Digital VFX vs Stop Motion and minis

[saucerman]

The ago old debate..

What is "better" The Old ways with miniatures and Stop motion, or the new ways with CG.. Being a full time CG artist, I am a bit biased towards CG (when used for good!).. But I love the charm of Stop motion, clay, and miniature sets!

What do you think??? This is a question that people seem to have STRONG feelings about..

Here are my pro's and Con's:

DIGITAL EFFECTS:
PROS:
- More realistic looking - Even with fantastic creatures (a perfect example is Davy Jones from Pirates 2 and 3) He looks REAL - Fool the eyes real, even though you know he is 100% fake!

- The ease of use - VFX are essentially "easy" to do nowadays, and when used right, you can have a lot of cool effects in a film, and a lot of the time not even know they are effects.. Digital set extensions are a perfect example of this!!

CONS:
- Too abused - How many movies have we seen that are just 90 mins of digital garbage that is trying to crutch a awful storyline?? (Chronicles of Riddick) haha

- Removes the magic of filmmaking" - No more "How did they do that" because the answer is always "it's digital"

STOP MOTION:
PROS:
- Was amazing for it's time - Permitted people to interact with amazing creatures, flying saucers, etc.. long before "digital" was even a word! (Der Golem and THE LOST WORLD (1922) )
- Has a sentimental feel - We love the look of stop motion and miniature!

CONS:
- Not as realistic as CG - This is where people get heated.. haha
I can honestly say, Stopmo and the old methods are not as realistic as well done CG -
Yoda is a great example - Yoda is the pinnacle of a puppet, but even he cant move his mouth to teh words, cant walk (Notice you never see his feet on the ground) .. we chose to believe in the character because we want to believe! Compare him to Golum in LOTR -

- Never quite fits with live interaction - It never really really blens right - Sometimes it's teh lighting, sometimes its the lack of motion blur - I would say the BEST example of stopmo / human interaction is the Skeleton fight in Jason and the Argonauts!

These are just a few points - I honesty think CG looks better, but I love the feel of the "old stuff" way more - I dont see kids in the future getting sentimental about CG characters the way we are about King Kong...

[mikescott]

Well, I agree with 99% of what you said, but I still get all soft and squishy and sentimental about Stop-Mo.

Here's the 1%.

Jul 8, 2008 17:08:14 GMT -5 saucerman said:

I can honestly say, Stopmo and the old methods are not as realistic as well done CG -

When it comes to people, animal, monsters, etc., yes, although the more familiar the being (a cow as opposed to a dragon) the harder it is to convince me it's real (especially the closer it is to the "camera"). When it comes to machines, though, I don't know how the stop-mo robots in the Robocop movies or the Walkers in the SW movies could have been any better in CG.

[saucerman]

Good point! I didnt think of that!

ED 209 - one of the best robots in movie history IMO -

I gave a car ride once to the guy who built th liife size ED 209 for robocop when I was a PA, and I talked to him about about how Ed 209 was so convincing as Stop Motion, and how I dont think CG would have had the same effect.. I told him that I liked the stiffness of the movements..

he just said (I dont think he wanted me talking to him) "Thats how its supposed to be. Its not the IRON GIANT. It is what it is, and it works best the way that it is."

[mikescott]

Jul 8, 2008 18:18:16 GMT -5 saucerman said:

I gave a car ride once to the guy (I dont think he wanted me talking to him)

Let's see? You're doin' all the drivin'. He doesn't want to talk to help pass the time. You're just lucky you didn't end up in a wood chipper!