Conclusion

CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) is most commonly known for its role in recent films like Transformers (Cohen, 2008), The Matrix and Spiderman (Weinman, 2008) but there are films which prefer the old fashioned method of stuntmen, one example of this is the latest James Bond film, Quantum Of Solace, in which the occupational hazards of being a stuntman were clear for many to see (Weinman, 2008). Although many may see this as a reason to use Computer Generated Imagery in order to avoid such hazards, Weinman stated that “for working stuntmen, that kind of carnage may be better than the alternative, because at least Quantum of Solace gives them a chance to get hurt.” As this quote insinuates, it can be hard for a stuntman to find a job. Weinman states that as a stuntman, finding a job in today’s industry is “worse than it was 20 years ago”.

Although stuntmen may dislike Computer Generated Imagery films, there are some films which are completely CGI and therefore would not be possible if it was not for Computer Generated Imagery, one example of this is Surfs Up (Cohen, 2008).

Although most people associate Computer Generated Imagery with the film and animation industry, it has also been present in simulation for training pilots in the 1970’s (Yan, 1985). As with many new technologies there were problems to begin with, one of which was the inability of “terrain following and other tactical manoeuvres” (Yan, 1985) but within the next decade and a half algorithms and electronics made it possible to correct these sorts of discrepancies, making Computer Generated Imagery more fluent and more realistic (Yan, 1985).

Main bulk of essay

Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) is not a new creation, it was used in the 1970’s to train pilots (Yan, 1985). The technology has advanced since then though, in his report Yan, 1985 states that the technology was “effective for certain simple training missions” but also stated that the technology was “incapable of such sophisticated training tasks as terrain following and other tactical manoeuvres”. Yan, 1985 also indicated that “another deficiency was the inability of these systems to transition from one level of detail to the next one in a smooth manner”, this made the sequence unrealistic. By the mid 1980’s advances in algorithms and electronics meant that a lot of the initial problems were corrected (Yan, 1985). More recently CGI has been used within the film industry, some films have tried to rely on stuntmen instead of CGI; such as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, James Bond and the Quantum of Solace, Die Hard and Rambo (Weinman, 2008) where as others prefer to rely on CGI; such as Spiderman, The Matrix and the remake of Knight Rider (Weinman, 2008). Stunt co-ordinator Roberto Lopez claims that although CGI has become useful it has “gotten outta hand” (Weinman, 2008). In Weinman’s report Roberto Lopez is quoted as saying "The Matrix used CGI, but it took a lot of time with the actors, so you could actually see the actors' faces and see them going through the paces. But a movie like Blade 2 tried to do entirely digital fight scenes, and it looked very bad." Although there are films which prefer to use CGI instead of stuntmen James Logan, a stuntman was “asked to name a movie that eliminates stunt performers altogether” and is quoted as saying that he cannot name any film that has eliminated stuntmen (Weinman, 2008). Even though films still use stuntmen Roberto Lopez is also quoted as saying that it is getting harder to find work even though the work is still there, most of it has been replaced with CGI. Another point Weinman makes in his report is that one benefit of Computer Generated Imagery as a replacement to stuntmen is that they don’t have to pay as much insurance for big stunts; this can be very costly for film makers but CGI eliminates this cost almost entirely. Weinman also states in his report that even “with the technical standards of TV improving every year, stunt work is the only element that is actually worse than it was 20 years ago”.

Even though many films are opting to use CGI along with or as a replacement to stuntmen there are certain problems to overcome when using CGI within films (Cohen, 2008). When creating objects such as cars which are known to have shiny surfaces, the light has to be reflected just right in order to make the scene realistic (Cohen, 2008). This was one of the two main problems found by Scott Farrar a vfx supervisor who worked on the Transformers film (Cohen, 2008). In Cohen’s report he quotes Scott Farrar as saying “reflective objects reflect the world around them, so that’s how you light them”. In the debate as to whether to use stuntmen or CGI, the film Transformers uses CGI because it would be impossible due to the nature of the characters to use stuntmen. There are, however, “techniques for approximating the common global illumination for RVIs [Real Video Image] and CGIs [Computer Generated Imagery], assuming some elements of the scene geometry of the real world and common viewing parameters are known” (Fournier, A. et al., 1993). Although films like Transformers rely heavily on CGI, James Logan once said “CG-laden films like Transformers and Titanic employed hundreds of stuntpeople. Maybe thousands.” (Weinman, 2008) and Weinman added to this that “the new idea is to take stunts and enhance them with computer effects, or use human stuntpeople as just one of the many things we see in a larger special-effects canvas.”

Although the argument mainly revolves around semi-CGI films and non-CGI films there are some totally CGI films which may use people to create realistic movements for the characters in the films. One film which is totally Computer Generated Imagery and that uses no RVI (Real Video Image) is Surfs Up (Cohen, 2008). Surfs Up, although completely Computer Generated Imagery, still had to overcome similar issues to a film using partial CGI such as Transformers.

Research Methodology

The research was gathered by searching selected search engines which searched purely reputable papers and journals. As a result of CGI being associated mainly with the film and animation industry the search was widened to purely ‘Computer Generated Imagery’ and this provided the relevant results. Which were collated and referenced as well as a hard copy being printed.

Introduction

Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) has been around for decades and will continue to do for many more decades. Computer Generated Imagery was used in the 1970’s for flight simulation to train pilots (Yan, 1985), but as is common with new technologies, improvements can be made, and these initial improvements came over a decade later in the 1980’s thanks to the developments in electronics and algorithms (Yan, 1985). These improvements have continued and the result is the Computer Generated Imagery films to which there are many around today. Some of which are completely CGI like Surfs Up (Cohen, 2008), while others are partially CGI like Transformers (Cohen, 2008).

Stuntmen have fallen foul of the advancing technology that is Computer Generated Imagery. Weinman commented on this in his report, while discussing the issue of stuntmen going head to head with CGI he said “stunt work is the only element that is actually worse than it was 20 years ago” (Weinman, 2008). Weinman makes additional comments stating that the reason for this decrease in the need for stuntmen is due to the fact that fight scenes are “limited to the things that humans can do without getting killed” and as films try and create something that will impress the viewers, Computer Generated Imagery allows films to “show things that couldn’t possibly be done in real life” (Weinman, 2008).

Abstract

CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) is a big thing in films and animation, but it hasn’t always been that way. Computer Generated Imagery was used in flight simulation for training pilots in the 1970’s (Yan, 1985). Computer Generated Imagery made an appearance in the 1980’s film The Empire Strikes Back by putting a robot onto a RVI (Real Video Image) which contained actors (Yan, 1985). Since then Computer Generated Imagery has been a big part of the film and animation industry.

This has caused problems within the stuntman industry because Computer Generated Imagery has “supplanted stunt work in many movies” (Weinman, 2008) because it is cheaper and can go beyond the limits of human capabilities such as punching, jumping and falling (Weinman, 2008). In his report Weinman discusses how the more spectacular the stunt, the more it costs in insurance for the film makers. While if they were to use Computer Generated Imagery the only insurance needed is for “unexplained system errors” and the stunt can look “more dangerous than it actually is” (Weinman, 2008). Weinman continues talking about a famous scene from the first Indiana Jones film where a stunt double climbed “under a speeding truck” and grabbed “onto a rope at the other end” and although Weinman claims that fakery was used, Computer Generated Imagery was not. Indiana Jones is one film which prefers to use stuntmen instead of CGI, as did the latest James Bond film, Quantum of Solace, which highlighted the dangers that being a stuntman can bring. In his report Weinman talks about two accidents while filming this James Bond movie, one of which was a stuntman who accidentally drove into a lake. The other went into a coma after a car accident between the stunt car and Bond’s Aston Martin. Weinman commented about these occurrences and commented that although this may be “carnage” for stuntmen it better than the alternative because many films don’t give the stuntmen a chance to get hurt because they use Computer Generated Imagery as an alternative to stuntmen.

Literature Review

Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) has been around for decades, it was used to train pilots in the 1970’s (Yan, 1985) but more recently CGI has been used in the film industry on films such as Transformers (Cohen, 2008), CGI has been used in films before such films as this, for example in the 1980’s film The Empire Strikes Back a robot was put onscreen with actors (Cohen, 2008). Some of the latest films, however, prefer to rely on stuntmen for spectacular scenes. For example the latest James Bond film Quantum of Solace used stunt men (Weinman, 2008). This film highlights the dangers of stuntmen as an alternative to CGI, it has been reported that there have been incidents that have injured stuntmen and one stunt that went wrong even ended in a stunt car collided with Bond’s Aston Martin leaving a stuntman in a coma (Weinman, 2008). Although CGI may be thought of as a safer way to create scenes that entice the viewer some view this as cheating, for example Frank Marshall who produced the film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, another film which opts for stuntmen, is quoted as saying "We're not cheating with CG, it keeps the B movie feel." (Weinman, 2008). Meanwhile, there is also the issue of stuntmen needing jobs, Weinman states in his report that the James Bond film may harm stuntmen but “at least Quantum of Solace gives stuntmen a chance to get hurt. Most movies today don’t” (Weinman, 2008)

VARK Questionnaire

My VARK questionnaire revealed that I am a Aural learner. This does not suprise me but I thought that I was more of a practical learner, this was however my second best result. The VARK questionnaire also indicated that I am worse at read/write which doesn't suprise me as when reading i have to read over things a few times to remember what it said and when I write I can forget what i have written after a while but if I write down something that has been said to me I am more likely to remember it.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths:
- Research Skills
- Mathematical Abilities
- Computing Skills
- Problem Solving
- Listening
- Teamwork
- Communication
- Organisation

Weaknesses:
- Referencing
- Confidence
- Essay and Report Writing
- Easily Distracted

Opportunities:
- Available Support
- Resources

Threats:
- Debt
- Exams and Coursework

My Learning Line

Most of my learning has been at schools or colleges. Although my learning line is mostly academic a lot of the skills and abilities I have learnt have applied to life in general. I feel that although I have learnt a lot there is always more a person can learn. Learning never ends and I will continue to do so for the rest of my life. At different stages we learn different things, for example in primary school pupils learn to share and get along together and at secondary school pupils learn to take responsibility and think for themselves, upon entering college I learnt to organise myself and prepare for exams better than I had for my GCSE’s.