Picked up this link somewhere on LGF a while back, but it’s worth re-posting given the present discussion of CGI. This is probably the best ever done to date:

vimeo.com

Blog commentrary:

Commentary:

“Assuming you’ve seen the film through to the end, and that you’re the
curious sort, you’re probably thinking about how the computer-generated
effects were combined with the live footage, but what if I told you that
EVERYTHING you just saw was computer-generated, EVERY LAST FRAME of it?
What if I added that the entire effort was seen through by just a single
individual? Granted, it seems to have taken this Alex Roman guy a year’s
worth of effort to put the whole thing together, but considering how long
(and how much money) it took James Cameron to make “Avatar”, one man
spending one year to put together a short like this is truly an incredible
feat.

Perhaps most impressive of all, though, and most indicative of the future,
is that Alex Roman put it all together using commercially available,
off-the-shelf software: Autodesk 3ds Max, V-Ray, Adobe After Effects and
Adobe Premiere. Sure, the cost of these packages add up to several
thousand dollars, but when you consider that a Canon 5D Mark II, a 24-70mm
f/2.8 lens and a 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom cost even more, while even a
“low-end” RED camera goes for $17,500, the expense associated with the 3D
packages starts to seem like peanuts. It is clear that a new world of
low-cost, high-quality film-making and special-effects is opening up,
where you won’t need a multi-million dollar budget to make a splash, just
lots of talent, a compelling vision and a willingness to work hard to
realize it (though in the end, these are the things which are always in
shortest supply, aren’t they?).

PS: For anyone tempted to say that this is a hoax, I suggest watching this
video

Vimeo

which gives a little insight into how the film was put together.”

January 09, 2010 in Entertainment, Film, Technology %P% Permalink