Popular Mechanics talks movie effects
By S Simmons. Filed in Editing |
Top 10 F/X Scenes in Movie History – Popular Mechanics
The above link is to a quickie article at popularmechanics.com where
they list the top 10 f/x scenes in movie history. The article says they
“asked industry insiders to pinpoint the biggest breakthroughs in
digital F/X history.” The article doesn’t say who the insiders are but all of the movies pointed out did have some major advancements. One film that I would add to the list is James Cameron’s True Lies. It continued the advancement he had made with computer generated effects with Terminator 2: Judgment Day but in a new way. Instead of creating otherworldly effects that had a definite “wow” factor, Cameron used digital technology to integrate his actors, props and sets into the real world. The realistic heat waves from the Harrier jump-jet and the bullet sprays in the water were all created by CGI. They totally look real and almost go completely unnoticed. An example of finely integrated effects and Cameron’s goal with that film.
The other thing I find most interesting about the Popular Mechanics article is there is a 14 year gap from 1977′s Star Wars to 1991′s Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Only Tron is mentioned from 1982. Once computer generated effects came into the mainstream in the early 90′s the advancements were fast and furious. I like the inclusion of 1993′s Cliffhanger and its mention of digital wire removal. We would never have had Tom Cruise on his impossible missions without it. I hope Hollywood can keep the cool fx coming… but as always the most important thing is a good story.
technorati tags:filmmaking, special, effects, movies
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