Despite the phrase being used a lot, most people don’t actually know what CGI is or how it’s done. CGI is most often associated with creating sci-fi moments in TV, film and video games, but most people don’t realise that it is used for a lot ‘simpler’ things and is a modern-day production essential.
Now-a-days, you can see use of 3D and Visual Effects in every major Hollywood blockbuster movie, TV / web series, commercials and many other forms of digital broadcasting. In recent past, these are heavily produced for various OTT (Over The Top) platforms. Learn and CGI and VFX integration in this case study article.
What is CGI?
CGI stands for Computer Generated Imagery.
It embraces technology to deliver images and animation that would otherwise be costly to produce, or in some cases not humanly possible. It involves enhancing and editing footage with Visual Effects (VFX) for cinematic benefit, including everything from subtle background consistency edits to entirely CGI action sequences.
For example, with CGI you can make an empty arena appear as though there are crowds of people, or make a modern day street look like it’s in the 1920s. It’s a tech-focused way of saving creators the time and money it would take to hire and stage these settings in real-life. Or in more creative instances, construct an entirely fictional world through the powers of CGI (Avatar is a whopping 60% CGI, meaning only 40% is live action).
How does CGI work for VFX Filmmaking?
CGI uses both 2D and 3D technology, greenscreens (chroma shooting), and algorithms that can understand and manipulate human’s perception of what’s real. For example, a live-action actor could be dressed in full body sensors to film a scene in a movie and then in post-production CGI technology can use the sensors as reference points to overlay VFX. An example of this is transforming an actor into a realistic animated ape as they did in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes!
A huge part of CGI and VFX implementation in films and gaming is a technique called ‘Compositing’, which is a process that involves layering the computer-generated imagery into digital film. It’s one of the final stages of the whole process as the elements have already been digitally designed prior to their placement in the final film. It’s at this stage where you are able to see if the CGI elements are able to be successfully integrated.
The complexities of CGI:
Good CGI isn’t as easy to achieve as it may sound. For high-production movies the CGI teams can be huge, consisting of designers, artists, technology specialists and project managers. Whether CGI is being used to complement and enhance camerawork, or entirely replace it, it takes a lot of skillful individuals to fully integrate seamless VFX into games and film.
Everything about the 3D VFX additions to films must be perfect if the integration is to appear unnoticeable, this includes every detail down to the texture and tones of the models, which is a very specific artform and a very long process.
Written by Reef Pearson, Senior Editor, Lumiere Studios