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Re: Pretty much agree. I also give 9/10 despite of noticing some flaws. DomA Send a noteboard - 20/12/2015 12:46:52 AM

View original postThe film's biggest asset is the creators' decision to use as many practical effects and real sets as possible. That makes for an atmosphere that comes pretty close to the original trilogy. This universe feels real, lived in, deep and rarely ever fake. If the great effects have one disadvantage, it's that the rare use of CGI does stick out even more so.


Abrams kinda fooled people with that, or maybe - as one of my VFX friends was claiming yesterday - he's just proven once and for all that most of the audience see what they expect to see or are told to watch for.

It's true enough that there was a larger percentage of sets used, and much less full CGI aliens and creatures than in AOTC and ROTS (TPM had less than some believe - even Lucas had a lot of doubts that ILM would pull them off convincingly and he played safe).

That said, TFA is also full of CGI. Set extensions, background matte paintings, visual enhancements, vehicles, crowd effects, particle effects, space sequences, CG doubles instead of using stuntmen etc. It's everywhere, in most shots. A friend who worked on the movie told me the # of shots with CGI in TFA is roughly equivalent to the number for TPM (which is less than for AOTC/ROTS, but still a lot).

What played in Abrams's favour a lot is the OT's familiar battered look - CGI was much easier to hide with that look than with the bold, sleek and pristine sophistication of the designs for the prequels - that and some over the top location design (like the Gungan city, for example).

In all fairness to Lucas, he too used a lot of practical elements in the prequels, especially for Tatooine where he used it all... tons of extras in suits, puppets, partial or full real sets for Anakin's home, for the Lars's, for the Tusken camp etc. He also built fully the interior of spaceships like Amidala's, and part of the exterior for some scenes. Obi-Wan's fighter too etc. Lucas also used many models for vehicles which were composited over real or partly/fully CG plates.

Even more than CGI it's the too sleek retro futuristic look of the prequels people didn't like - but they blamed it all on the VFX that were in fact (with a few exceptions) really top notch for the time. That's another thing: CGI has progressed massively since the prequels - it blends more seamlessly now, if the director is clever not to abuse of those effects, and most of all if he refrains from using CG to create scenes that are impressive yet so fully impossible physically to film that he breaks the audience's suspension of disbelief.

Abrams sure made better use of CGI than Lucas did, but he was also more clever in the way he sold it to the audience by making people believe, well ahead of the movie, that there wasn't a lot in there. In the days of TPM, the good folks of ILM were all over the place telling everyone in interviews how awesome and innovative the VFX were. With the backlash then (and over the recent years) the order of the day is to be more discreet, and emphasize how much is real instead...


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Star Wars : The Force Awakens review (spoiler free) - 17/12/2015 09:18:26 AM 2171 Views
Love your review! I'm seeing it tomorrow night at 9pm. Can't wait! *NM* - 18/12/2015 01:20:16 AM 716 Views
Pretty much agree. I also give 9/10 despite of noticing some flaws. - 18/12/2015 08:50:49 AM 1210 Views
Re: Pretty much agree. I also give 9/10 despite of noticing some flaws. - 20/12/2015 12:46:52 AM 1049 Views
Some (relatively spoiler free) thoughts - 18/12/2015 12:27:22 PM 1258 Views
I pretty much agree with most of that. - 18/12/2015 01:05:16 PM 1175 Views
Agreed, Driver did a great job..... - 19/12/2015 05:46:44 AM 1030 Views
Replies and spoilers - 18/12/2015 03:04:37 PM 1117 Views
Re: Replies and spoilers - 18/12/2015 04:35:49 PM 967 Views
Re: Replies and spoilers - 18/12/2015 05:51:29 PM 1009 Views
Re: Replies and spoilers - 29/12/2015 04:44:36 AM 1022 Views
Re: Replies and spoilers - 29/12/2015 07:37:39 PM 1006 Views
Re: Replies and spoilers - 19/12/2015 05:30:13 PM 1039 Views
Re: Replies and spoilers - 20/12/2015 09:51:22 AM 1191 Views
Re: Replies and spoilers - 21/12/2015 06:31:54 PM 1333 Views
The books... - 21/12/2015 09:05:28 PM 1105 Views
Re: The books... - 22/12/2015 03:12:52 AM 1035 Views
In general agreement ** potential Spoilers ** - 19/12/2015 06:06:23 AM 996 Views
There are books? - 19/12/2015 11:19:07 AM 1062 Views
Re: There are books? - 19/12/2015 05:41:45 PM 1100 Views
So Darth Plagieus might still be in? Sweet. - 20/12/2015 04:44:21 AM 977 Views
Palpatine's master? - 20/12/2015 02:25:45 PM 978 Views
I mean the novel of that name. - 22/12/2015 09:47:16 PM 1001 Views
Re: I mean the novel of that name. - 22/12/2015 10:05:49 PM 1089 Views
Yeah, I think we're talking about the same one. - 24/12/2015 12:05:57 AM 987 Views
Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens - 19/12/2015 06:07:16 PM 1078 Views
I don't think any of that had to be explained. - 19/12/2015 12:16:07 PM 964 Views
I'm more or less in complete agreement (spoilers) - 19/12/2015 08:22:21 PM 1082 Views
Some thoughts about the Force... - 20/12/2015 06:04:43 AM 1139 Views
Re: Some thoughts about the Force... - 20/12/2015 08:06:40 PM 944 Views
Re: I'm more or less in complete agreement (spoilers) - 20/12/2015 10:07:36 AM 1057 Views
Also, SPOILER thoughts. - 18/12/2015 01:00:32 PM 1211 Views
Re: Also, SPOILER thoughts. - 18/12/2015 01:11:30 PM 1078 Views
You're making me reply to two posts - 18/12/2015 03:29:23 PM 1090 Views
The death (spoilers) - 22/12/2015 10:30:05 PM 1045 Views
Re: You're making me reply to two posts - 29/12/2015 05:24:39 AM 1084 Views
Re: Also, SPOILER thoughts. - 29/12/2015 05:19:54 AM 1041 Views
I have tickets for tonight - 18/12/2015 04:47:17 PM 1035 Views
Arbrams impressed me(spoiler free) - 19/12/2015 05:17:42 AM 1160 Views
'Revenge of the Sith' (3rd prequel) was actually a decent movie - 18/12/2015 10:46:52 PM 1076 Views
They were all good. Internet geeks suck. - 18/12/2015 11:38:36 PM 1020 Views
Re: They were all good. Internet geeks suck. - 19/12/2015 12:19:10 AM 1170 Views
Well - 19/12/2015 05:53:56 AM 991 Views
Re: They were all good. Internet geeks suck. - 19/12/2015 07:46:06 AM 1179 Views
people forget they were kids movies *NM* - 19/12/2015 01:17:10 AM 696 Views
Yeah, people take the whole 'Star Wars' thing too seriously - 19/12/2015 02:59:29 AM 1078 Views
BTW, Daniel Craig is totally forgiven for Spectre. He was a Stormtrooper (spoilers for role) - 18/12/2015 11:40:44 PM 972 Views
Yip that's true *NM* - 19/12/2015 07:46:59 AM 670 Views
And Simon Pegg was the alien who ran the trading post Rey always went to *NM* - 20/12/2015 02:30:59 PM 775 Views
I got the impression he was actually her boss or contractor - 28/12/2015 12:48:48 PM 1124 Views
Pretty much... - 29/12/2015 12:08:58 AM 1036 Views
Absolutely, yes *NM* - 29/12/2015 01:54:52 PM 728 Views
Just saw it! Holy shit, shit, shit, shit.....it was amazing. - 19/12/2015 05:38:44 AM 1039 Views
Loved it (Spoilers) - 19/12/2015 06:16:54 AM 1004 Views
Fantastic characters, great entertainment, no originality, no logic - 29/12/2015 03:33:43 AM 1040 Views
Your Mom has no originality or logic! *NM* - 29/12/2015 11:39:41 AM 722 Views
JJ Abrams should be able to do better than my Mom - 30/12/2015 04:20:54 AM 964 Views
I gave it a B+ overall but I think the characters are its weak spot - 29/12/2015 05:08:15 PM 894 Views
JJ Abrams' movies are character-driven, Lucas' movies are plot-driven - 30/12/2015 04:38:49 AM 953 Views
Lucas has created some of the most iconics chacters in movie history ? - 31/12/2015 02:29:02 PM 948 Views
So, Rey (Possible Spoilers ahead) - 30/12/2015 10:11:01 AM 1038 Views
Re: So, Rey (Possible Spoilers ahead) - 30/12/2015 07:10:56 PM 1352 Views
Re: So, Rey (Possible Spoilers ahead) - 30/12/2015 09:24:08 PM 996 Views
Re: So, Rey (Possible Spoilers ahead) - 31/12/2015 04:58:24 PM 950 Views
It was fun, and I look forward to the next ones, but can't say I was that wowed. - 30/12/2015 09:26:10 PM 993 Views
Why is time for female lead and why does the lef think subtraction is the answer to inequality? - 04/01/2016 01:37:37 PM 814 Views
Because the six other movies had zero female Jedis of any importance? - 04/01/2016 05:58:25 PM 1035 Views
Just another check the box movie, then - 04/01/2016 06:02:41 PM 915 Views
Oh, come on. You're really going to complain just because they had a woman and a black guy? - 04/01/2016 11:48:52 PM 1016 Views
They are talking abou tmakin ght Gunslinger black - 05/01/2016 02:05:36 PM 941 Views
Yeah, Star Wars is just part of the larger trend. It can't be viewed in a vacuum (pun intended). - 05/01/2016 02:38:34 PM 912 Views
That's not really what I said, you'll note. - 05/01/2016 07:48:08 PM 1120 Views
I don't think it was Disney's business acumen. - 06/01/2016 06:59:46 PM 1192 Views
Wow. That's... sad. - 06/01/2016 09:32:37 PM 1031 Views
Re: Wow. That's... sad. - 08/01/2016 03:08:58 AM 1019 Views
I am noit sure how well that 7-12 girl demographic will work in merchandising - 08/01/2016 06:30:47 PM 1014 Views
Your premise is entirely wrong. - 12/01/2016 05:53:26 AM 956 Views
Actually, they do have a major character who is Latino. - 12/01/2016 07:15:31 PM 990 Views
The culture wars are just about blacks and feminists. - 13/01/2016 02:31:20 AM 993 Views
All that Paul said - 17/01/2016 05:13:59 PM 1635 Views
LOL - 05/01/2016 06:33:50 PM 946 Views
Funny that people use strwmen arguments to make themsleves feel smart - 08/01/2016 04:22:22 PM 1035 Views
It's not a straw man - 08/01/2016 04:52:03 PM 998 Views
it was story of a father and son so it makes sense to male leads - 04/01/2016 06:59:33 PM 875 Views
Male leads, sure, but it wasn't just the leads. - 04/01/2016 11:28:12 PM 1001 Views
Was finn as strong as Leia? I would say not even close - 05/01/2016 05:55:51 PM 974 Views
I don't see how it makes sense to compare their roles, but Finn is certainly plenty strong. - 05/01/2016 07:38:05 PM 969 Views
Finn reacts and is pretty much drug through the story - 06/01/2016 02:52:58 PM 984 Views
Re: Finn reacts and is pretty much drug through the story - 06/01/2016 05:50:08 PM 985 Views
I don't have an issue with a strong female jedi - 07/01/2016 02:49:44 PM 961 Views
Re: I don't have an issue with a strong female jedi - 07/01/2016 03:26:34 PM 1005 Views
The reall issue it looks like Luke sucked as Jedi master - 07/01/2016 07:14:31 PM 947 Views
Sorry, no. - 06/01/2016 06:56:09 PM 1022 Views
What a load of crap. - 08/01/2016 10:29:35 AM 919 Views
I only partially agree - 08/01/2016 03:27:10 PM 981 Views
Sorry if science isn't your thing but no what I said is true - 09/01/2016 11:49:15 PM 1092 Views
Re: Was finn as strong as Leia? I would say not even close - 08/01/2016 10:01:16 AM 896 Views
Well said *NM* - 05/01/2016 12:01:25 PM 741 Views
Because it isn't "subtraction"... - 08/01/2016 09:33:24 AM 948 Views
Of course it is - 09/01/2016 10:19:53 PM 932 Views
Okay so about the big bad guy *spoilers* - 05/01/2016 06:27:37 PM 1016 Views
I may be alone on this, but... - 05/01/2016 08:07:26 PM 1010 Views
Re: I may be alone on this, but... - 05/01/2016 08:42:42 PM 932 Views
What speaks against is for me... - 05/01/2016 10:57:44 PM 1351 Views
Re: What speaks against is for me... - 06/01/2016 10:08:35 AM 1084 Views
It's all good stuff, like the first book in a good sci-fi/fantasy trilogy! - 07/01/2016 06:44:45 AM 1039 Views
I think it's pretty obvious... - 17/01/2016 07:43:19 AM 1072 Views

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