How Avatar Changed Our Perceptions of CGI

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Seriously, when was the last time you heard people complaining about “CGI ruining a movie”. Yea - okay the MCU has had some stumbles recently…
But its nothing like the hate and vitriol things like the Star Wars Prequels got back in the early 2000s - Despite all their technological achievements, the dodgy CGI did leave a bad taste in audiences' mouths for years to come - And People pretty quickly got sick of bad greenscreens or mediocre CGI replacing what would have once been a hand crafted practical set of model.
But then - In 2009… Avatar came out and was a massive blockbuster success. It was a huge milestone for CGI - with almost the entire film being completely computer generated -
And It’s groundbreaking VFX entranced audiences worldwide. - And since then VFX has just been consistent… amazing and it really just happened without us noticing and we all kinda just took it for granted…
So… why did this happen? What changes did Avatar cause to the filmmaking and VFX industry? And what does this mean for the future of VFX?
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#avatar #avatar2 #vfx #avatarthewayofwater #jamescameron

[@JihadiFemboy]

Another banger! Cameron really set the bar high and it payed off really well. I agree with Avatar being the first movie with perfect CGI, completely new world that was alien enough to seem otherworldly yet also has enough familiar touches to make it feel real. I feel like the prequels still mostly hold up too and the CGI complaint only exists because of hate towards the plot

[@CGWHY]

Thank you! - Yea - It's really crazy to think that this film came out all the way back in 2009! And thats such a good point! - I never really noticed how similar yet alien the film feels. Cameron walked a really fine line and balanced the two brilliantly. And I do mostly agree with the your point with the prequels CG. Some stuff is certainly incredible and really really unappreciated... but the occasional moments are awwwwful 😅

[@Mr.Septon]

@@CGWHY The opening space battle in Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith was and still is an epic shot.

[@CGWHY]

Yea that was/still is incredible - probably the best shot in the entirety of the Prequels

[@Skyv111]

and even the plot isn't that bad! it's pretty compelling and immersive

[@berrybearcub8237]

FINALLY SOMEONE GETS IT, I’ve been saying this for Years that Avatar was actually a revolution in the movie industry. Without Cameron we would have possibly had to have waited another few years with the puppets and dead looking/fake things. Avatar has been the ONLY movie that I don’t think about how they made this, how the actors did this or that, the only movie I could actually get into. James Cameron helped fund/make the technology for His movie, because he truly wanted the audience to like it. I stand to this day that this movie has the best CGI even after 13 years! None of this is even about the Creativity and absolutely amazing story telling.

[@CGWHY]

Yea exactly 😅 - some many things about this film are a game changer - technologically, economically and in the politics of film production. And it's very underrated for all that!

[@iknoweverything4959]

It still has an artificial/computer look to it.

[@anteeko]

@@iknoweverything4959 " It still has an artificial/computer look to it. " I agree very much, I could never get into the movie it look so fake, color so saturated, avatar movement behind just "off" I hated it, it was very much CGI overload for me.

[@iknoweverything4959]

@@anteeko Yeah, these video essay people are being dishonest, because it has artificial textures/shadows/faces all over it that stick out.

[@zZiL341yRj736]

Clowns calling this movie overrated are clueless.

[@entertainingandfun2719]

A big reason these movies are so good is the team who works on it. Not just anyone can get these results. Even if they are given the exact same tools. Go back and watch how real the first avatar looks. Look at the lord of the rings. All these amazing effects that still hold up to this day even with technological restrictions. Avatar is so good because these artists have better learned how to combine the motion capture and the fine tuning of the cgi.

[@CGWHY]

Yea exactly! Good point! - i always knew VFX were alot of effort, but until I started working in the industry I wasn't aware of just *how* much goes on behind the scenes. So much work goes into everything - from the art, to the logistical stuff like getting all the software to talk to eachother. It's crazy!

[@TheNameBrandCompany]

Great video! As a VFX artist i don’t think anyone realizes just how big of an impact avatar had!

[@CGWHY]

Hell yea! Its much more than just "blue people" lol :D Btw - I just checked out your channel, sick content. Transformers is quite a guilty pleasure of mine lol. How are you doing the animation? By hand?

[@TheNameBrandCompany]

@@CGWHY oh wow thank you so much man! I really appreciate it! And yep! Everything I do is just hand animated although I’ve been wanting to mess around with rokoko’s video AI motion capture software and mess around with it to see how that holds up!

[@TheNameBrandCompany]

You got a new sub btw! Keep it up man!

[@CGWHY]

Wow that's really impressive - how long does it take you per video?

[@CGWHY]

Thank you! You too 😁

[@MrSam1804]

back in 2009 i was so shocked by how real it looked, i havent seen anything that good visually, i watched it 3 times the first weekend. And the fact it still holds to these days just proves how good it was. I never had a feeling with this movie like when back in a day you thought your favorite game was super realistic and now you see its just 3 polygons with 128x128 texture. Didn't have it with avatar. Yep it shows some age now, but its so litte and it's still better than 90% of big movie CGI right now.

[@j-mlion3424]

Just wait until you see The Way of Water! Somehow, they made Pandora and the Na’vi look even better!

[@Micrologic404]

It makes me sad that amazing VFX artists almost never become famous

[@TechAsylumOfficial]

Avatar: The Way of Water... The best movie ever, going for the second time next weekend

[@CGWHY]

Okay nice - I'm seeing it tonight, well excited :D

[@AstroSully]

Glad to hear mate!

[@tylersamuel5021]

Relax.. best movie EVER???? Top gun maverick beats it alone

[@quiropracticoecuador1]

@@tylersamuel5021 Top Gun Maverick???? Faceplant!

[@TheBalloonBob]

@@quiropracticoecuador1 What? Maverick is objectively a fantastic film. Did you know that people can like Avatar AND Maverick at the same time??

[@swordwhale1]

Good insights! I loved the first Avatar film. Absolutely I knew every beat of the plot before it happened (we didn't go see it for an intricate plot) but the world building and sense of wonder were over the top! It was worth going back multiple times to immerse yourself in that fabulous world. Avatar 2 does not dissapoint!

[@CGWHY]

Yea exactly! Both films are lovely to watch. I can understand the criticism given to each movie respectively - but at the end of the day we're all there for things you mentioned, at the movie excels at all of them!

[@channelthechannel]

0:35 Cameron happened - Avatar still can't be matched 13 years later

[@CGWHY]

Hell yea! - Fantastic Movie! Can't wait to see the sequel next week :D

[@channelthechannel]

@@CGWHY The CG is unreal, and it has one of the best final acts I've seen - got me emotional as well, I must admit.

[@CGWHY]

Alright awesome - I'm really excited then 😄, I should be seeing it tomorrow evening or the next 👍

[@strykenine7902]

Good video. If I understand the chain of events leading up to Avatar, Cameron himself pushed a lot of this technology. He wanted something that was going to be real - not just 95 percent of the way real. He pulled it off then, and he's done it again. He cares about making the best movie possible.

[@Mr.Septon]

I think because there were certain milestones that steadily took us until Avatar came out, that Avatar was definitely the moment where people fully recognized the absolute abilities in CGI and what it could offer.

[@Meteotrance]

People are amazed by the mocap character, but they dont know how difficult it was to make all the landscape with realistic tree and volumetric cloud effect, it's still kick ass, the new one also have step up in Skin and water effect rendering, the rare real shot are totaly seemless with the CGI thats crazy to achived that in stereoscopic render.

[@desertsoldier41]

What I see now as a big improvement is the utilization the practical effects with CGI. Also the introduction of the Volume is a huge game changer because no longer do you need to simulate real time lighting for background settings, now you can use the lighting of the backdrop in real time.

[@CGWHY]

Yea the increased return to practical effects has probably been a massive help in terms of quality. It's kinda a side point of this video I suppose. Practical effects cost alot more, so it would have taken something like Avatar to get the suits at Hollywood pumping money into practical effects.

[@robertfey825]

One thing you forgot to mention is that it didn't just change the way CG was utilized but also 3D. Prior to Avatar there really was only one type, "throw sh*t in your face" 😅. Avatar though showed a better use and that was to add depth of field to the movie. The scene that emphasizes this the most for me was the shot from inside the cockpit of the main command ship as they were heading to destroy the Navi's tree home. It was mind blowing! It felt like you could reach out and touch the controls. After 13 years I honestly wasn't expecting Way of the Water to break new ground. It didn't story wise but it blew my mind when it comes to CG, again, and I thoroughly look towards the sequels in the years to come.

[@SaveTheInsects_Team]

I thought this was from a channel with over 1 million subscribers! Good job, and I hope you grow!

[@CGWHY]

Wow thank you! Thats such a nice compliment :D - Im loving making it and i glad people are enjoying watching it :D

[@mariamjimsheleishvili3080]

It pisses me off so much that people who have no idea what amount of work and effort went into making this movie, call it boring and nothing special.

[@frenchyroastify]

Those words are spoken by people that have never made anything and are just consumers.

[@ElectricAlien577]

I can understand why some people dont like it. But it is REALLY not a bad movie by ANY means. It might be full of cliches, but its a well crafted movie, both visually, and storytelling wise.

[@Blanktester685]

just because you put a lot of work into something doesnt make it good, ie most marvel movies

[@canuck21]

Avatar looks amazing, but I don't care how much work went into it, if I didn't like the story, no hard work will change it.

[@snyder712]

How do you only have 288 subs? I clicked and watched and thought i was watching someone with at least a million. This video is so high quality and just good. Keep this up!

[@CGWHY]

Thank you man :D - Thats really nice of you to say! I wasn't too sure about the quality of this video so it's great to have feedback like this :D Thank you!!

[@timjongunproductions]

Hey man, I just came about this video as I recently uploaded my own Avatar video, and man is this such a well-written, beautifully constructed video. Just wanted to say you did an excellent job with this vid and even though I have very little knowledge about VFX work, you did a good job making it digestible while also highlighting how significant it is. I'm super excited to see what else you put out next. Keep up the good work man!

[@CGWHY]

Hey man that's really nice of you to say, thank you! I just checked out your Avatar video and I really liked it too 😁 - Very thought provoking and well delivered 😊 Is there some way I can send you a private message btw?

[@timjongunproductions]

@@CGWHY Thanks for the very sweet reply, and I'm glad you liked my Avatar video, yours was equally thought-provoking and well-delivered! And sure, I actually left both my twitter and Instagram profiles in the description of my Avatar video, so if you wanna just dm me through either Twitter or Insta, don't hesitate to send it!

[@MythicalFandomMelody]

In conclusion guys, GO WATCH AVATAR!! I went to see it with my boyfriend and even in 3D, I felt like I was there! I was so lost in the world. Its so beautiful and looked so real!

[@zenthous9568]

It’s insane that you have only 200 subscribers, this is quality content

[@CGWHY]

Thank you! That's really nice of you to say! We're growing slowly but surely 😁 💪

[@zenthous9568]

@@CGWHY keep up the awesome work!

[@ashVGF]

Great video, interest in the field + well spoken, subbed!

[@DaltonRosee]

your voice over audio sounds a lot better in this video compared to your others!! Keep up the improvements brotha, really enjoyed the pace of this one

[@CGWHY]

Thank you man! Yea in the past I was trying to go for really fasted paced, tik tok style, high retention rate kinda stuff - But then i though... screw that lol - I'd rather make actually good content and grow a bit slower 😅😅 That - and i got a better mic 😂 So thank you for the feedback! It's really great to hear :D

[@logan3680]

Stumbled across your video and gave it a listen. I think the path you went down was interesting, but it sort of feels like a one of those 'porch conversations' with friends. I'd love to see quotations from VFX artists and directors that are used to reinforce the premise here. Elevate it above an interesting thought and more towards a statement.

[@CGWHY]

That's fair enough mate. Tbh I completely agree, you are 100% right. This was definitely something I'm gonna address in the future, include links to sources, put quotes on screen etc. Because I do do the research, but without providing my sources then I might as well have made it all up lol. The problem always is my organisation, I mix so many sources together in my writing process it's hard to keep track of each one. But this is definitely something I will address in the future. Thanks for your feedback, I really appreciate it 👍

[@manniK]

7:21 My favorite little scene, great lighting 😂

[@TheSilverwolf97]

I think that revolution belongs to 2007's Transformers. Yes, Avatar was another landmark, but the revolution did start on that movie. Subsequent years, even from 2007 to 2009 before Avatar's release had some astounding VFX. (Ironman, The Dark Knight, Spiderman 3, Inglorious Basterds, Transformers ROTF, Watchmen, District 9, Star Trek, among many others, all released before Avatar). Avatar was one of the first if not the first to create a whole believable landscape, wildlife and characters, virtually the entire shot in CG, that was new at the time imo.

[@kelownatechkid]

It's a good argument, bolstered by the simple fact that 3D would never have become possible to the degree it has, thanks to Avatar. Now we can see digitally-protected stereoscopic films almost anywhere, it's amazing.

[@Sim_Flix]

This is the kinda video I've been looking for. You share the exact same opinions as me and its such a great watch!

[@roguedravidan2746]

There is this curious phenomenon of movie snobs who somehow take pleasure in telling everyone on social media that've watched Avatar 1 (on their laptops, cellphones) and that they've have no intension of watching the sequel, especially under reviews of the movie that praised it. A lot on twitter on declaring that they would rather rewatch a Fincher, Scorsese or Tarantino movie and compared it to Transformers movies. No offense to Transfomers fans but it kind of baffles me. I mean, do these snobs think Transformers and Avatar are the same. If so, wouldn't the critics have trashed it, especially a movie that's almost completely CG! If Avatar 2 doesn't have an engaging and worthwhile story, critics would have loved to trash a CGI fest like this.

[@CGWHY]

Yea so many people have this *CGI bad" attitude towards Avatar and it's kinda lame of them. I reckon if it wasn't "the most successful film ever" people wouldn't be so quick to criticize it. But sadly nowadays everyone wants to be a contrarian 😥

[@randomly_random_0]

I was actually seeing these idiots who intentionally go to Avatar-related posts on the internet (reddit, fb, youtube) and post their comment how the movie is boring and a waste of time and money. They claim they have seen it already in theaters and it did not "wowed" them that it's just a rehashed of the first movie. And then they discourage everyone, especially those curious movie-goers to watch this in cinema because "it's not worth the money" They are in full force right now everywhere on the internet. Must be the ones that can't move on over Avatar vs. Endgame and the ones that hates woke messaging but believe the liberal media headlines about Cameron's recent statements about testosterone

[@randomvideos2090]

The Pirates Franchise (especially with the 2nd and 3rd movies) also had amazing vfx

[@yaboiicj94]

Great video and insight !

[@Elysium4]

My biggest issue with Avatar as a film was how shallow the plot, message, and characters were, and it seems I'm not in the minority. But it is an absolute testament of visual storytelling and worldbuilding that everything else was as well developed as possible, which means that in spite of the gripes I had with the film I'm still glad it was a success.

[@Behindtheseams1]

Your content is great man, upload consistently and you'll grow

[@CGWHY]

Thank you man! That's really nice of you to say! Yea I've actually had a bit of free time over Christmas so I've managed to script the next 2-3 videos already 😁

[@jupitersecIipse]

After seeing Avatar Way of Water at the movies a week ago I decided it was time for a re-watch of the first part, and I honestly couldn't stop thinking "I can't believe this movie is from 2009". And now you're telling me people hate on this movie nowadays? What the hell are they on?

[@Skyv111]

It would be great to have a deeper analysis (as with Davy Jones) about why Avatar was great (not just because of it starting the era of good CGI)

[@quinnrafferty4635]

The MCU has some of the worst CGI I can think of in the modern film era.

[@RealNameDre]

Great content here! I'm glad that I've stumbled on to this channel 💯👍😀

[@CGWHY]

Thanks you! That's really awesome to hear! I'm glad you're enjoying it 😊

[@binkytheduck]

this looks like an awesome channel! You just earned a sub :D

[@CGWHY]

Thank you man! I'm really glad you're enjoying it!

[@OwlEye2010]

All these later, and Avatar's still my favorite movie ever!

[@christiangrafe8048]

5:00 well technically visual effects and not special effects but yeah you got a point

[@spacedoutproductivity5548]

Woot 69th subscriber. Great vid man

[@CGWHY]

Thanks man :D I should have had some reward ready for the 69th sub 😂

[@christiandebney1989]

Well said, Good luck with the channel.

[@CGWHY]

Thanks man! I'm loving working on it 😁

[@andreasvandieaarde]

I agree basically 100% with you on everything you said in this video. Well said. The only thing I would question is the implication that as much as CGI has vastly improved over the last decade, Avatar and now Avatar 2 don't simply take the cake by about a mile. I don't see any decent competition considering the output of CGI in these films. Don't get me wrong, Andy Serkis as Caesar is phenomenal. But Zoe Saldana as Neytiri? Not much of a comparison to me. That's just my opinion. Nice video

[@Diablokiller999]

Don't understand why Avatar gets so much hate these days, the story is good enough to justify the spectacle and OMG what a spectacle it is even 14 years later! The whole world is beautifully crafted, it is sometimes like a look into a world that could be somewhere out there. I adore this movie and the second one got even better in my opinion, the stakes are personal in that one, not a single boring minute and again the VFX are so amazing that you would believe it's filmed on location if it won't be impossible as of today. Like Cameron, like the movies, love this CGI and I hope everyone in the VFX team got a huge bonus paycheck!

[@bolobalaman]

Probably the greatest movie of all time when it come to CGI

[@captainabhi6933]

Well, of course that Avatar created a new world for VFX imagination but I want to mention Davy Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest & At World's End. I guess that was also a great characterization from VFX in mid 2000s. I haven't seen anybody mentioning that one...

[@legojedi5296]

Make a vid of the transformers films they have amazing cgi

[@CGWHY]

Hell yea! I absolutely will - they look awesome. It's crazy to think the first one came out in 2007. It's one of the reasons I started working in VFX actually!

[@jayhamfilms]

nice! keep on !

[@Jansenbaker]

I'm not sure why you say the Star Wars Prequels were unnecessarily CGI stuffed. If it weren't for George Lucas feeling it had gotten far enough, it would have taken much longer for movie makers to think it worth it, or necessary. His company invented so much of what is used today, and his motion capture Jar Jar showed the Lord of the Rings guys that this was possible now. Avatar was (at least partly) inspired by the Lord of the Rings. And it's not like the CG environments were bad in Star Wars, just a few things the characters were interacting with. In my opinion, Star Wars sprinted so Avatar could run.

[@scattaman]

what movie is that at 1:28?

[@CGWHY]

Fight Club - I believe that was the first fully CG human face in cinema history?

[@dandelion5691]

After watching avatar 2 i think it gonna revolutionize the underwater mocap and cgi.

[@Elayzee]

James Cameron's own "Titanic" should also holds up remarkably well 20+ years later.

[@xanzuls]

From my personal experience, most people online who hate CGI think CGI is something that's just generated by the computer like AI art and not something artists spend months of their lives into making with variety of artistic and technical skills.

[@deddrz2549]

0:13 I disagree, I hear constand complaints about how abundant CGI is in movies, not just recently with Marvel but probably ever since Iron Man 3 I feel like that has been the #1 complaint I hear everyone online say about Marvel movies.

[@CGWHY]

Mmm - perhaps, but they also had some really incredible CGI too - just look at "Smart Hulk" or Thanos - these two both looked amazing. And in the past I could somewhat forgive them for the occasional bit of bad CGI just because of how much stuff they were making. For example, Black Panther looked a bit poor, but at the time they had 2-3 other films in production, one being infinity war which was massive. So I just don't think there were enough VFX recourses to pull everything off - there was no lazyness or money grubbing behind this, just not enough supply to meet the demand. Whereas now I just cannot provide a reason for why they look so bad. Maybe it's still a supply-demand issue, but some of the stuff in these latest movies was much so worse than anything we could see in the Iron Man 3 era of films.

[@misterfatih23]

agreed! awesome video 👍

[@CGWHY]

Thank you!

[@revelare_xvii6269]

Imagine the possibilities once this technology becomes more access to smaller filmakers.

[@h4tch3tt74]

I dont attack Cameron's Avatar on its visuals i pretty much never hear that. What i do hear is people critique the story. Its the writing that is attacked

[@noenken]

When it comes to the success of Avatar I think it is much more likely that for most people it was the first chance to see a full blockbuster movie in 3D. It was the promise of full immersion wich turned out to be just another gimmick.

[@KenuDRoger]

I hope HOTD cgi can learn from this once they are given a good budget for season 2

[@QuinStifler]

Bit of a ‘chicken v. egg’ thing going though, from an ultrarealism standpoint. As Avatar’s charm was in its blue world, not this one. I still see some texture mapping/shading glitches in bio creatures (and humans) of recent years. They’ve got the non-bio shapes down, fer sure! Which came first, the realistic cartoon or the live action film with passable VFX? It’s a conundrum. Maybe we’re all just used to pretty synthetic faces and shiny planes?

[@CJTranceAddiction]

Best movie I have seen of the past decade!!!!

[@sampletext3433]

I kind of fell thay VFX was way better in 2010-20 than now in some movies.

[@CGWHY]

Yea it felt like there was alot more artistry to it, and now its a bit more formulaic. But that could just be a trend with movies in general and not just CGI/VFX.

[@eliezeruranran7960]

I love your content

[@JohnnyFehr]

Maybe an unpopular opinion but i found that Avatar, also the new one looks more like a cinematic gametrailer. thats not a bad thing aye but i think good VFX is not visible and here its very visible. For me its more an Animation film with nice iamges as a filmed movie.

[@importantoldnews5414]

I would argue that the original Jurassic Park film also opened the door for awesome CGI.

[@K3iser]

what movie is 4:30 ?

[@CGWHY]

Lost in Space from 1998 :D

[@iknowbetterthanyou6260]

Blade Runner 2049 has alot of practical effects though too.

[@albertofficial180]

Damn this video is great

[@CGWHY]

Thank you man! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@sire8672]

very good video

[@CGWHY]

Thank you!

[@mikez4388]

As much as CGI has improved, and everyone can enjoy it within different movies and genres, it seems that movie studios are repeating the same mistakes, but for very different reasons. Time, money, post-production, unfair treatment of VFX and CGI artists have affected the perception of digital effects. With a focus more on quantity over quality, which is more obvious with the MCU and other movies. Though I hope this will change. The Way of Water took 13 years, and some of that time went to innovating new technologies, just to get it right.

[@justafan5179]

Awesome video! Agree completely. It was also the first film to use 3D technology to enhance the film, instead of a cheap gimmick. Avengers Endgame wouldn't have been what it was, without Avatar.

[@Blanktester685]

cgi is a cheap gimmick

[@thorguff]

"Why did people flock in droves to see 'Avatar'?" It wasn't just the visual effects but the 3D, which had largely been non-existent in movies. Everyone wanted to see what that was like.

[@XYIZ]

Avatar 2 is just good VFX.. but a frankenstein of a story all leading to a cliffhange in the end... you don't know is it a happy end or a bad end.. i hate this trend where movies become like series and you have to watch all parts to understand it.. i mean I already wasted 3 hours on this and all i got is a cliffhanger and some nice grafics :( Its more like a showreel of good cgi studios but in this it is really good

[@CGWHY]

Fair enough 😅 - yea I've not made my mind up if the new one is an objectively "good" movie yet. I've seen it two times in cinema now and really enjoyed it both times. But it is a cinema movie, where you can get dazzled by the pretty lights and colours, so the true test will be how it holds up a year from now on blu ray or streaming 👍

[@XYIZ]

@@CGWHY i was not distracted by the PS5 grafics and raytracing cuz i studied gamedesign for 5 years and yeah it looked better than most things before but it was not much new technology in it. They just used all they have nowadays and tortured their vfx artists to death again.. Now the story is sooo obviously made up and not after a clear vision or for any good reason, or something they wanted to tell, and also not by James Cameron alone but by a big writers team who all obviously understood the first movie differently … seems like they just wanted another Avatar no matter what it is about. Then they literally watched and noted what worked on the first film and tried to do the same but bigger. So in the end it tells the Story of Avatar 1 but in 4 three-hour-movies (Thats why there is so less plot and so much random between scenes) You clearly see that in the cinema on the first tim…. I hate disney nowadays! I hat disney for killing all my childhood heros and favorite franchises so random just for money!

[@CGWHY]

Yea that was kinda the biggest let down or the new film, it was just a repeat of the first - but this time it was a whale instead of a tree 😕 Then they said the whales were funding all this... But what about the unobtainuim (or whatever it's called 😅) from the first movie?

[@Blanktester685]

do you complain about not understanding breaking bad when you skip too episode 5 aswell?

[@canuck21]

It's not a recent thing. The Empire Strikes Back was also a cliffhanger.

[@cahcadi7262]

auctually a lot of people complain about the over use of cgi. It can be a great thing when used properly but it has turned the film industry into actors standing on blue stages and a lot of films feel incredibly artificial and fake due to this. Practical is always better just studios dont want to invest the time or money into doing so.

[@TheMsharrypotter12]

When avatar came out in 2009 i thought it was one of the best cgi movies id ever seen

[@emmariusz8563]

VFX are not easier than practical, its a different technique, poorly used for years, yes, but not easier to implement

[@CGWHY]

I'm gonna have to disagree with that one. I'd say in MOST cases practical effects are much harder to do than computer generated one. Maybe I'll make a whole video about it but I think the big issues with practical effects are: Setup times No copy and pasting No undo button Unpredictability (weather conditions etc) Much more limited in alot of ways. The general skill level required is much harder (woodwork, pyrotechnics etc), which those makes labour more expensive and harder to find. These are just a few factors, it's quite a deep subject to really get stuck into in KZbin comments + so yea I guess I'll make a video on it

[@Shinyworldwide]

hold up, it was pirates of the caribbean that raised this bar in the first place. and to this day i would say davy jones definitely measures up against our blue avatar friends.

[@CGWHY]

Well I can't argue that Jones looks incredible - and I will certainly be making a video on him in the future But that so much isn't the point of this video - in regards to the point of this video, there were a few factors in play with POTC that weren't in play with Avatar. The point I'm making in this video is that Avatar has not *so* much plot and very little star power - hence people went and saw it for the visuals. Whereas POTC 2 was already a sequel to a very successful film + It had a very famous lead actor + It was very plot driven. Davy Jones may have looked amazing, but people weren't flocking to the cinema just to see him, but they were with Avatars CG characters

[@EightNineOne]

An issue with this video (No offense) is that it looks at avatar in a vacuum. It was a huge watershed moment technologically, but there were plenty of other films moving forward and it was an accelerator, not the beginning of the 2010s VFX boom. There was much more funding, and a ton of new studios opening up (especially in England, the Harry Potter films are indirectly responsible for a lot of the scale of the industry today, strangely enough) and the technology that enabled films like avatar was already a few years old and in use on then-upcoming films that more closely reached the new bar it set. Pirates of the caribbean and LOTR were ultimately a bit more seminal for the medium, but avatar is where it all came together.

[@Kinkoyaburi]

Avatar was a combination of a lot of elements. The good cgi is just one of them, but definitely not the main one.

[@homesick2413]

300 subscriber

[@CGWHY]

Thank you! I really appreciate it!

[@filmnezopodcast]

Are you Joe Fazer?! :D

[@CGWHY]

Is this the setup for a Joe Mama joke? 😅 Otherwise no 👀

[@costaliberta5969]

tell that to antman supporters

[@bakixavirists4561]

Oh and dune won't change movies in general!?

[@Ally5141]

60% of the film is CGI generated, around 25% is fully live action

[@TheMissingxtension]

LMAO😅😅.. i watched it with the perspective of the time! So basically i got a hold of a cam rip, the effects looked awesome. They were grainy, noisy and a little toned down on color. So i decided why not see it in person. Big mistake! They looked stupid

[@zZiL341yRj736]

Those clowns calling this film overrated must not know the technologies behind it.

[@canuck21]

I'm sorry, but I'm still sick of CGI today after Avatar. CGI still look artificial most of the time.

[@MrStephenmindo]

Was it really cause of Avatar? POTC had just as good CGI and it came out before. Heck even Jurassic park still holds to some extend

[@tyler-hp7oq]

Yeah, but Avatar is the most successful movie of all time, and it's completely CGI. It's clear it had the most impact.

[@prajjwal1010]

Cgi ruining a movie, I think he's not aware of the Bollywood 😹

[@afrinaut3094]

To be fair, if you were smart, CGI animation was already seen as an art form if you played any triple A or lovingly crafted indie game. Or Pixar films (not all CG art styles have to be realistic). CG is only as good, as a studio is willing to pay for talented artists & resources. The pencil, doesn’t do the work, it allows the artists to do their work.

[@Blanktester685]

so kinda like a.i art?

[@tulioreis3302]

thats a hot take, huh

[@anerdentertainer698]

MCU is really going backwards in terms of CGI.

[@iknoweverything4959]

I think CGI should be used sparingly. Avatar still looks very artificial and computerized. Real environments look so much better.

[@area52music]

Avatar 1 wasnt the milestone for this though. It was Dead Mans Chest. That CGI from 2006, no exaggeration, is on par or BETTER than 2022 CGI with the exception of this recent Avatar.

[@raymondleroe1837]

gemini man looked bad also

[@ban1sh3db3ast]

No

[@Ritefita]

I didn't like Avatar. and it's CGI. "Toy Story, the game", 2001

[@jinchoung]

THIS IS SUCH AN AWFUL TAKE. avatar is simply a stone on the path. there's been bad cgi before. there's been bad cgi since. there was AMAZING cgi before. there was amazing cgi after. avatar is a data point that exists very predictably and comfortably with everything that came before and after. and there is just as much hate for cgi today extending to very accomplished film makers like tarantino and chris nolan. and srsly... avatar was the first movie that took advantage of a reputation of good vfx? are you kidding? i mean... JURASSIC PARK ffs. vfx were the corner stone of a successful blockbuster before avatar too. sigh. this is such a bad take. really terrible.

[@EightNineOne]

It's a fairly narrow take I'd say. Avatar was a big milestone, but yeah VFX went the way it did regardless.

[@canuck21]

I agree with you. The first CGI that was really convincing was Jurassic Park and I'd say the CGI craze started from there.

[@1Starlodge]

Cats

[@CGWHY]

Well I can't argue with that 😂 - but there's always gonna be anomalies 😅

[@strikerbowls791]

Cgi sucks bro

[@pairofsneakerheads]

I have to disagree. Altough Avatar 1 and 2 are impressive, to me it still has that videogame feel to it. The difference between the real actors and the navi is still way too big. I think Avatar is way less realistic looking as most people think. Because most people don't have eye for detail and are easily fooled. I think a realistic Avatar movie is still another 20 years away. Just because a lot of peoples standards are low doesn't make the cgi good. I am certainly not hating on the films. The first one I did not enjoy but the second one I did enjoy. But still I think the cgi is not that good. Cgi needs to be used in scenes and moments where it contributes. To me the first Jurassic Park movie is still 1 of the best movies where cgi was used sparingly and in a way it wasn't thay obvious. Also the cgi in Neil Blomkamps movies looks as close to real as possible. Like District 9, Elysium and Chappie. Those effects look way better then Avatar. Also Interstellar looks crazy good. And there a many other that don't come to mind. But for full cgi creater actors there still hasn't been 1 movie where they made it look good. The deep fakes of the disney star wars films look probably the best so far. Where they deaged princess Leia for example. But Avatar no, it just looks like video game graphics. Really good ones but far from real.

[@iknoweverything4959]

Yes, it looks noticeably like a video game. I'm not sure if CGI will ever get past its artificial look. With all the years and money put into it, it still has a fake look to it.

[@ElectricAlien577]

I dont know how a sane person can think avatar 2 doesnt look better than any cgi in the history of earth. At a certain point i forget that what im watching is not a real documentary of an alien planet. I guess to each their own. 🤷‍♂

[@nicholasb6781]

The first Avatar is so much better than the second one. Too much is just thrown into the second one way to fast. Say what you want but the second one didn't even make half as much in the box office as the the first one.

[@ElectricAlien577]

I think you might want to check again on those box office numbers. Though i can see why people like the first movie more than the second, i think they are both thoroughly good movies. Maybe im just biased.

[@Blanktester685]

where are you getting your numbers?