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Update: Part 4 is available and has been added at the end of the article.
Originally published Dec. 8th 2023.
“The Movie Rabbit Hole” shared the beginning of a series of four videos about the trend of “no CGI” movies, in other words shows that are promoted as using only practical effects, without digital imagery.
Some studios are eager to promote their films, and have been bending the truth in the past few years. Notably, this can be seen in the promotion of the latest Mission: Impossible movie, which emphasized that everything was “real,” overshadowing the work done by the many VFX artists who worked on the film.
The problem also arises from certain unscrupulous news websites that blindly relay certain claims or distort the words of directors or actors.
This phenomenon is obviously also related to the so-called “CGI Fatigue“, the idea that the general public is tired of digital effects and prefers “real practical effects.” However, the problem is that quite often, these “real” effects are at least partly digital.
“NO CGI” is really just INVISIBLE CGI aims to set the record straight. It notably revisits some “no CGI” films from recent years, like Top Gun: Maverick. The videos also highlight that combining practical and digital effects often makes sense and delve behind the scenes of several projects.
An essential viewing, especially for the general public, to provide a nuanced view of the debates and opinions on visual effects.
Here are the first three parts:
Part1: Top Gun: Maverick, Vecna, Blade Runner: 2049, Fast X.
0:00 – Intro
2:10 – Top Gun: Maverick
8:04 – Vecna
10:23 – Blade Runner: 2049
11:53 – Fast X
Part 2: Ford V Ferrari, Napoleon, journalism, CGI is invisibile on set, Christopher Nolan.
0:00 – Intro
1:23 – Ford V Ferrari
2:59 – Napoleon
8:02 – Journalism
11:55 – CGI is invisible on set
18:28 – Christopher Nolan
Partie 3 : Barbie, bluescreen removal, lazy filmmaking/matte paintings, CGI/VFX, practical filmmaking, Oppenheimer.
0:00 – Intro
1:33 – Barbie
5:45 – Bluescreen removal
7:11 – “Lazy filmmaking” / Matte paintings
13:47 – What is CGI
16:18 – What is VFX
16:55 – What is practical filmmaking
18:23 – Oppenheimer
Part 4: Gran Turismo, history of CGI, common misconceptions, Dark Crystal series.
0:00 Intro
00:46 Not taboo
03:32 Bad standing
06:37 Alternate facts
10:17 Free Hype
13:35 Mythbusting
15:50 The biggest “no CGI” project
18:37 Why do you need to know?
21:06 The future of The Movie Rabbit Hole
