Industrial Light & Magic, currently the largest visual effects company in the film industry, was originally formed by George Lucas to create effects for the Star Wars films in the 1970s. Since then the company has made many advancements in the world of digital animation, notably the first use of computer generated 3D characters in The Abyss and Terminator 2. In both of these films the CG characters are made of liquid (water and metal respectively), an effect which was unprecedented at the time.
Although less remarkable when viewed today, in the 40 years since ILM was created the technology in CG animation has advanced incredibly quickly, and the company still creates effects for some of the biggest effects blockbusters, including Marvel's The Avengers and Iron Man films, as well as many of the Harry Potter films. In the time of the company's existence digital effects have gone from being ground-breaking to commonplace, so much so that audiences expect the spectacular and are less easily amazed.
It is an inevitable pitfall to working in an industry where technology advances so rapidly that often what was once innovative soon becomes dated. I distinctly remember being fascinated by the wild animals in Jumanji when I was younger, only to be distinctly underwhelmed when I re-watched it recently. The increasing demands of audiences in the digital age means that films from only a few years ago begin to loose their magic and become outmoded. In contrast, a well drawn 'traditional' animation can be timeless.
It is an inevitable pitfall to working in an industry where technology advances so rapidly that often what was once innovative soon becomes dated. I distinctly remember being fascinated by the wild animals in Jumanji when I was younger, only to be distinctly underwhelmed when I re-watched it recently. The increasing demands of audiences in the digital age means that films from only a few years ago begin to loose their magic and become outmoded. In contrast, a well drawn 'traditional' animation can be timeless.
Aside from 3D animation, ILM has also developed some of the techniques pioneered in early animations. For example Who Framed Roger Rabbit places 2 dimensional animated characters in a live action world alongside live action actors, not dissimilar to Winsor McCay's appearance in his Gertie the Dinosaur animation. Industrial Light & Magic can also claim to be the parent company of Pixar, which began as the company's Graphics Group before being sold to Steve Jobs.
No comments:
Post a Comment