CGI (Computer Generated Images) is an imaging software to create still or animated visual media. It produces visual media for many fields like visual art, Films, Animations, 3D models, video game art, and more. It is used in live-action and animations to reduce the labor of hand-drawn cartoons and frame-by-frame techniques. CGI is an umbrella term for algorithms that generate visual patterns and computer programs that create 2D and 3D animations or visual effects. Since Westworld in 1973, many movies have used CGI to give realistic graphics that help create immersive experiences for the audience. This article looks at ten films that used CGI and revolutionized the production of movies.
1. Avatar
Avatar by James Cameron used photo-realistic, “stereoscopic 3D,” And mixed live-action and CGI imagery. The film uses CGI imagery for 60% of its production. Most of the CGI character animation used the motion-capture techniques that redefined filmmaking. The other 40% of the film used traditional live-action imagery techniques. James Cameron began to work on Avatar in the early 1990s and faced many difficulties because the software needed to make the movie in his vision was still unavailable. The actors always wore unique bodysuits and head rigs equipped with standard-definition cameras attached to them that took constant images of their faces. After that, a second monitor received this data and showed the actors doing their parts in real time.
2. The Lord Of The Rings
The Lord of the Rings was released almost 20 years ago and has the most outstanding visuals that still hold up today. Many creatures and locations look as though they’re real. That’s because they are real sets. The stunning visuals in the film are created by perfectly blending CGI and practical effects. In this way, both complemented each other. The Shire, for instance. It’s a massive set constructed in New Zealand that is still open to visitors. The set, combined with vast amounts of camera trickery, gives the audience the illusion of the Hobbits’ small size. Shots were filmed with dwarf body doubles and actors standing at angles so as to provide a forced perspective. TLOR used practical camera tricks with CGI to create a stunning futuristic fantasy world.
3. Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park’s presentation of T-Rex showed how much CGI could accomplish in filmmaking. Pioneering CGI work in The Abyss (1989) & Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) inspired the production of a test sequence of skeletal dinosaurs. More tests that featured a Tyrannosaurus rex with added skin further cemented the realization that CGI was the way to go for the film. The film featured dinosaurs on-screen only for 15 minutes. Approximately nine minutes were animatronics, and the rest was CGI animation.
The iconic T-rex scene shows the powerful effect created by this combination. Several shots feature close-ups of the T-rex before the full-height shots provide the creature’s threat & power. Spielberg constructs the scene from the tension building of the rain storm through the initial reveal & reactions, the prolonged attack, and subsequent escape to create a scene that builds the image of T-rex without heavily depending on its close-up and shots. Although the CGI sections are short, they impact the overall storytelling heavily.
4. Gravity( 2013)
The film Gravity used CGI for eighty percent of the film. To create the stunning visuals of our space, they used CGI for most of the backgrounds and cleverly designed 3D models. It dynamically propelled the narrative of the film. In the opening scene, where Kowalski flies very close to the camera, astronauts holding a movie camera and boom mic appear reflected in Kowalski’s helmet visor. These “reflections” are computer images that give the impression that the scene took place in space.
5. Toy Story
Toy Story was the first film to be made entirely using CGI. Pixar RenderMan (formerly ‘PhotoRealistic RenderMan’) was used to make the film Toy Story. It is a photorealistic 3D rendering software by Pixar Animation Studios. Pixar uses RenderMan for most of its in-house 3D animated movie productions. Toy Story inspired numerous CGI animated films and the modern animation era. It became one of Disney’s most successful franchises and made three sequels.
6. Child’s Play
Many horror movies use CGI to give realistic effects in the films. Chucky from Child’s Play, however, was entirely filmed using animatronics. To have the Chucky doll work on stage in place of performers, visual effects studio MastersFX built seven animatronic puppets. Each puppet had interchangeable arms and heads and performed a range of necessary motions on set. Later, CGI fixed the doll’s movements to appear smoother and helped give a seamless experience to the audience.
7. Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean franchise undoubtedly delivers the best visual effects using CGI for the audience. CGI expertly brought out the best characteristics of each movie, from the animated fighting skeletons in the first movie to Davy Jones emerging as one of the best-developed characters in the series. The character Davy Jones is an example of the exemplary level of detail in VFX in the film. The effects blend into the environment of the movie and level up worldbuilding as a whole. Not once could any of the audience feel that Davy Jones wasn’t a real character while watching the films.
8. Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings was a dark and gritty epic, but The Hobbit is a much lighter and more whimsical adventure by nature. To create a more fanciful and colorful environment, the filmmakers increased the usage of green screens and used -generated imagery (CGI). Gollum is a remarkably lifelike computer-generated character Gollum. Gollum was a character so real that it became hard to believe that he wasn’t an actual person.
9. Alice In The Wonderland
The film receives a lot of appreciation for its impressive special effects and visual experience. Every scene features exquisite 3D detail design. For example, all the animals in the film are computer-generated images (CGI). And, The Mad Hatter shoot only used special effects with a green screen. The scene in which he was swinging from the top of the castle to the ground was also CGI instead of traditional special effects. These visual effects enhanced by CGI help achieve perceptual realism to persuade the spectators into the world of fantasy.
10. Matrix
The renowned Matrix bullet sequence inspired the naming of an entirely new method. It transformed the use of computer graphics to such an extent. Digital technology advancements throughout the 1990s made computer-generated imagery (CGI) possible. The Matrix trilogy, with its groundbreaking graphics, mainly depended on CGI, and as a result, there are some incredible action sequences in the film.
