray. EDIT:
09.25.09____________________ 09.07.09 * 'Clash
of Titans' (remake), 'Fantastic Mr. Fox', and 'Avatar'
..... No comment from Uncle LIO  . Clash
retread, a CGI orgy-fest & nothing much else to say.
Mr.
Fox teaser
behind scenes but my Uncle already talked-out
too much at
SMW News. What
happened to Jimmy Cameron after original 'Terminator'?
Production
cost for 'Avatar'
about $250 million+
 . Kind of nice &
cushy to devote about
10 years on one
movie?? Posted by LIO's
Nephew©* 'The Golden Child' (1986): Butchered Finale Stop Motion Scenes ..... Near the climax conclusion of movie, some extraordinary, albiet truncated Stop Motion Creature Effects done by ILM, specifically executed by Phil Tippett, Randy Dutra, Tom St. Amand, Chris Walas & others when they were doing hired work for that studio. The effects used were Ol' Classic techniques requiring, get your hands dirty proble  m solving
& sweat labor hands on tactile creativity. In 1986 this was
well before before the worldwide
takeover and domination by 'Mouse-clicking CGI Homogenized 'Puter
FX'. The brief Harryhausen-esque Stop Motion you saw in
'The Golden
Child'
was first tampered
by the
Director Michael Ritchie,
who, during the demon puppet design, approved the wing feathered
look
but then later (after scenes already shot) being undecided, he changed his mind and
wanted a more leathery look to the wings, and so scenes were re-shot and/or cut. Then I guess at
the time, Eddie
Murphy (the 'star' of
movie) was
perhaps a hot celebrity property and maybe 'Tinsel Town' dare not
offend him?
Anyway, Eddie Murphy seeing the preview screenings, wanted 'Golden
Child'
to be more comedic
& funny,
and then with Czar-like authority, demanded that the
'Suits' CUT & REDUCE the Stop Mo Demon
scenes. I would like to belatedly (23 years later) express
to Mr. Michael 'indecisive'
Ritchie and
to Mr. Eddie
'You're just a FRIGG'N
actor making
directorial creative
decisions' Murphy, my complete disagreement
 (controlling
my rage) with both of you, for shamelessly castrating
'The Golden
Child' ending
which could have
been way, way
more awesome and
powerful. Watch:At about 09:05
man
to demon
hyper-quick transforms then what little is
left of
the Demon Stop Mo scenes here. If you can tolerate Eddie
Murphy,
you can watch all
of 'The
Golden Child' in 9
YouTube chapters (Behind scenes info from Cinefex
#30 - 1987) Hmmm .... are those deleted Stop Mo
scenes locked
away in a vault at ILM?  * Canada / Montreal Stop Motion Film Festival ..... I received this last week. With festivals, contests, or events that are 'time sensitive', our SMW staff cannot always immediately post them. We somewhat have a schedule when we update the news. Particularly with Animation contests, I 
would suggest
to give much more
advance notice.
Stop Motion does take more
time
to produce compared to other animation methods. Deadline for film
submissions is the
end of this month September
30, 2009.
Maybe, if you have an existing
finished stop motion animated work, you can enter that in
festival. Give it a try. This is the first edition of the festival
which will debut October 24 and 25, 2009. Canada is known to be
very friendly
to the animation arts with a lot of support from organizations such as
the Nation Film Board. Even if there is no prize, you can
get
some publicity mileage. This is somewhat rare, a festival just for Stop Motion.
Consider entering the festival which would help their premiere showing
to start off with a big bang. Get info here Stop
Motion
Montreal EDIT:
09.08.09> Making of 'The Thing' (1982) - Animatronics/cable,
matte paintings,
miniatures, & director deleted stop motion 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 > Making of 'Empire Strikes Back' (1980) - The best of original trioligy Watch 
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