CGI/Motion Capture By Dominic Lauricella CGI CGI (Computer-generated imagery) is any sort of art created with computer graphics, rather than practical effects Practical Yoda CGI Yoda Origin of CGI 1960s: Early computer renderings were made, but only of cars, hands, cats, etc. 1974: CGI is first used in a feature film, Westworld, which was a pixelated point of view shot from an android. Major Advancements 1982: Tron 1985: The Black Cauldron (first animated film to use CGI) 1993: Jurassic Park 1995: Toy Story 1999: The Matrix (Bullet Time) 1999: The Phantom Menace (But were still trying to forget about that one) How Imagery is Generated Concept figures are drawn Wire-frames of figures are created on the computer Digital skin is added to make the object look more realistic. Motion Capture Starting in the 2000s, CGI started to become much more realistic with the help of motion capture. Motion Capture is the process of physically recording a persons movement so that it may be transferred and recreated, for the subject of this presentation, on the big screen. Motion capture has also been used extensively for gaming and research purposes. How Motion is Captured A suit, usually fitted with balls or other markers, is worn, while sensors around the actor capture their exact movement. Recent advancements include a camera near the face to detect small movements of the eyes and mouth, which can help convey emotion. https://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=CGJxTYOkO7g Examples The Polar Express was the first animated film to use motion capture for its characters. Avatar Furious 7 was the first movie to use motion capture to recreate a deceased actors face, although this was done much earlier with simpler CGI on The Crow. A Few More Examples Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug James Spader as Ultron Andy Serkis