What's with Lucas and CGI?

[Tyranic_Lord]

Honestly, it seems like this guy worships CGI! First of all, cgi totally ruined Phantom Menace. How you ask? Well, the animators were just learning animation at this stage, thus it was poorly done. None of the CGI characters look realistic. The comedy and Jar Jar added to the patheticness of this movie. I was like okay, he messed up in first prequel, so I'm sure he'll learn from his mistake on the 2nd installment, but NOOOOOOO. The guy has nerve to use more CGI on Attack of the Clones! Ugh! Truly, I'm okay with using CGI in certain situations like making the cities and planets, but not sets, places, or characters! I much perfer REAL sets. Also, except for Yoda, every other character should have been either costume or persona. And the guy wonders why the prequels aren't so popular like his orginal series..

[tedward]

Millions of people agree with you.

[spiderman_2k]

He has a CGI fetish i think...

[Rocketboy]

Originally posted by Tyranic_Lord
Honestly, it seems like this guy worships CGI! First of all, cgi totally ruined Phantom Menace. How you ask? Well, the animators were just learning animation at this stage, thus it was poorly done. None of the CGI characters look realistic. The comedy and Jar Jar added to the patheticness of this movie. I was like okay, he messed up in first prequel, so I'm sure he'll learn from his mistake on the 2nd installment, but NOOOOOOO. The guy has nerve to use more CGI on Attack of the Clones! Ugh! Truly, I'm okay with using CGI in certain situations like making the cities and planets, but not sets, places, or characters! I much perfer REAL sets. Also, except for Yoda, every other character should have been either costume or persona. And the guy wonders why the prequels aren't so popular like his orginal series.. Don't like 'em? Don't watch 'em.
Simple as that.

[Rocketboy]

Originally posted by tedward
Millions of people agree with you. And millions of others disagree.

[Mat]

I'd rather Lucas work on his writing than cut out the CG. The CG characters don't bother me. I mean Jar Jar would be no less annoying in a costume than in CG, and everyone would be saying it's just a guy in a costume. The only thing that has bugged me about Lucas's CG usage is the Clone Troopers. Would it really hurt to get a few extras in some costumes?

[superxero88]

Have None of you seen the South Park episode "Free Hat" it features a special fake appearance by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Its very funny, after watching I was able to laugh over all this CGI nonsense and just watch the movie.

[jbailey84]

i love that episode! that's funny when they replace the guns with flashlights in Saving Private Ryan like how Steven S did in E.T.

[Slipknot]

if lucus could use like the same cgi that is used in LOTR on Gollum then he'd make it look wicked good, but all the cgi in Episodes 1 and 2 sucked wicked bad. The best cgi ive eva seen is on Gollum.

[Alien]

I think Phantom Menace was great and don't see how any of the CGI could ruin it, ok there was one section of the Darth Maul fight where Obi-Wan had a purple lightsaber and not a blue one but change of camera angle and it was fine. I personally don't see what everyone has against Jar Jar ok he wasn't my fav character but I didn't hate him.

I didn't know the Clone Troopers were all CG till I watched the commentary so it can't be all bad.

I personally don't see what's wrong with all the CGI, hell a lot of you people like old movies with clay animation and puppets.

[superxero88]

CGI is his father. thats why. he loves his pops.

[elvishfurby]

Originally posted by Tyranic_Lord
Honestly, it seems like this guy worships CGI! First of all, cgi totally ruined Phantom Menace. How you ask? Well, the animators were just learning animation at this stage, thus it was poorly done. None of the CGI characters look realistic. The comedy and Jar Jar added to the patheticness of this movie. I was like okay, he messed up in first prequel, so I'm sure he'll learn from his mistake on the 2nd installment, but NOOOOOOO. The guy has nerve to use more CGI on Attack of the Clones! Ugh! Truly, I'm okay with using CGI in certain situations like making the cities and planets, but not sets, places, or characters! I much perfer REAL sets. Also, except for Yoda, every other character should have been either costume or persona. And the guy wonders why the prequels aren't so popular like his orginal series..

The reason for his West Nile Virus Movie behavior with CGI is: He dated CGI for three years, :)

[todd philip]

Lucas wnats these stra wars movies to be just like how he imagines them in his head!

[Rizor]

I thought Watto and Sebulba looked excellent. The clothing simulation for Jar Jar in Episode II is also terrific. It's pretty much photo-real.

[Riddle]

He relies to much on CGI to tells his stories. The prequels would be twice a good, if he took out half the CGI and added twice the ammount of plot/characterization/dialogue.

[Rabbit]

That's 100% right.
I even prefer a puppet Yoda over the CGI one.

[jbailey84]

yeah the puppet Yoda was wayyyyy better than the CGI yoda. George Lucas love CGI like a kid in a candy store. just wants more and more and more and MORE!!!

[true fan11212]

Personally,I think the CGI has worked well in the prequels,for the most part.Like Rizor said,Watto,Sebulba & Jar-Jar look Photo-realistic.

[redman]

u know why i want less cgi. cause it doesnt look real. simple as that.

remember all the good sci-fi movies of the late 70's, 80's and early 90's like aliens, total recall, star warsetc. They looked so cool cause they used models and effects that were real. Thats why everyone loved those sci-fi movies.

I dont care what they say about cgi, its got a long way to go until it looks good.

[Blizzardman15]

Trust me people, if you would believe the number of times I have *****ed about how much episode two sucked you would go sick. But yesterday, I cleared my mind, sat down, and stuck it into my DVD player to watch the whole thing from front to back for the second time since seeing it in theaters. And to tell the truth, I believe this is a amazing movie when not counting the boring love scenes. Just try to sit down, clear your mind of how much you hate it and what everyone says, and watch it with the thought of how this connects to the OT. Trust me, you'll have a whole new perspective on the movie. And if thats not enough motivation, take a look at all the documentaries on the DVD, its incredible the amount of work these people put into this movie to make it fit into the whole saga.

[jbailey84]

yeah i did that when i watched TPM & AOTC the other day...pretty much the fact of Jar Jar being in it. honestly he doesn't bother me all that much....but yeah i agree in what Blizzardman15 said

[Tyranic_Lord]

Originally posted by Blizzardman15
Just try to sit down, clear your mind of how much you hate it and what everyone says, and watch it with the thought of how this connects to the OT.

I did that the first time I saw it and I enjoyed the movie. Episode 2 is not bad, but what bothers me is how Lucas is doing these prequels. He is depending too much on CGI and Special FX, and is neglecting what truly makes a movie good - a good story, good acting, and good dialouge. I wouldn't mind the CGI if he concentrated more on these elements. As I watching Episode 2 again I noticed that scenes come and go. First, you have a scene, and then immidiately it fades to another. He doesn't show enough to make it clear that a scene is significant. The quick changing of scenes annoys the viewer, and you just get bored.

[Rocketboy]

Originally posted by Tyranic_Lord
He is depending too much on CGI and Special FX, and is neglecting what truly makes a movie good - a good story, good acting, and good dialouge. I wouldn't mind the CGI if he concentrated more on these elements.
All the Star Wars movies are pretty well known for bad acting and dialogue. I think that the prequel story is great.
I like the prequels for the reason many seem to hate it: because it's not the originals.

[Frodo Baggins]

I agree. I loved the first trilogy, but episde I and II were just ruined by the unnecessary abundance of special effects. Hopefully Lucas will realize that for Episode III...

[Riddle]

While watching a movie, you shouldn't be thinking to yourself "Hey, that was a pretty good special effect!" You should just be watching the movie. In the prequels I find myself saying it all the time. Strangely enough, my favorite scenes are the only one's where I'm not thinking that!

[Tyranic_Lord]

Originally posted by Rocketboy
All the Star Wars movies are pretty well known for bad acting and dialogue.

No offense, but you got to be kidding me! Luke and Vader's performance at the end of ROTJ had me to tears!

Vader: Let me see you with my own eyes..
Luke: But you'll die..
Vader: Nothing can stop that now...

(stares)

Vader: Now..go, my son
Luke: No! I got to save you..
Vader: You already have..you were right, tell your sister you were right..

:applaud:

[Miasma]

Lucas really is overdoing the CGI stuff. I don't mind it in subtle doses, but when I watch the prequels, my thoughts tend to always be along the lines of, "Oh, that's an impressive effect. Hmm, that one wasn't quite as good. Hey, I wonder how they made Obi-Wan interact with that CGI thingy?", etc, etc. This is not a good thing. My thoughts SHOULD be, "How are they going to get out of this situation? Uh oh, I think Anakin's making the wrong decision. Look out! Whew! They escaped," etc, etc. When your mind is focusing on the CGI and not the story, it's impossible to become emotionally attached to anything, and the movie becomes much weaker.

But, I think I could live with the CGI if the characters themselves were better. As it is, the characters bore me, and the effects are more interesting, so I pay more attention to the technical side of things.

Someone's going to say, "If you don't like it, why watch it?" Well, to be honest, I almost didn't bother going to see "Attack of The Clones," because I usually don't shell out money to see sequels to bad movies. But, rather than thinking of it as "Phantom Menace, Part 2: The Sequel," I thought of it as many other people do-- a prequel to the OT. And since I enjoyed the OT, I decided to check it out. And it was marginally better than Phantom Menace, so it wasn't a total waste. Now I'm remaining naively hopeful that Episode 3 will be at least marginally better than AOTC.

[Blizzardman15]

Well if the same thing holds true for every movie that tries to push the technological boundary with characters and scenary, then you should have been thinking the same thing from the sequences on the OT. I mean, they didnt have space ships slying in space, light saber battles, and laser guns so basically you should have been saying "How did they make that sword glow?", "How did that ship blow up?", and "How did that guy disapeer when he was hit with that sword?".

[Miasma]

Originally posted by Blizzardman15
Well if the same thing holds true for every movie that tries to push the technological boundary with characters and scenary, then you should have been thinking the same thing from the sequences on the OT. I mean, they didnt have space ships slying in space, light saber battles, and laser guns so basically you should have been saying "How did they make that sword glow?", "How did that ship blow up?", and "How did that guy disapeer when he was hit with that sword?".

No, because as I said, it's important to have interesting characters. I cared about characters like Han, Leia and Luke, so my mind was preoccupied with them, and I wasn't thinking about the effects. I guess what I'm saying is that the OT had a better balance of effects and character.

[Blizzardman15]

I guess I can relate to that.... I just make up caring for the characters in the prequels because I know what happens to them later on, and what their actions do in the saga.

[Miasma]

Originally posted by Blizzardman15
I guess I can relate to that.... I just make up caring for the characters in the prequels because I know what happens to them later on, and what their actions do in the saga.

Yeah, I feel the same way. I mean, if Phantom Menace was the first SW movie I ever saw, I certainly wouldn't get excited about its sequel. But since I loved the OT, I can still get some enjoyment out of the prequels.

It makes you wonder, though, how these movies would come across to someone who knew nothing about any of them and decided to watch them in order. Would they care enough about Obi-Wan, Anakin and Padme to persevere through the first three episodes?

[Blizzardman15]

They probably wont care if they survive or not, but if I were watching it for the first time, and then finished the saga. I would feel good knowing that I was suprised by the changes that went on. So all in all, I think that people that watch is from begininng to end the first time get the feeling of suspense and suprise, but people who have seen the OT and then saw the prequels get the feeling that you mentioned without the element of suprise...

[Miasma]

Originally posted by Blizzardman15
They probably wont care if they survive or not, but if I were watching it for the first time, and then finished the saga. I would feel good knowing that I was suprised by the changes that went on. So all in all, I think that people that watch is from begininng to end the first time get the feeling of suspense and suprise, but people who have seen the OT and then saw the prequels get the feeling that you mentioned without the element of suprise...

You bring up a good point. I always felt as if the people who watch the series from 1-6 would miss out on the "I am your father" surprise, but in its place, they get a host of other surprises-- Anakin turns evil, Palpatine is secretly manipulating things, Yoda is forced to leave the luxurious temple to go live in a swamp, etc, etc. Not a bad trade-off.

And the biggest surprise of all-- The chosen one (Anakin) and his son (Luke) are completely unnecessary because Lando could save the galaxy on his own by destroying the Death Star at the end of ROTJ, thus killing the two evil dictators! (I never DID understand why it was necessary for Luke to confront Vader, other than as a stall tactic to ensure that Vader and Palps stay on the Death Star. Oh well, I digress.)

[adt100]

George Lucas should have his copies of Maya taken away until he learns how to use it properly!

Get back to using i) real sets ii) miniatures/bigatures iii) more real actors.

CGI needs to be used for many of the scenes in this kind of film, but often other methods can be more effective in a number of ways, and CGI should be used to compliment the scene and not be a distraction. He and his team use it with the subtlety of a sledgehammer!

The scene in the Death Star trench miniature film all those years ago still don't looked outdated or naff IMO, and are certainly not a distraction to the film.

[jorich]

I'm aware of what CGI ultimately means, but what exactly does the acronym stand for... CGI = Computer Generated Illustrations? Or does it stand for something else.

[adt100]

Computer Generated Imaging

[Doctor K.]

Personnaly I love CGI....but thats what screwd up the sequals

[adt100]

Don't get me wrong, I really love CGI. I just don't like what GL and co. have done with it!

[KenM]

The reason Lucas loves CGI so much is becuase He is a contol freak IMO. If He could, He would do a whole movie CGI so He does not have to deal with real people as much.

[Morphius DOH]

In a recent interview, Ewen McGreggor said that all the principle shooting that he's done up to this point, have been mostly on actual sets and real people, compaired to the first 2 movie that were almost entirely shot on blue screen.

[redman]

Originally posted by KenM
The reason Lucas loves CGI so much is becuase He is a contol freak IMO. If He could, He would do a whole movie CGI so He does not have to deal with real people as much.

i think ur on to something there.

[simork]

I think he also has an angora fetish...

...and that's not the only thing he shares with Ed Wood.

[simork]

I think he also has an angora fetish...

...as well as a CGI fetish...

...and that's not the only thing he shares with Ed Wood.

Worst "Director" of alll time folks?

Good storyteller, sure; good creator, yes; good casting agent, yep; producer of the gods, sure; but "director"...

The reason why Empire was so good was it was directed by someone else (Irvin Kershner).

Lucas was a one hit wonder (Star Wars) who has even more bombs (artistic not financial) to his name than Van Damme.

[anma22]

The question is would people have accepted another director to do these movies?

[JanOrs]

some one else directed ESB, and that's my absolute favorite.

[Lou Sytsma]

Lucas is enamoured with CGI because he believes:

a) it gives the director total freedom in realizing his movie
b) it keeps movie production costs down by not having to build real sets and populate the sets with real actors
c) he is using the SW prequels to showcase the versatility of the CGI software tools.

Unfortunately he has forgotten the human equation and that actors need real sets and props to a certain degree to allow for convincing performances.

He has also forgotten the best special effect is a well written script.