Since moving image production began there has been many technological improvements, the latest being improvements to CGI (computer generated images). CGI is often used to create action scenes that would otherwise be dangerous to actors and actresses but is used mostly to create scenes and effects that could not be made in real life. I believe films are led partly by audience demand but also by the new technologies themselves which are advertised in a way that makes the audience want to watch them; many storylines of successful films are remakes of older movies using newer technology. “Avatar”, “Transformers” and “Hancock” are all successful films that utilise CGI in some way but I do not believe that the reason all of them are successful is solely because of CGI.
“Avatar” is currently the number one highest grossing film, edging out “Titanic” within two months of its release. The film was made of 60% CGI and many of the landscape scenes were completely CGI which made for some spectacular scenes that had never been seen before by the audience. “Never mind the inadequacies of the story, just savour the spectacle and what can be achieved with the appliance of science” was a review of a critic on the well-known film review site ‘Rotten Tomatoes’. The film is very similar in plot to “Dances with Wolves” but the use of CGI and other fantasy elements such as the new planet ‘Pandora’ and its humanoid species of Na’vi gave it the top spot in the highest grossing films. The trailer (see source 1) heavily exploits the CGI elements of the film to capture audience interest but the director is also shamelessly used to capture audience attention by showing what other popular films he has directed to imply that the film will be as good as, if not better than, his previous films. The poster advertisements (see source 2) show a CGI image of the main character along with his human self as well as some of the planets scenery in the background. “Avatar” is also out in the cinema in 3D which heightens the experience for the audience and has attracted the interest of the audience by combining the CGI elements of the film with the little used 3D technology to draw interest (3D is becoming popular in the world at the moment but there still aren’t many films that are making use of this renewed interest). The film uses the most recent CGI technologies; the fact that it uses an old narrative proves that this particular film is successful mostly because of its use of new technology which supports the theory that the film industry is led by the audience demand for new sensation.
“Transformers” is the 36th highest grossing film. Most of the films effects are a mix of live action and CGI, although the fight scenes between the robots are completely computer generated. The narrative is a variation of the well used ‘doomsday’ and ‘alien invasion’ storylines but uses alien robots that can hide as cars. Many Hollywood movies reuse old narratives but use technology to make them different, the basic storylines under all the CGI and other effects is nearly always from other movies and book or complied from an array of other movies all put together in one film. The trailer (see source 3) focuses a great deal on the CGI and action, but mentions the director and producer who are very well known and respected which helps attract the audience. The advertisement poster (see source 4) similarly spotlights the CGI and the action by using the word “war” which implies action and fighting. “The effects are jaw-droppingly good” was a review from ‘Rotten Tomatoes’, the effects were very well received by many of the critics however the storyline was not as well accepted, many of the reviewers found the storyline dwarfed by the action and fight scenes. This film did very well, reaching the 5th highest grossing film in the year of its debut (2007), although this film has a very well used storyline it still became successful which can only be because of its use of action integrated with the CGI that makes it appealing to an audience.
“Hancock” is the 45th highest grossing film. This films uses some CGI, although not as much as “Avatar” and “Transformers”, the narrative was the main focus of the film as it tried to portray the main character (Will Smith) as an disliked superhero who tries to win the publics affection. The CGI is used mostly to depict the characters superpowers and to enhance the actions scenes. The trailer (see source 5) draws the audiences’ attention to the main character, inserting a little CGI to make him look more impressive, the trailer is very focused on Will Smith as the main character to draw in his fans. The director isn’t mentioned as directly as in the other film trailers; Will Smith brings in his own audience because he is a well liked actor. Similarly the poster advertisement (see source 6) brings attention to Will Smith rather than the CGI used. “With Will Smith's admittedly impressive performance certainly ranking high on the movie's list of positive attributes” was one of the positive reviews from ‘Rotten Tomatoes’ although the reviews were very mixed. This film did fairly well which I believe is more attributed to Will Smiths role rather than the CGI, most of the reviews were about the storyline and portrayal of Hancock and despite how mixed they were it seems that Smith was the reason most people went to watch the film unlike with films such as “Avatar” that rely heavily on its CGI to draw in the audience.
In Conclusion I think that in many cases films are advertised to audiences showing their new technologies such as CGI to draw them in because they storylines are reused time and time again but the use of CGI makes it more interesting for the audience. Films such as “Hancock” that have a new narrative don’t need as much technology like CGI to make it good so it seems that CGI is often used to cover up storylines. I think the reason “Avatar” is the number one highest grossing film is because of the amazing special effects it uses, most audience members don’t realise that they storyline is very similar to “Dances with Wolves” because the effects make it look like an entirely different story. The audience don’t seem to mind that the storyline is not original because the CGI is so well done that many people watch the film just to see CGI world that was created for the film. If “Avatar” had been done without the CGI, using just the basic storyline I don’t think that it would have done as well. “Avatar” also had the 3D option which is an old technology that is becoming popular and it is only of the only films showing at the cinema which uses both of these technologies to such an extent. Therefore I agree that film production is led by audience’s demand for new technologies in most case, although there are some films where it is the narrative and not the CGI that makes the film successful.
Bibliography
Source 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeh2KILn7O4
Source 2: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b0/Avatar-Teaser-Poster.jpg
Source 3 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8EKXLwmV7o
Source 4 : http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/66/Transformers07.jpg
Source 5 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD8qSmkdqJM
Source 6 : http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c9/Hancockposter.jpg
Grossing Film List: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_films
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment