Rango

Leave it to Gore Verbinski to create a CG animated film that, at least to these eyes, finally rivals what the folks at Pixar are doing. As you watch this trailer, the fact that it is CG immediately fades behind the efficacy of its irreverant mood, skillfully dressed in sub-genre trappings that puts the sharp comedic wit front-and-center. This is not selling the CG. And is barely selling Depp's involvement which is even difficult to gauge with the one clear line delivered. It's selling story... Officially looking forward to this one.

Tron Legacy

There is a new trailer for the film which calls itself Tron Legacy. I say "the film which calls itself Tron Legacy" because if the word "Tron" were not part of the title, one may certainly not think it had anything to do with the classic film from the 80s set in the world within circuitry and microchips. Though the trailer is rather vague about the story, intentionally so as this is just a teaser trailer, the obvious point of the footage shown is to sell the world of Tron. In this regard, all visuals seem to say that the creators have missed the mark. The attempt to deliver a more realistic interpretation of the Tron-verse only betrays the nature of the film itself. Can the audience be transported to a unique world when so much of it is so similar to the one they occupy? The production design is certainly exquisite...for an extrapolated vision of the future, but does not necessarily lend itself to what Tron is (or should) be. Sadly, the trailer gives a glimpse of characters in obviously rubber suits with lighted trimmings; of light cycles kicking up rain rooster tails in the night; of Recognizers that appear to be futuristic construction equipment; of a "Tron car" creating billows of smoke as it performs burn outs; of characters riding up fiberglass-like elevators to the game platform; of a Tron apartment decorated with very familiar looking furniture; of a girl lounging on a sofa with a trendy off-the-shoulder outfit. This is not Tron. They may want you to think it is, but it is not. The film may have Bruce Boxleitner and Jeff Bridges, playing both an old & young (the film's best special effect) Flynn, but it is not Tron.

Tron is a world of light, data, apps, programs, electricity, bytes, bit streams, etc. The audience need not, and should not, connect to the real world. Our physics do not apply there. Our mechanics don't work there. Our textiles and materials do not belong there. Unfortunately, the filmmakers have decided to bring Tron closer to the film-goer's imagination, instead of taking them to a place beyond it, which is what a film like this should be doing. Right?

Battleships, Monkeys, & CG--oh my.

The first post of 2010 brings some potentially exciting news.

For anyone who grew up on animations of the late 70s and 80s, one should have memories of a series called Star Blazers, the Americanized version of a Japanese anime series "Uchuu Senkan Yamato (Space Battleship Yamato)." It was one of my first exposures to Japanese anime and I still have clear memories of the impact it had on me because of the grown-up nature of the story. It was far far different from "Tom & Jerry" or "Looney Toons." The series has a strong following to this day, especially among men in the late 30s and early 40s—an important demographic for the film industry.

When word broke that a film adaptation of the anime was in the works, I naturally had my misgivings. The story of the series is long and complex, yet its timely message of Earth at a environmental crisis with a group of people heading out to space in a last ditch effort to save it would make a natural draw to contemporary theater-goers. However, there are reasons why anime adaptations have always been difficult; how do you boil down a 24 episode or more storyline down to 2 to 2.5 hours? It is no easy task. What will the filmmakers keep? What will they cut out? What will they add? Peter Jackson proved that an adaptation can incorporate edited, added, and reorganized elements and still hold true to the original source, but he, Fran Walsh and Philipa Boyens spent countless hours writing and rewriting the script, and refining it during the production. This is a practice not found in Japan where the first draft is what usually goes in to production. If they were planning a trilogy of films, I could feel some sense of comfort, but as of this writing, Space Battleship Yamato is a standalone with sequel possibilities depending on box office. I believe this will ultimately affect the quality of the story.
However, some doubts were alleviated with the choice of director: YAMAZAKI Takashi, the man behind SF cult hits Juvenile & Returner as well as the Always: Sunset on Third Street period family drama series. Yamazaki is an expert at subtle uses of CG as a tool to bring the world of his films to life; he is the antithesis of KAZUAKI Kiriya. At least visually, the focus wouldn't be on the FX, but on how the characters live in a world brought to life by SFX. Over the weekend, the first preview CM (commercial) for the film aired:



The production design seems well done, possibly borrowing from the design philosophy of the "Battlestar Galactica" series in the practical realization of the technology. Then there is the CG. On Youtube, it might look fine, but on a 15 foot screen, there is the potential for this space adventure to look immensely artificial. Japan, despite all its technology, is not adept at CGI effects, mainly due to the lack of investment by production companies in the proper equipment and software or to set a portion of the budget to outsource CGI effects to internationally recognized effects houses. In order to save money, producers usually gather a staff using largely off the shelf equipment and software for the duration of the production. In the case of Yamazaki, his production company is also a CGI effects company so he has a slight advantage, but comparisons to even second-tier Hollywood effects houses are not even possible.

Recently, news on the Chinese film news site MonkeyPeaches.com, brought word of a project entitled Da Nao Tiao Gong (Uproar in Heaven), which will be a new live-action film based on the "Journey to the West" fantasy novels. The most important point in the press release is the decision by production company, Filmko Pictures, to contract Weta Digital to animate the Monkey King and deliver other CGI effects. Unlike their Japanese counterparts, Filmko Pictures recognizes Weta Digital's leadership in the type of CG that would be required to bring their film to reality and have decided to earmark a budget to add Weta's expertise to the team.

I have always been of the opinion that Japan could be a leader in CG effects and visualizations. Their long tradition of visualizing fantastic characters, situations, action and effects from manga would be greatly sought after by filmmakers around the world. Sadly, there is no one in Japan's film industry who has vision and courage to invest in creating the infrastructure, training, and environment for CGI effects services. To this day, there are no specialized effects houses in Japan's film industry. There are companies like Yamazaki's, a film production company with a CG department, but a Weta or ILM type company does not exist. This remains one of the Japanese film industry's wasted opportunities...

Russian Fantasy

If you want more proof of the dedication and production savvy Russia has been displaying lately, check out this clip from the upcoming, Disney produced fantasy film, Kniga Masterov. Definitely epic in scope with a solid sense of production design and effects visualization.

Up

The magic that is a Pixar film is fairly well cemented with Up, had there been any doubt prior. Seen outside of the view from parents of young children or diehard fans of the studio, there can be no doubt left that a Pixar film is miles ahead of not only others placed into the CG genre, but simply most all other films combined. Up, specifically, is overwhelmingly refreshing in its ability to be accessible to everyone. There's no cornering of age groups or targeted demographics, it is at its most basic an undeniably good movie. Up's greatest accomplishment is with the ease it purports to do so, tho when given any thought there was clearly a tremendous amount of work and talent involved.

How this is achieved though a film whose base plot is that of a curmudgeonly old man fulfilling the dream of his dead wife while paired with a hapless boy scout is a wonder to watch unfold. Such a thing would seem to be the antithesis of a foundation for an adventure movie, with concepts that could go horribly wrong into the realm of schmaltz and false emotion. Yet the genuine heart of each character is told through care and craft at just the right pace and attention.

The running theme through Up is "The Spirit of Adventure," taking all forms from the everyday to the grand and sweeping. The story is so adamant in its search and delivery of adventure that no real logic need apply. Events snowball after each other that are so much fun to watch there isn't enough time to wonder why it's happening, just that it is and you can hardly believe your eyes. Before that suspension of disbelief is betrayed, we are brought back to earth (so to speak) to focus on the characters as they are set up for the next big leap. The characters themselves are a collection of oddities outside of the norm of perceived archetypes. And even though the film has a "bad guy," it's not the case in the traditional sense. It's a much more antagonistic involvement with believable and prescient motivations, albeit ultimately destructive. The main characters do set a wonderful tone for the film, following the arc of the acerbic and steadfast Carl managing his time with the unbridled young Russell in their continually peculiar situations. In that respect Up is 100% pure, storypoints seemingly lain out methodically and then toppling like dominoes as the audience tries to keep up. There are instances where you can almost hear Pixar subliminally bragging "Hey, every other movie, this is how you tell a good story. Please do not attempt this at home, we're professionals."

And then there's... the dogs. One can only imagine the story discussion that took place as Up was taking shape, starting simply enough and then cascading into what would become some of the biggest payoffs in the film.

"We should add a dog."
"We should add dogs."
"Like three or four dogs?"
"Like, a hundred and fifty dogs."
"Yeah."



Artistically, if any more adoration can be stood, Up is flawless. There is an acute level of detail on everything that not just raises the bar for competitors, it pretty much puts the bar in sole ownership of Pixar. Stylized characters mesh incredibly into a world that's not quite real but the viewer instantly believes it is so. A wood floor is warped just a touch. The fabric on a chair delicately patterned and worn. The bright color of a merit badge shows every stitch if inspected. The light refracted through a thousand balloons... stunning. As an added bonus, Up is available to be seen in 3D. While there are some cool "in your face" moments, the appeal of 3D in this instance goes more towards a viewing experience of watching a picturesque world come to just shy of life, perhaps like watching Tilt Shift photography on a scale yet unseen.

Up runs a gauntlet of emotion that has no reason to be in any ordinary film. At times sad and melancholy, yet at others laugh-out-loud funny and wide-eyed action. In any other hands, well, who knows. What comes out of the mix is an incredible amount of heart that is so rarely seen it's kind of weird to be found in. When was the last time you saw a movie that when the credits began to roll, the entire audience is just... happy? Odds are it was probably by Pixar.

Goemon

This film looks like it might have all the right elements to be a possible classic. It's based on the exploits of historical folk hero, Ishikawa Goemon, a Japanese version of Robin Hood by some accounts. It has a stellar cast of well-known and capable actors. The production design and art direction are exquisite and fantastic. The official website is slick and full of content. This might be a a film I should be truly excited about. So, why the guarded and apprehensive comments?

Well, this is the second film by Kazuaki Kiriya. His first film, Casshern had me very excited. Like Goemon, it was an adaptation of a heroic figure, Tatsunoko Production's "Casshern: Robot Fighter." It, too, boasted a stellar cast and the production design and art direction were first-rate. Kiriya, a former fashion photographer and video director, knew how to package his film with glorious production stills of the cast (see above) and knew how to market the film by using the internet to release copious amounts of art work and video diaries on the official website. He was certainly going for a style no one had done in Japan before, namely, actors performing before almost all CG environments. The trailers displayed a world and action that had never been realized in Japanese genre films. I was bristling with anticipation to see it. I bought magazines that featured exclusive cast photos. I had a friend buy the souvenir program booklet sold only at theaters. When the film was released, reviews were tepid to negative, mostly laying the blame squarely on Kiriya's style which they accused of being too much like a music video. I ignored them, chalking it up to haughty cineastes who were ready to skewer someone who hadn't gone through "the system" and to permanently label him "only good for MTV."

Then I saw the film. There was certainly a story in there about the futility of war and its consequences on those who keep fighting without remembering why. Unfortunately, it was so poorly told that it would take a Dadaist to really make sense of the narrative. Kiriya's video background was a glaring flaw in an otherwise very pretty film. He almost certainly approached the story as segments, directed them that way, and then edited these "snippets" together as is. Sadly, there was no connective tissue between any of the scenes, any of the cuts, or even between the acts. It just unspooled, disjointed, minus the music to give it any rhythm like a music video.

So here we are again. It has taken Kiriya almost 5 years to complete Goemon. The trailer below looks fantastic. The visuals are again top-notch. But it's a trailer. It fits exactly into Kiriya's style. Short segments that tease content, but doesn't necessarily have to deliver any narrative consistency. It is breathtaking to watch and think about the possibilities. And yet, the specter of Casshern still lingers. Did he pull it off this time? Did he learn?

Don't get me wrong, I want very much for this film to be good. This is a style of filmmaking that I think can bring Japan's genre stories to life in a way only Japan's visualists can; the incredible style and form one can see in manga and anime can finally be realized in live-action. Afterall, it was the limits of live-action (there's a matter of the "the system" but that's another discussion) that prompted some of Japan's leading animation directors to forgo the camera and draw out their stories instead. However, it hinges on Kiriya's ability to deliver a solid film, not a video, a film. Early word is that Goemon is quite an improvement over Casshern, but considering how much there needed to be improved in the latter, I'm not sure if that bodes well for the former. Japan will find out on May 1st.

How to have a flaming skull

Haven't found time to see Ghost Rider, but check out this article at CG Society on the FX.

Extrapolation, Squared

I've always taken an interest in the creation and execution of visual effects. It pretty much started the day I came back from seeing Star Wars, and never stopped. Additionally I've found myself in "the industry" so along with genuine curiosity comes a professional necessity to keep on top of things. Talking about the future of virtual actors below I was caught up with thoughts of where cinema has taken things. Be it the digital double usage that started in Jurassic Park to the crazy-azz digital character insertion in the Star Wars Prequels. Each somewhat culminating with the most emotive of its ilk with Gollum in LOTR, and his digital successor King Kong. This is some amazing stuff.


So while I keep my nose to the silicon grindstone, nothing really prepared me for the level of work that was done on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. You'll recall I really liked it. I knew there was a lot of digital work going on, but it's the extent of which that really floors me. No prosthetic make up for Bill Nighy as Davey Jones, or his entire crew? That's all digital folks, and the methods employed are something I knew was possible, but the sheer scale of production just sets me aback. And then I smile, because I can only think of what's next.

Check out this site dedicated to the digital characters in Dead Man's Chest: "The Show," hosted by Industrial Light and Magic.
Also read this article at CG Talk, Shades of Davy Jones.

As with all technology, or any example of perceived power, the responsibility lies with its creators. It's not hard to think of the bad that may come from a rampant, unchecked, bubbling spigot of digital and virtual creations. But oh how nice it is to think of the good.

Of Kong and Men

If you haven't been following the development of King Kong, but have a passing interest in such things, you may want to check out the latest set report. This one focuses on "digital doubles" and it's a doozy. Aside from contemplating statements from Peter Jackson like "quite an advancement on the work we did for Lord of the Rings," it's hard not to watch in awe as you see first hand the state of digital technology today. Part of me is filled with excitement and giddyness, the other part can't help having the hell scared out of it.