Did arcane use motion capture12/2/2023 Because the characters of Spirits Within strive for true photorealism, we are more acutely aware that there is something not quite human about them. Bearing little resemblance to the franchise from which its name is derived, Spirits Within was crippled by its rather tepid plot and somewhat bland characters although Aki and her comrades look fantastic, they occupy a place on the slopes of the Uncanny Valley.Īlthough, or perhaps because, the film’s characters look almost real, they maintain something of an alien quality, whereas the endearing cast of Toy Story possessed just enough human characteristics to give a familiar sense of humanity, of life, without striving to seem truly alive, audiences were able to become emotionally invested in them. Although a box office bomb which returned only $85 million of its $137 million budget, it was notable for being the first photorealistic computer animated feature film. A mere six years later, Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of Final Fantasy, brought Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within to our screens in 2001. It also proved that computer animation was a viable approach to filmmaking and paved the way for a slew of CG features and effects. Toy Story was nominated for several awards, and won its creators awards for leadership and technological achievement. This component of Lucasfilm would later go on to be purchased by Steve Jobs and become Pixar, the company which produced the world’s first fully computer animated feature length film, Toy Story, in 1995. Where once directors would have made use of puppets, miniature sets, prosthetics and pyrotechnics, now they make use of the numerous powerful tools afforded them by digital technology.ĭirectors such as James Cameron and George Lucas have taken a direct hand in creating the technology they deem necessary to tell their stories dissatisfied with the tools available to him at the time, Lucas began his Star Wars saga halfway through, later hiring Ed Catmull to head Lucasfilm’s Computer Graphics Division. Less and less of what we see on screen is real in the physical sense – given the fictional nature of film, it would be inaccurate to describe anything on screen simply as ‘real’ – as more and more is left to digital insertion post-filming. Special effects, which used to be the realm of the likes of Ray Harryhausen and his golemic stop-motion puppets, are now dominated by animators working with computers and render farms. As many directors abandon celluloid in favour of digital, film becomes less alchemical and more technological. Similarly, the cinematographer can see how his shots turn out right there and then and decide if he needs to re-shoot, rather than waiting, wondering and being forced to try and recapture the moment the next day. The day’s film no longer needs to be developed over night in order for footage to be reviewed, but can be played back instantly. The emphasis on how we receive content has shifted, too, as these services provide programming on demand, in some cases releasing a whole series simultaneously to be viewed at the subscribers discretion.Īs the technology has evolved, the filming process has changed as much as the viewing process filming on digital, takes are no longer governed by the ten minute limit of a reel of film. Services such as Netflix and LoveFilm which offer us the option of streaming content from both film and television on computers, mobile phones, and tablets subvert the communal cinema experience as viewing becomes ever more individual, ever more private. Lines are blurred as television, characterised by its role as a private, home-based viewing medium with episodic content, traditionally shot on a lower budget and with lesser equipment than cinema, grows and begins to match the silver screen in both technology and content. The advent of digital has occasioned many changes in the way film is made and viewed many directors now film digitally rather than on film stock, and thus editing is now a primarily computerised process. Performance Capture and the Virtual Environment: Supplanting Physicality
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