I thought that they added new life to a whole other world in the Star Wars universe. The new movies didn't do that. 
I Didn't Mind the CGI-effects in the Prequel Series
- Thread starter VulcanMindBlown
- Start date
Care to give examples? Because I can sayI thought that they added new life to a whole other world in the Star Wars universe. The new movies didn't do that.
"TFA added new worlds with sweeping landscapes that felt very real and lived in. The PT didn't do that."
Doesn't make it true.
The prequels have some fine visuals, I doubt anyone will deny that. the problem is that as they went by, everything gradually became CG or digitally inserted, even at times when it really wasn't necessary. In ROTS they were even creating digital corridors for the characters to walk down. WTF? The couldn't just stick two walls on either side with a matte painting in the background to give the illusion of distance? They really had to make that a digital set?
This goes to a larger point a friend of mine, who works in Hollywood as a VFX artist, noted about the PT. He feels that the prequels were basically experiments in digital filmmaking, that GL ushered in the era we are in now (now known as the Bane of Christopher Nolan's existence). The problem is, is that the CGI effects became the focal point of the trilogy. Jar-Jar, the clones, Grievous, just to name a few, were all touted as these breakthroughs in film making. And, to be fair, they are, but that's why the visuals are often commended but not the rest of the series.
You know I think some people would be surprised at just how much old school model work actually went into the prequels. It was all digitally composited of course and all kinds of effects laid over, but for a lot of memorable shots the base image was still a physical thing.
The podrace arena, the pod racers themselves, the slave quarters, the arena on Geonosis, most of Theed, the Naboo swamp ruins, the lava pit on Mustafar, the Utapau city, the Royal starship, the lower streets of Couruscant, Dex's diner, the Jedi Temple, Padme's apartment building, the N1s, the Droid tanks, sections of the Kamino interior, the Federation ship hangers complete with landing craft. All of them physical models.
It's really not that hard to tell either since you compare any of that to say the droid factory sequence which really was 99% CG since it was thrown together fairly late in production and you can tell the fidelity just doesn't hold up as well.
The podrace arena, the pod racers themselves, the slave quarters, the arena on Geonosis, most of Theed, the Naboo swamp ruins, the lava pit on Mustafar, the Utapau city, the Royal starship, the lower streets of Couruscant, Dex's diner, the Jedi Temple, Padme's apartment building, the N1s, the Droid tanks, sections of the Kamino interior, the Federation ship hangers complete with landing craft. All of them physical models.
It's really not that hard to tell either since you compare any of that to say the droid factory sequence which really was 99% CG since it was thrown together fairly late in production and you can tell the fidelity just doesn't hold up as well.
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I liked Coruscant, the characters, the locations, and the technology.
The Prequel Trilogy couldn't really be done by a lot of real life effects.
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The problem was the movies used the CGI instead of a story, acting etc.
Sure it could have, but the CGI isn't necessarily the problem. It's just a tool to convey the story. What does Coruscant add to the story?
I'm more curious to know what you feel doesn't measure between the PT and TFA (thus far)? What did the PT do better, in your opinion, or where did TFA lack?
I think at the end of the day, it's what the CGI is used for that makes the movie good or bad, not if it's CGI period.
Case in point, the live-action Jungle Book movie was actually almost all CGI. It looks amazing, however, even if/when it becomes dated, the movie will still hold up because the characters and story.
As far as Star Wars went, I liked how the prequels introduced new cultures, tech styles, and stuff into the franchise. It made the world seem bigger, more varied, and added scope to the series.
Case in point, the live-action Jungle Book movie was actually almost all CGI. It looks amazing, however, even if/when it becomes dated, the movie will still hold up because the characters and story.
As far as Star Wars went, I liked how the prequels introduced new cultures, tech styles, and stuff into the franchise. It made the world seem bigger, more varied, and added scope to the series.
I thought that they added new life to a whole other world in the Star Wars universe. The new movies didn't do that.
The CGI in "The Force Awakens" was okay. Aside from a few scenes and the Maz Kanata character, it did not strike me as particularly mind boggling.
Do people hate on the other eras, like the Old Republic and New Republic, New Jedi Order, and Legacy because "it is not as good as the old ones?"
You couldn't have worlds like Mustafar or the Nemodians that were made with real live effects. The problem with the new ones is that it is basically a copy of Episode IV. It's okay to bring back themes, but not copy them. The Prequels had huge battles with large armies. The OT and ST just had a few people trying to take out a huge empire by making sneak attacks. I didn't like how Return of the Jedi ended with the Empire still intact.
Well, obviously, the Original Triology was the first outing, so they put their best ideas forward. The characters were the best, but they were a bunch of stereotypes. I liked how the PT had better battles, shades of grey characters, and the Sith and the Jedi at their peak.
You couldn't have worlds like Mustafar or the Nemodians that were made with real live effects. The problem with the new ones is that it is basically a copy of Episode IV. It's okay to bring back themes, but not copy them. The Prequels had huge battles with large armies. The OT and ST just had a few people trying to take out a huge empire by making sneak attacks. I didn't like how Return of the Jedi ended with the Empire still intact.
Well, obviously, the Original Triology was the first outing, so they put their best ideas forward. The characters were the best, but they were a bunch of stereotypes. I liked how the PT had better battles, shades of grey characters, and the Sith and the Jedi at their peak.
I think I read somewhere that the Neimodeans were practical, not CG. I was never against the use of CG to enhance a movie, especially something like Star Wars or Star Trek.
My problem with the PT was that for the most part, GL relied heavily on vfx to tell the story, with characters kind of just shoved in there. This is a problem with many early 2000's movies (and even so today); vfx was used to make a mediocre movie look pretty (AI was accused of this, never saw it. ST:09 certainly was guilty of this, and in a large part TFA was just a rehash of ANH with some new characters and sfx). The Matrix sequels definitely suffered from this as well, not as badly as ST09 IMO but still could of used more polish. The Hobbit Trilogy is the textbook definition of this tendency.
Anakin...all 50 shades!
I don't like Old Republic and Legacy era stories much because I don't find them as interesting as the others.
I agree that the Star Wars fan aversion to CGI effects is weird, not only because they allow filmmakers to do things that can't otherwise be done, but because Star Wars has always been using the latest special effects and advancing them since the first movie (including CGI).
Of course TFA is "basically a copy of Episode IV." It's a Star Wars movie!
The Star Wars movie series has been making meta jokes, remixing, remaking, homaging, retro-foreshadowing, paralleling, and copying itself for years now. TFA not only does it really well, but also does some fresh spins on their remixing. So, not only is it an unfair complaint as an objective criticism (anything is up for subjectivity), it's kind of missing the point that this is a feature, not a bug.
I didn't mind ROTJ's ending (or the variety of battles in the movie).
Didn't the movies have a lot of different people working on them? Also, given that the TFA cast and film can hold their own against the originals, I think that it might be a little too early to say which is the best (although I think ANH will probably always be the most beloved, just due to its place in culture).
I personally think that Star Wars suffered from both its own success (leading to a lot of putting stuff on pedestals) and blowing stuff out of proportion (TMP actually got some decent reviews when it was released, before the fanbase's overreaction became the dominant voice).
Sure. Much of the Old Republic feels very much like a rehash of the older films. I can't stand the NJO because it's always some galaxy threatening weapon, and don't get me started on the Legacy series.
The other thing to note is that the PT is to lead directly in to the OT, so if there is a tonal difference, it will be noticeable.
First of all, ROTJ didn't leave the Empire intact. There was celebrations all across the galaxy of the Emperor's defeat.
The Neimodians were practical effects, not CGI.
Mustufar is not essential to the story. What does it add to the story?
Ha, not really. If you read the BTS on the OT, especially Star Wars, the film was always a razor edge of failure and production being canceled. Best idea forward? There is a whole website on what ideas GL borrowed from where, not the least of which was the basic structure from Joseph Campbell, which was completely abandoned in the PT. Empire is a far different story of a film, far darker in its approach. The characters at least felt like they had definition, personality and were believable.
None of the characters in the PT ever felt real to me, like real people responding to real problems. It has a feel of a play, and the characters just don't engage me. Who was a shade of gray? Lots of them show up in the EU (Quinlan Vos, Aayla Secura, Plo Koon, among others) but not in the films.
I think you're talking about the Bantam New Republic stuff, since a lot of those were new superweapons and stuff. NJO (The New Jedi Order) was one long series about a war with extra-galactic invaders who used exclusively bio-tech.
Well, there needed to be some explanation for Anakin's burns in ROTJ and lava or fire was also assumed to be the answer. It also created a creative place for the duel and really added to the atmosphere of the scene. Besides, introducing new places makes the Galaxy feel bigger than it does if you keep going back to the same places.
Fair enough.
Indeed.
http://starwarsaficionado.blogspot.com/2014/09/behind-scenes-few-screws-loose.html
Maybe the OP was thinking of a different alien species.
Kor
Thank you for the correction. I had read the Jedi Academy Series, part of the Dark Trilogy series, and a few others from the New Republic. The Yuzon Vong (sp? I really don't care) annoyed me to no end and so I never bothered reading them. Still have an unread book gathering dust on my shelf.
Certainly, but it doesn't have to be a lava planet, per se. I don't mind Mustufar at all, but it could have been done differently. The original concept was a melting pit that Vader fell in to, and this was envisioned in TPM with what Maul fell in to.
Now, I will completely agree that Coruscant, Kamino, Naboo, and Geonosis all are great locations and are incredibly grand in their scope. But, they are all CGI, which is my larger point. The CGI is good when it serves the story and detracts when they insist upon showing off.
In my opinion, the blending is great when they use updated methods of how they did the OT, a mix of CGI and, model work and puppet work. It doesn't have to be all or nothing proposition.
Well, I try
The actual masks had servos in them to create the mouth movement, rather than being attached to an actor. The puppeteers would be off screen manipulating the lips. Now, in my opinion, the Neimodians should have spoken in an alien language, and been subtitled, like Jabba, to give them a far more alien feel, and lose the poor dubbing look in the film.
That said, I look at the picture on the link and think "Brains!"
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