http://www.imgur.com/gallery/8H9a0mt

As you can see, Abrahms is moving back to that old SW feel with actual costumes and puppets for some stuff instead of just green screening everything. This is totally a move in the right direction IMO. Thoughts?

concur.

I actually just said something about this in another thread. (was referring mostly to ships, but you get the idea)

http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/106756-ok-ffg-its-time/page-3#entry1092828

I really like the feel that the ships and pilots gave you in the orginal movies. Alot more "bucket of bolts" rag tag fleet style. New CGI is neat for certain shots but have been over used in many recent movies..

Agreed. This is the right move. I heard they are filming on 35mm instead of digital to have it look as close to the orginal movies as possible. I'm sure there will be some CGI, but not as much as the prequels.

I agree with all of you

So say we all.

http://www.imgur.com/gallery/8H9a0mt

As you can see, Abrahms is moving back to that old SW feel with actual costumes and puppets for some stuff instead of just green screening everything. This is totally a move in the right direction IMO. Thoughts?

Actually that entire scene was CGI - including JJ. Lucas felt that the technology has improved to the point where we no longer need actors - so that entire commercial was one huge CGI test run.

Excellent news then! This gets me excited about EP VII instead of fearful. If there is a single lens flare though...

But I don't think there will be given JJ clearly trying to capture the feel of grungy technology SW is in comparison to Star Trek.

CGI costumes? Really? When did someone ever have a CGI costume? It could be argued the costumes in the prequels were one of the top aspects of them.

There WERE costumed aliens in all three prequels, it's nothing new.

Not to mention pretty much all the Tatooine scenes in the prequels were shot in location, as were most of the Naboo scenes. It's the locations you can't really film in real world that had to be green screened, places like Mustafar for example.

I hate to break it to people, but there will likely be a lot of CGI still. Even his Trek movies have a good deal of CGI.

Yes, there will be CGI. But not as much as the prequels and it won't look like it was CGI. The 2 trek movies had the right ammount of CGI IMO.

http://www.imgur.com/gallery/8H9a0mt

As you can see, Abrahms is moving back to that old SW feel with actual costumes and puppets for some stuff instead of just green screening everything. This is totally a move in the right direction IMO. Thoughts?

Wow! I was really hoping they'd go this route, but didn't think there was a chance in Hell-O!

This sounds great!

I saw a of Jim Hensen in his earliest years when Kermit was just a green sock with ping pong ball eyes glued on. Yet he made that sock come alive.

The great puppeteers studied body language and could communicate a lot with very little. I don't think that CGI vs Puppets is the problem, but the knowledge of human communication. This is what techniques like having a very skilled actor play a part and then get CGIed over like with Gollum actually do as well. In those cases the actor is the one who is well studied in body language.

So give me something with thought, knowledge, and care put into it and I'll be happy be it puppet or CGI

there is a catch though.. I wonder if puppets will work at 4K res with 60fps. We can only hope

Puppeteering is a diminishing art in the technology age. I'm glad he is going back to the old style, which was done more tastefully. The CGI stuff can sometimes be over the top.

Anyone who thinks all CG looks better needs to get the Hobbit gaming rulebook from Games Workshop and look at some of the art in there. They have pictures of what Bolg was supposed to look like with an actor in a latex mask - absolutely terrifying compared to the awful CG character in the movie. Azog looks...kinda "wet" throughout the movie and doesn't move as natural as the orcs in the first trilogy.

I'm starting to get really excited with the new movie project.

The CGI stuff can sometimes be over the top.

Which is the fault of the director though, not the technology.

To be honest, the original Battle of Yavin didn't portray the battle effectively. It seemed a few X-wings got shot down, a few tie fighters got shot down, trench run, boom.

With a little CGI in the newer version it added a little more in terms of X-wing manoeuvres and felt more 'battle-ish'.

I argue that using CGI to enhance elements of a scene (that is difficult for models to replicate) is the way to go.

Yeah, the complaints people have with CGI at this point are really not with the technology, but rather what directors are doing with it. Well done CG is absolutely seamless anymore, you don't even notice it, but too many fill makers are still "ooooh, new toys. What can we do with this."

And of course there are budget concerns (in other projects, not this one), that frequently require rushed CG work because it us so much cheaper.

This is totally a move in the right direction IMO.

Agreed!

CGI costumes? Really? When did someone ever have a CGI costume?

Episode 3. The clone troopers were all CGI, but with a real human's head superimposed when they took their helmets off. It looked AWFUL.

My experience has taught me that practical effects that are enhanced with CGI are the ideal situation when it comes to the human mind accepting what is on the screen.

There is a subconscious part of our minds that can tell that something is real or not even if we cannot consciously put our finger on what is actually "off" about it. When a practical effect is meshed with a CGI enhancment (not a replacemnt of the real, but an enhancment) to the effect, our minds are more likley to be "fooled" into believing the effect is real.

I saw a of Jim Hensen in his earliest years when Kermit was just a green sock with ping pong ball eyes glued on. Yet he made that sock come alive.

The great puppeteers studied body language and could communicate a lot with very little. I don't think that CGI vs Puppets is the problem, but the knowledge of human communication. This is what techniques like having a very skilled actor play a part and then get CGIed over like with Gollum actually do as well. In those cases the actor is the one who is well studied in body language.

So give me something with thought, knowledge, and care put into it and I'll be happy be it puppet or CGI

QFT

CGI costumes? Really? When did someone ever have a CGI costume?

Episode 3. The clone troopers were all CGI, but with a real human's head superimposed when they took their helmets off. It looked AWFUL.

So fit in perfectly with the rest of the prequals... <ducks>

My experience has taught me that practical effects that are enhanced with CGI are the ideal situation when it comes to the human mind accepting what is on the screen.

There is a subconscious part of our minds that can tell that something is real or not even if we cannot consciously put our finger on what is actually "off" about it. When a practical effect is meshed with a CGI enhancment (not a replacemnt of the real, but an enhancment) to the effect, our minds are more likley to be "fooled" into believing the effect is real.

In AI parlance it's known as 'The Uncanny Valley'. Or in Lucas' case, The Uncanny Great Rift...

Uncanny Mariana's Trench

Please tell me that's not Tatooine again.

At least with CGI we had a bit of variety.

A Long time ago in a galaxy far away..... there were only 3 M Class planets, so you would have thought that the Empire could have kept a better grasp on things.

Glad to see puppets again though.

Jim Henson was (is) my hero and If only I had the talent I would be knocking down the creature workshop's door for a job.