this post was submitted on 10 Apr 2025
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[–] [email protected] 45 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Dude. Make some sick models and puppets, on the cheap. You killed it with Aliens; time to return to your roots, or get out of the game.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

This 100%. CGI should be used to enhance traditional special effects, not replace them entirely.

Also, planning properly for CGI can dramatically reduce both the cost and quality of CG. For instance, recording reference lighting to provide the CG team so they can more accurately make any fully-rendered elements. Don't just say "they'll fix it in post". That's where CG cost skyrockets.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

And if your practical effects are good enough, you don’t need CGI at all. Look how the CGI in The Thing remake absolutely fucked up their beatiful puppet monsters, so that everything looks so off that it destroyed willing suspension of disbelief.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago

That's exactly most likely an example of my last point. CG can look perfectly real. If you have the tools and references needed, or the time to do everything manually frame by frame, which adds up extremely fast.

Based on the result in The Thing, CGI team almost certainly had no references from actual shooting apart from the bare footage, and even composited shots were inconsistent from each other.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

real artists thrive in constraints. an interesting character having an interesting story arc in an interesting place can all be done at any budget. throwing hundreds of millions at spectacle is missing the point.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

There was a scene in a 70's movie that James Cameron worked on that needed a computer animated tracking shot of a city. They couldn't afford the computer time, so they put reflective tape on black painted blocks and manipulated the lighting levels to make it look like the shot was from a computer.

Maybe do more of that.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago

They did the same thing in Escape from New York. The tech existed to make a wire frame nyc skyline when they flew snake in. But the GC was too expensive, so they built a model.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Or the market is saying that it doesn't want blockbuster movies.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 weeks ago

Anyone who has seen his AI remastered 4k movies knows to not believe a single thing he says.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago

It is probably not looking for movies as big as Avatar.

A24 has been killing it recently with its small movie strategy, making a lot of bets on small movies that don't break the bank.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Maybe we can get AI to watch it too.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago

I mean, we definitely can

[–] [email protected] 23 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Whatever douchebag, just keep pumping out Avatar bullshit

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I don't mind his avatar stuff. At worst they are just not good. But they still push boundaries with cgi. But his ai remaster slop is just infuriating

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

The newest one that came out was too much for me. I had to stop watching a little over halfway through the movie due to the weirdness of the cgi/ai slop you're talking about. Plus, the depth of all the avatar movie plots are shallow at best and couldn't keep my attention at all. I'll get used to the graphics someday but these movies are not very interesting outside of the tech innovation.

lol, late reply. sorry

[–] [email protected] 23 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Yes. Use AI to replace the CEO and suddenly more works gets done without having to capitulate to whinny people, and it is a whole lot cheaper.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago

Those damned whinny people...

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 weeks ago

I will be shocked if what we currently have can help in any meaningful way.

Feel like it would be more useful for B movies because all the thing AI doesn't get quite right won't be as big a deal. No one wants to go see the next Avenger and see a poster in the background with gibberish in it. Or Thor having an extra thumb for a few frames.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

You would think that the guy who produced two movies that are thinly veiled criticisms of humanity exploiting the environment and disturbing native inhabitants for profit would not be supporting the exploitative shit that uses as much electricity as an entire city.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

An exploiting them with advanced technology no less

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago

Why would we want big budget studio movies to survive? Been waiting for them to die for decades.