To celebrate being nominated for an Oscar for its work on The Avengers, Industrial Light and Magic, the visual effects wizards, have released a behind-the-digital-scenes look at how all the awesome visuals were made. Watch this and be utterly amazed.
It’s common knowledge that basically everything in a modern film is CGI-ified, but hell, I didn’t quite grasp the extent to which that’s really true. Looking at this, the actors basically just performed in a tiny green box, with everything, including basic things like the roads and streets, added in after. How on Earth you can get a sense of purpose and actually act out a scene without any context like that, I have no idea. I guess it helps when you’re paid oodles of money, but still, not even the bloody tarmac is real.
It’s truly amazing to see what ILM’s capable of, especially when you simply can’t tell that a cityscape, or anything else like that, is CGI. One day it’ll all be CGI, and we won’t need puny Gods humans anymore. Will that be the death of cinema? Not if ILM can help it. [YouTube via TotalFilm]













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I’m still disappointed that TDKR and Skyfall were snubbed for Oscar noms. Not even in special effects. Prometheus’ effects were excellent but not even Skyfall any editing/SFX recognition. Skyfall is getting a Oscar opening treatment – which means a series of parodies mocking the film, even though it made a tonne at the box-office.
Edit, ignore that bit about Skyfall. I just forgot it got 5 noms.
Skyfall was awful, probably worse than Prometheus.
I agree, I don’t understand the big hype regarding Skyfall, it really wasn’t that great. The villain was terrible, even jafar would have been a better villain.
This. Is. Awesome.
I really enjoyed the end scene and had no idea as to the amount of effort involved in creating and animating these scenes. Just stunning stuff.
That’s what is great about Avengers Assemble. The effects were coherent that after watching this video you have a better idea about what was CGI and what wasn’t. Serenity had that great mix too. You knew it was CGI but it never felt like CGI. G. Lucas had a lot learn about how to use his own technology.
*Re-opens Photoshop and gets back to work*
…sigh…
I guess that’s why Disney just bought them …along with the rest of Lucas Film of course.
Now if they could just get around to a new Monkey Island I’d a very happy chap.