How 'Rogue One' Recreated Grand Moff Tarkin | Design FX | WIRED

Industrial Light & Magic used "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" to push the boundaries of visual effects, especially in the area of digital humans. Design FX dives into the incredible techniques used to recreate one of the Star Wars universe's most terrifying figures, Grand Moff Tarkin.
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How 'Rogue One' Recreated Grand Moff Tarkin | Design FX | WIRED

[@ayol1011]

I don't rally care if it's noticeable. But I do appreciate the effort they put in making Tarkin. To me it is really astounding.

[@ChiefFalque]

Yes. They only fucked up by having an actor move his facial features so much. The original actor had a stone face, which suited the character very well. They exaggerated the movement a tad too much. I knew it was CGI, as the age of the movie where the character originally was is so old, but from just looking at it, I definitely couldn't tell right away.

[@ayol1011]

ChiefFalque another thing I noticed is that the CG face doesn't really reflect light naturally.

[@RubenGoMoRadioboyPlus]

Wrong behaviour. That is bad for our planet and for arts.

[@lucabennito3651]

I don't think so

[@gjkfhjkgjhkfgjydhjdltfu3096]

I think that it would have been better if they had just dressed Guy Henry in makeup. I mean, even though they worked really hard on their model, I don't think that it worked very well in the end. At 2:50, you can see that cgi Tarkin was a severe downgrade from the cgi Henry and original actor. At 3:29, you can see how Henry moves around, and you can see that he resembles the original way more than the model does. Not perfect, but pretty similar. And even if your gonna watch all the movies in one run, Tarkin appears very little in this movie. Whatever differences Henry would have from Cushing isn't going to be enough for people to disassociate the character between both movies simply because of the different portrayals of the two actors. Honestly I'm just a little butthurt because they already made the same mistake with Unker Plutt, a character who was performed by a real actor with real makeup and rubber suit material whose entire realistic getup was destroyed by cgi enhancements. Don't believe me? Look at this picture. vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/b/b7/Unkar_Plutt-RO_U_Visual_Guide.png/revision/latest?cb=20170119072240 Notice how you can distinguish the forehead, mouth and arms as real while the eyes are covered in a snapchat filter that's as convincing of an effect as a KZbin Poop. Its kind of disappointing, because I can see that the much more practical effects of practical effects are being shadowed by cgi, now an industry standard. Btw, an entire video about facial recognition and not one mention of Arnold in Genisys, the only cgi model I have ever seen that I couldn't wrap my head around as not real.

[@CallMeShoe]

When I first watched Rogue One I didn’t even know it was CGI, only until recently when I started watching Star Wars films did this information come to light

[@ender01o66]

same :)

[@Monsieurbungle]

lol how could u

[@The482075]

The amount of detail on his face is astounding.

[@RegularGuyism]

If this was a cutscene in a video game, he'd look amazing.

[@xtrfy1439]

This is how cutscenes are made

[@chiefdvm1671]

@@xtrfy1439 😂😂

[@chiefdvm1671]

If this was a cutscene in a video game, our device will not look that amazing to be honest...😂

[@EddieFreak]

I mean there are cutscenes that look that good. Halo 2: anniversary, most of the recent cod games

[@alumlovescake]

@@EddieFreak and star wars battlefront 2

[@BaronVonHaggis]

Evacuate?! In our moment of triumph?!? I think you over estimate their chances...

[@CptMikeTango1]

overrr estimate

[@user-de6ex4ep1n]

BaronVonHaggis I find your lack of faith disturbing...

[@spacepapi3703]

BaronVonHaggis Fuck you

[@shanebest4699]

LOL loving the name..... so informative

[@mrpinkroo]

BaronVonHaggis Vader, release him.

[@lucastefani9958]

everybody is saying that they quickly saw it was CGI, well the dude is dead so ofcourse it is CGI, I found it amazing that they achieved this and the avarage joe wont even know the difference

[@sceerane8662]

I think the word you're looking for is compositing, CG is when an entire scene is made entirely in a computer, Compositing is when you add something created by a computer into a scene (i think)

[@MrMattiasHallen]

I didn't know he was dead until some days after I saw the movie. I think most people who didn't know that he was dead didn't notice it was CGI.

[@DerpyDuckAnimation]

I didn't notice the first time watching. I only noticed the CGI after I learned it wasn't real. I just assumed it was a similar looking actor with some makeup on

[@DerpyDuckAnimation]

After the second watch I realized how unconvincing it is. Human faces are really hard to imitate because our brains subconsciously can tell if something is human or not, even if the CGI is really realistic. I thought the other CG star wars characters like Maz Kanata look more realistic because it's not imitating something we're used to seeing.

[@Aurimaitis]

I haven't even seen any previous films, don't even know who this guy was, I imediatly noticed it's artificial and went looking for info.

[@laguna_bob]

Am I the only person that actually thought the CGI was amazing?

[@ChrisUAnimation]

no

[@RubenGoMoRadioboyPlus]

Yes. It looks like plastic.

[@laguna_bob]

What kind of plastic do you see?

[@samusaran9024]

nope I mean we knew it was fake but still looks amazing

[@KingOfBlades27]

It really was. Anyone saying otherwise pretty much is a moron.

[@Emidretrauqe]

This film actually seriously made me wonder if Peter Cushing was still somehow alive and looking exactly the same. It was good enough to make me question somebody's death for a moment.

[@turmericchai9]

Same! 😮

[@melburns4540]

I must admit seeing 1977 Peter and Carrie brought back to life made my day.

[@Krazy80s]

No question this is a major achievement in VFX. But what really blows this away is what was achieved to make Michael Douglas and Robert Downey, Jr. younger in Marvel's Ant-Man and Captain America: Civil War.

[@Luizanimado]

I do not know about Michael Douglas, but the technology used was different, while the Tarkin was completely made in CGI, to rejuve Robert was used masks in each frame to hide the wrinkles and leave him younger, it was not CGI, this is why is better

[@bhcbhc]

Micheal Douglas is just normal beauty work, Robert Downey Jr's CGI blended with real actor was actually noticeable, but since it's augmented reality by context, a little bit of imperfection serves the story. Tarkin was hell of a task, people need to feel his presence along side other real people. The only way I can see this shot better is if it's given some sort of Godfather lighting, letting the shadow hide his eyes a little bit more.

[@jacklxv]

They just did the same with Kurt Russel in GOTG vol. 2

[@minecraftinalabama]

Also in logan

[@loynjuryllgulpany4778]

You forgot The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Btw, the de-aged Michelle Pfeiffer in Ant Man 2 was also great

[@Cobra-Commander83]

Am I the only one that thinks the actor for Tarkin, in Rogue One, actually looks similar to a younger Peter Cushing?

[@leonardochapman4736]

No. You're not

[@glamdolly30]

Er... no. Because guess what - his resemblance to the late Peter Cushing had a lot to do with him getting the job. They would hardly have cast Danny DeVito, would they?!

[@peterjumper1039]

@@glamdolly30 Indeed, as the closer he resembles Cushing the easier it would be to translate his facial movements to the computer model of Cushing's face.

[@glamdolly30]

@@peterjumper1039 Precisely!

[@TheDVDFreak]

Exactly…that’s the point

[@brx8r]

The twist to the video is that the guy presenting it is a CG character. Notice he doesn't look quite human?

[@NicknackLP]

braksator nah he is real

[@kinoomich]

He is real, idiot.

[@badsbe2682]

He's joking, guys.

[@mrpinkroo]

badsbe ikr....

[@johnpinneriv9958]

I thought the same thing!

[@Dakobra_]

CG Tarkin still lingers within the uncanny valley, but the work to create him is an impressive achievement.

[@JohnnyCashFanatic]

Peter Cushing would’ve been 103 when Rogue One released in theaters

[@LTRX_]

I was literally SHOCKED to find out that Tarkin in "The Rogue One" was just CGI. IT'S SO MINDBLOWING!!!

[@nmd1120]

They should have used him much more sparingly...seeing him from afar and in the reflection worked, but when the camera lingered, or was up close, it was really noticeable. And with Leia (RIP Carrie), they just shouldn't have had her talk, because that's when it was really noticeable

[@CDexie]

Nick D While I agree with the close up, but I went through an emotional journey CGI Tarkin. At first I was really confused (hadn't even noticed he was fake), then reallyyy suprised, kinda put off after that but then I slowly grew to accept it, and it was so nice to see Tarkin again that I anticipated every scene he was in.

[@bradwright9477]

Nick D No. They needed him for the story and the CGI was absolutely jaw dropping. And Leia not talking would've ruined the entire heartwarming final scene

[@nmd1120]

Brad Wright yeah, it was cool having him in there, but all I'm saying is that perhaps less would've been more. Great CGI, but still CGI. As for Leia, I think it could've worked either way. Seeing her was enough to give me goosebumps, and I think a smile would've sufficed

[@bradwright9477]

Nick D Everyone is different. The technology to me was absolutely jaw dropping and I hope to see more of it

[@captainviggo4575]

I would even say that they should not have shown Leia's face at all. Seeing her from the back, with her iconic hairstyle and dress was enough to understand who was the character without overdoing it.

[@DaaaahWhoosh]

Just think, though. In another 10-20 years, how hard is it going to be to get into a movie and NOT have some dead actor's face superimposed over yours? The way we're going with sequels, prequels, and reboots these days, I can see this getting out of hand very quickly.

[@millennialretcon8307]

DaaaahWhoosh The dead will outnumber the living.

[@evilparadigm]

Then we will truly have, The Walking Dead. Budumb Chi!

[@uncleblunts5]

DaaaahWhoosh Yea but i cam totally tell its not real.

[@cluckendip]

I doubt that.

[@pHD77]

I'm more worried about how this can be applied to create even more fake news. And don't think it won't happen - it's too big a temptation. Need to pull a political adversary through the mud? Easy. We'll set a digital character of him in a compromising situation.

[@cebrian99]

I was just rewatchin a New Hope and moff tarking actually looks kind of CGI in real life, like his expressions are very defined

[@DuhAverageJoe]

There's always going to be varying opinions about this, but personally, I thought what ILM was able to achieve was remarkable. I already knew Peter Cushing was dead, so I went in expecting a digital recreation. What I didn't expect was how well it was pulled off. It never took me out of the movie as others have professed. I found myself staring in amazement and it only made the magic of Star Wars more real to me. If there's any film from 2016 that deserves a VFX Oscar, it's definitely Rogue One. The level of detail in not only Tarkin, but the environments within the film were nothing short of superb.

[@nardo218]

agree. I knew going in, too, and I was really impressed. I saw it in Imax and he looked real to me. My mom didn't know, and she had no idea the actor was dead. She knew Leia was CGI, but she still thought it was a great effect.

[@darthsion3844]

DuhAverageJoe ikr. I was disappointed when I found out LA LA LAND got more Oscars than rogue one. And I agree, The CGI for Tarkin was amazing, I.think his hair color wasn't right, but I still though it was nice.

[@oh-totoro]

Honestly, it feels off. Something just isn't right about it. I almost feel like they over-acted and over-did it.

[@helioszxc]

agreed with everything that you said

[@jonross959]

For what it's worth, this is actually the first Star Wars movie I've seen, and I had no idea Tarkin was CGI until afterwards (when I read about it online.)

[@laurentl.7937]

It's a remarkable achievement for sure. However, why reinventing the wheel in that case? Guy Henry has already an uncanny ressemblance with the late Peter Cushing. They could have changed his eyes colours in CGI and applied some discreet prosthetic and everyone would have accepted him as the same character. It's like modern producers don't trust the intelligence and imagination of audience anymore...If Julianne Moore can be passed as Jodie Foster, certainly Guy Henry can be Peter Cushing!

[@kojisan1]

THANK YOU.

[@MiikaLiukka]

I would've loved it if they cast Charles Dance as Tarkin. He would've nailed the character!

[@Bauglir100]

Because Rogue One takes place immediately before A New Hope. Tarkin needs to look 100% like he does there.

[@callumcowan7047]

@@Bauglir100 That in no way negates his point.

[@brandonwei2430]

It's so easy to dismiss if you're not the one doing the heavy lifting. Obviously a ton of care was put into it, and the efforts have vastly improved. fantastic job. also, who knew that that the Zucker/Abrams team would tie in with Star Wars, somehow.

[@xerospacious4024]

the hell are you talking about Quacer?

[@NickJarno]

You can do a lot with prosthetics and in a lot of cases movies go to the digital route instead of the better practical route. But this isn't a monster nor a person that's doesn't have to resemble anyone in particular. This is Peter Cushing, who has a unique face. Recreating that with appliances wouldn't have been better, probably worse,

[@isaac_alexander_v]

it looks good but its not passable

[@YangSunWoo]

Technically remarkable, but the results just hit the uncanny valley. I could tell immediately that he wasn't real the first frame I saw him.

[@quintonthevillain2745]

Yeah, not for a lack of trying obviously but i guess bridging that gap is still a ways off.

[@jcking1997]

YangSunWoo even if it was the best it could possibly be, you'd always know it wasn't real because it's not. he's dead.

[@AndreaCremoni]

YangSunWoo Some people I know didn't know this and thought he was a normal actor

[@dcrypter87]

i didnt know/realize he was digital... but on the case of Leia i saw it really clearly...

[@ChiefFalque]

I could only tell when he started moving his facial features. Because he's not supposed to. It was beyond EXCELLENT when he was talking with a still face, as that was a trait of the original actor.

[@repulore13]

I hope Peter Cushing is looking down now and saying “Wow, I’m in the newest blockbuster! How far filmmaking have come since I was in *Star Wars*

[@tripjj8662]

...it's so dense, every single image has so many things going on...

[@heffnermichael]

it's like poetry, you know

[@DrBreezeAir]

@@heffnermichael It rhymes.

[@heffnermichael]

@@DrBreezeAir its gonna be great

[@jpebrz]

Jar jar is the key to all this

[@leonardochapman4736]

@@jpebrz search up "jar jar's sith moments", it proves jar jar was originally a sith Lord.

[@niceboy171]

I do not understand why so many people think this was so terrible. I think that this was a quite impressive. Even if it did not look perfect, this is the best animated human I have ever seen in a full wide shot, and I admire the effort they put in to create such a character. They could have re-casted the character or used him sparingly, but instead, out of respect for Peter Cushing, they went through all the trouble keep him strongly rooted in the Star Wars universe.

[@Monsieurbungle]

It's not that good soz

[@kristinaF54]

deepfake was around and was/is far more realistic than cgi, and a lot easier to implement the face-swap than the digital artists' rendering, so it beggars belief why they didn't use it for Tarkin and Leia in Rogue One's production.

[@ESPIRITUS_A]

I think the actor is better off without SFX, I'd buy him as Tarkin still

[@dup1237]

I would say that with couple make up touches here and there, there would be no need to CGI Tarkin. Not that I disliked how they did it in the movie, I think It was an amazing job. However, no matter what option they chose, they would still receive complains like "He doesn't look like Tarkin in EP IV" or "He doesn't look anything like Peter Cushing".

[@maulcs]

A remarkable achievement that in 10 years will look even worse than it does today. This will not stand the test of time.

[@EJM1224]

maulCS yeah, but it's a necessary predecessor to that which will, and will be remembered as such

[@gonzaloconde9365]

maulCS of course it won't, that's why it's a technical improvement, we will get better methods in the future

[@bigredjanie]

Who cares if it doesn't hold up? Sure it'll look bad in a few years, but the films themselves are still good!

[@maulcs]

There was no need for them to make it so in-your-face blatant. I think a hologram / more distant shots / more focus on Krennic would have been a better result. It likely would have been even more impressive that way because it would have been seamless. It seemed like an unnecessary "check out how good our CGI is, look at it right in your face, look at those muscular skin twitches" type thing. Until it's flawless, they need to avoid shoving it right against the camera lens.

[@mrsaltyauthor5992]

maulCS realistically no special effects stand the test of time. That's not a reason to continue to try new things, push boundaries. As it stands the only issue I had with Tarkin was that his skin was moist.

[@rbrucerye]

I know that's Tarkin is a CGI version but when I first saw the film I though to myself damn I'm seeing a ghost. Just an amazing job all round.

[@TheMusicalStylingsofBrentBunn]

As a CG artist, this effect blows my mind.

[@ezephilip3401]

Damn i love that alarm tune in the beginning....truly epic!!!!

[@MrDaviyd]

Absolutely brilliant on how they made that alarm sound, it just spells Star Wars and you know it’s going to be iconic, loved this movie, not only original but well executed and a new archetype to a Star Wars film

[@amethyst7084]

Really amazing how they re-imagined Grand Moff Tarkin using Guy Henry's voice and movements. Animation geniuses!

[@John_Henry83]

This was totally amazing. It took me a about 20 seconds to tell that it was CGI. I kept asking myself " I thought Peter Cushing was dead??" This particular CGI character was the best I have seen in 30 years. It was much better than Carrie Fisher at the end or Rouge One. In that scene I noticed within 1 second that it was CG.

[@ChrisUAnimation]

"Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should."

[@CDexie]

ChrisUAnimation Actually, they did... And they knew they could...

[@nicolaiholmstoel6546]

No, hold on. This isn't some species that was obliterated by deforestation, or the building of a dam. Tarkin had his shot, and nature selected him for extinction.

[@anwarnaveedali4412]

Ahhh....fellow intellectuals

[@javieremoya]

But CGI isnt gonna escape the screen and eat the audience anytime soon

[@dangerdoberman]

When I first saw Rogue One I had no idea it was CGI until it clicked that there's no way the actor was still alive. The CGI was that darn good >:0

[@dave5194]

They've finally gone past the uncanny valley to the point where it's hard to tell; it looked really convincing in the theatre. If I didn't already know it was cgi and wasn't actively trying to tell if it was real or not I probably would've believe it. I think it was more of the lighting during the scene that made him look "better than life." Orson Krennic kinda looked like cgi at times with the lighting on the deck as well.

[@WillWivellAnimator]

Too many close ups of Tarkin in Rogue One. In particular, that extreme-close-up was so unnecessary. That was just the team patting themselves on the back for the admittedly impressive CG. But it started to feel more like a showreel than a gripping Tarkin performance.

[@darth856]

Agreed. The second scene (where they fire on Jedha) was better for this precise reason: less close-ups. The technology is impressive, but since it's not 100% there yet, the close-ups were pushing it a little. This said, I enjoyed the Tarkin-Krennic rivalery.

[@PhantomNews01]

Will Wivell I don't believe that extreme close up was in the movie. In was a medium shot in the actual movie. I think it was just a test to see how close they could get and still have it be convincing.

[@WillWivellAnimator]

Fair enough - I guess that's why it seemed like a showreel shot then! I still feel they spent too much time lingering on Tarkin's face in the final film, though. I remember when his back was to the camera, his face reflected in the glass, thinking "oh wow, they've chosen a really ingenious camera angle to camouflage the CG"... and then he spun around. "Oh, never mind."

[@WillWivellAnimator]

The Shadow Master Yeah, PhantomNews01 pointed that out. The close ups they did use were still jarring, though. I still stand by that.

[@LukeMaynard]

The more I think about it, the more I agree with this. Sadly that's the Oscar reel: they were nominated because they put the showreel footage in. When you walk out of a Star Wars movie talking about how amazing the effects were, that's a sign that the effects were pretty great. When you walk out of a Star Wars movie talking about nothing but plot and story and character, that's a sign that the effects were FLAWLESS.

[@lgrace3239]

I loved any scene with CGI Tarkin and I almost died when I saw CGI Leia💀

[@nicolassteckert7149]

It's much better than the 1977 CGI Tarkin, that one was very noticeable

[@TheJaker5]

I bet if ya showed this movie to someone that never saw A New Hope, they would not realize Tarkins face is CGI. I’m not a Star Wars super fan and I could not tell ya the last time I saw the first film... nor could I tell you who the character was prior to seeing Rogue One if you showed me a picture of him, so I was definitely fooled by the CGI at first. I recognized him but it didn’t immediately occur to me that the actor could not possibly be still alive.

[@FaissalsAnimation]

I didn't watch a New Hope back when Rogue One came out so yeah I didn't notice

[@jayholmesphoto]

Why on earth didn't they just put makeup on Guy Henry and let him be in the movie? CG seems like a huge amount of effort for an effect that (in my opinion) doesn't pass for photo real.

[@kadartcostumes9842]

Exactly what I thought. Henry really suits the character and I would've easily gotten my head around him being Tarkin with some slight prosthetics and good make up perhaps.

[@crixxxxxxxxx]

They tried that in Revenge of the Sith and it looked horrible. The guy looked like a zombie: cdn.moviestillsdb.com/sm/a57a30434a845b06febeee42b281c5a6/star-wars-episode-iii-revenge-of-the-sith.jpg

[@RegularGuyism]

The difference is that Guy Henry looks more like Peter Cushing than this actor, so it wouldn't have been a lot of work to get them to look similar.

[@jayholmesphoto]

Oh weird, I always thought Tarkin was CG in episode 3. You're right, that makeup job makes him look more like Odo from ds9 lol. Not good.

[@CptMikeTango1]

+KADArt Cosplay And maybe some last touch cgi

[@adam145]

I went to see Rogue One with 5 people. None of them could tell anyone was CGI. They are in their late 20s. The fact that you're interested in the production of movie or graphics gives you a huge advantage for picking up stuff like that. Most of the audience will never notice the use of computer graphics. Hell, I've been trying to explain a smoothed picture (from 24 fps to 60) to some of my friends, and the fact that it looks unnatural on a movie. Unfortunately no one could grasp what the hell I was talking about.

[@bradwright9477]

Adam K Agreed. The technology floored me. When people who don't know the actor is dead can't even tell, that's impressive

[@Gregzenegair]

I watched the movie in theater with 5 peoples in their 30's, like me, and no one noticed it was CGI either. But when I saw the character, I immediatly noticed it was CGI. And I am not a CGI spotter, for me it was too unrealistic. For example compared with the young Arnold in Terminator Genesys, I couldn,'t tell it was CGI in Genesys.

[@redtornado6497]

wow... get your eyes checked

[@jacobstaten2366]

Adam K eventually they will make a movie entirely with cgi but wait until it's already been in theaters for a while to say anything. There will still be people who swear up and down that they knew the whole time even though they didn't say anything until the announcement.

[@Winnetou64]

I once disliked image smoothing for movies as well, but once you get used to it, it really improves picture quality - if it's done well, of course.

[@sheenismhaellim2215]

They did a very good job on Tarkin's CGI and got a very good voice actor for it.

[@masaharumorimoto4761]

I was blown away with Tarkin in Rogue One! I literally had to tell myself "that's CGI" to remember what I was looking at! Fantastic!

[@shmander]

he looked great when he was alone in a frame but when he was talking to real people he stuck out more much like the tu pac hologram on stage when it preformed with real people they close reference takes you out of it

[@LiamGoodison]

I thought the presenter was cgi

[@BenPotts]

looks a little like Willem DaFoe

[@seanhornibrook]

Please PLEASE someone make like an hour long video on this. All of this. This is just so fascinating to me...

[@ursa_margo]

I agree with those who say that the new actor could have made a nice Tarkin on his own, with only a little makeup magic. But I also think this whole enterprise was a sort of tribute, a love letter to Cushing, may he rest in peace. Besides, such undertakes are important so that the cinema technology could advance.

[@seva809]

Uncanny Vallley strikes back

[@cutecommie]

It's very canny.

[@zacmumblethunder7466]

That's why I couldn't watch the Puss in Boots movie, they'd gone so far in making the human characters more realistic that it was really off-putting. I got a bit of that with Tarkin.

[@gorgolyt]

It might have been technically superior but the animation was not. It was completely overwrought. The animators clearly couldn't help but stuff subtle-not-so-subtle facial expressions into every single second of the character, and as a result it looked fake. The original actor was usually very cold and still, but the CGI creation never was. Overdone, in a word.

[@BigBoss7777777]

Yep, hit the nail on the head. That's the issue with most CGI characters these days, too much information in every frame gives it an artificial feel. Less is more.

[@MrDaydreamer1584]

Hit the nail on the head!

[@BerzerkVideos]

I didn't even notice this dude was CGI when I was watching the movie. That shocked me seeing the thumbnail! That's AMAZING.

[@apmm4209]

I thought the Peter Cushing CGI was excellent but princess Leia looked like a wax doll !

[@Moon-ge8mc]

other way around

[@wayneblake2222]

amazing effects

[@hughjasse4047]

Impressive, but it still looked like a CGI character

[@XXXIMSEXYNIKNOWITXXX]

CGI Tarkin was too smooth in his expressions . Not human like. But to think what is possible in 20 years in crazy.

[@Switcheroo4542]

That's because it was

[@MazBringsby]

The gap is narrowing drastically . I think that we are encroaching on the brink of no longer being able to discern human characters from their CGI counterparts in dramatic performances. I think its important to make the distinction between CGI used to augment a motion captured performance versus fully rendered CGI character with less dynamic, natural movement.

[@notthere83]

That's what people said about 15 years ago because of Final Fantasy Spirits Within. Forget about it.

[@betonman9]

not realy....effects are the same for 15 years now....

[@LeonX29]

IDC how They did it, Wilhuff Tarkin still looks amazing

[@mikesessums1921]

All of these efforts help keep the story consistent for the viewer.

[@ollie2244]

If I died and someone made a CGI model of me I’d be extremely happy.

[@marcospintor1333]

I didn’t even know he was cg

[@senkaighost7723]

Hehe same

[@lou64444]

Marcos Pintor+ that’s not true

[@marcospintor1333]

Lou it’s not?

[@lou64444]

Marcos Pintor+ no you are wrong 😂

[@russellhughart8294]

When i first saw Rogue One i thought Tarkin kinda looked a little out of place because of the CGI. But after seeing Rogue One a few more times with friends who had never seen Episode IV, I found it super cool that they didn't notice he was CGI. They were very surprised when I told them at the end of the movie that the original actor had passed away years ago. Great job to the whole team on making Tarkin look so realistic!

[@Nufleg]

The technology is just getting better and better too. Bits of Gemini Man were flawless, and the John Connor demise sequence in Terminator

[@RustyB5000]

phenomenal job to those guys. looked so real, several people in the theater didnt realize he was fake. Why was there no mention of his voice however? This video focused purely on the visual... i'm curious about how they did his voice.

[@darth856]

I assume that was all Guy Henry. Many skilled actors can do a lot with their voice.

[@DylanRocket]

I'm pretty sure they said that it's just Guy Henry's voice.

[@RustyB5000]

cool thx. he did great too

[@RustyB5000]

sweet thx

[@tracyb64]

MWYANT19 There is a very short clip in this piece that shows the unaltered Guy Henry uttering the lines about bringing "a swift end to the rebellion" that's absolutely spot on Peter Cushing!👍🏽

[@8-bithaunted525]

Mind freaking BLOWN on how far technology has come since original star wars

[@tomrb2297]

Some people really don't realise the amount of work that goes into something like this. It's sad that people just take it for granted.

[@yshwgth]

And it still looked weird.

[@connerravenmodhorizon2059]

The problem is the incorrect lighting

[@SteveHewittMusic]

The 3 original Star Wars, rouge one and the madalorion is the best IMO

[@Wild_Open]

Honestly they did a great job of bringing the character back on the screen. Yes the CGI was noticeable when I first saw Tarkin, but after a couple of seconds I completely forgot about it. Absolutely amazing job.

[@cubic6790]

“You may admire when ready.”

[@nickrodriguez4294]

He still looked weird. Everytime he came on screen I would just stare at him and say he looks creepy.

[@CrashBashL]

Well for us, gamers, he seemed CGI from the very first second he appeared on the screen.

[@m1co294]

No, not really.. speaking as a gamer, and i also never call myself a gamer... telling yourself that you are is very very very awkward and feel very ashamed... Mostly cause no one is granted that rank even if they own all games on the library, but it all depends on the playtime and skills.. thats what makes you a gamer

[@KuueenKumi]

@@m1co294 I call myself a gamer because I am, it's a hobby. I'm also a writer, artist, crocheter, etc. There's no reason to feel awkward or ashamed. I think you're projecting your own feelings of inadequacy about being into video games on this person.

[@KuueenKumi]

@@m1co294 Also, your skills and playtime have no correlation whatsoever to whether or not you are a gamer. If you play 10 hours a week because maybe you have kids now, you're not NOT a gamer anymore. If you're an energy drink-chugging teenager who plays 40 hours a week and gets on leaderboards in those mindless shooters, you're no different than the parent who plays 10 hours a week. Playing games makes you a gamer. Period. Don't gatekeep.

[@m1co294]

@@KuueenKumi ok, fite me, you cant take me down that easily

[@KuueenKumi]

@@m1co294 You are so pathetic, you don't even understand the point. I sincerely hope you're just a child.

[@HeeminGaminStation]

just barely in the uncanny valley makes this the most unsettling and scary Star Wars deep lore creature.

[@Lexman509]

Michael Douglas in the beginning of Ant Man was the best Computer Generated 'de-aging' I'd ever seen.

[@beflygelt]

Far and away the best Disney Star Wars film so far.. As a matter of fact it's the only good one

[@kieranj600]

Yea I can tell it’s cgi, but at the same time I could see who it was so it clearly worked

[@youuuuuuuuuuutube]

It works when you can't tell it's CGI.

[@kev3d]

Remember the old shows like "Movie Magic"? It was always about miniatures or latex makeup or pyrotechnics or matte paintings or forced perspective. Someone like Tom Savini or Stan Winston would go to great lengths to explain how a particular effect was done, usually through months of experimentation. Now it's all "We did it in the computer."

[@AshanBhatoa]

I did not notice myself. I really don't care if the CGI was not perfect. At least they went through all this effort.

[@samwroblewski748]

it was noticeable and i was not the biggest fan since CGI becomes outdated quickly. i don't object to tarkin being in the film, but he should've been a hologram. give more screen time to Vader and Krenic... specifically more time to Vader.

[@Vikkadinho]

sam wroblewski but the story was about Krenic and Tarkin's play for power in regards to the death star. Vader has never cared for this super weapon and is only called in when things go tits up

[@bradwright9477]

sam wroblewski No. Tarkin needed to be in all the scenes he was in. CGI becoming outdated shouldn't stop us from pushing the technology. Star Wars has always been about bringing revolutionary technology to film

[@samwroblewski748]

no, he physically did not need to be there. in the original script he had less screen time and the filmmakers debated making most of his scenes via hologram where the effect could be covered up better. it's cool they could animate this, but our brains are wired to trigger at artificial faces. when VFX gets to the point where our primitive brain doesn't reject what's in front of it, then i'll accept this story telling device. but until then, most people will subconsciously reject an artificial human on screen

[@bradwright9477]

sam wroblewski Why wouldn't Tarkin, who has complete a total control of the Death Star, not be a film that is set entirely around the Death Star? It wouldn't make sense and people would complain. The power struggle between him and Krennic is incredible. The only reason any of us noticed is because we know hes dead. I have several friends who aren't big into Star Wars who were shocked to find out he was even CGI. Thats how great it was.

[@samwroblewski748]

no, i notice all CGI faces, because there are a ton of things computer animators can't do when it comes to skin and lighting. When Ironfoot appeared in the last Hobbit film he stuck out like a sore thumb. and you could tell, our brains are wired to detect unnatural faces. now back to how you can better script the Tarkin thing. Many people can oversee a project remotely. Just put somewhere in the script that Tarkin was attending to business with the Emperor during the course of the film and have Krenic in charge while he is away. It doesn't conflict with A New Hope since nowhere in the dialog is there a mention of how long Tarkin has physically been on the Death Star. Same for Darth Vader and his lava castle. this gives Krenic more story development opportunities since his whole character is pretty much "i stole Jyn's father" and "THIS IS MY DEATH STAR!!!" there's literally nothing else for him to do with Tarkin so front and center, and it made me personally care less about him as a villain because i knew the real baddy of the first film was there the whole time. him being protective of the Death Star gives the film no extra layer because you know Tarkin gets the thing in the first film. i would rather have had him diagnose the rebels plans himself and leave to chase them down (which they did shoot, him being on the planet was reshoot). Tarkin time took away from Krenic time and Vader time (Vader could've been on the Death Star the whole time, castle set-piece was unnecessary). but i can wrap this special effects discussion up with a great analogy. Directors need to treat CGI like the shark puppet in Jaws. They shot the movie deliberately avoid showing how bad their shark was and inadvertently came up with the greatest way to shoot a horror movie. the same thing applies here, CGI skin doesn't work yet. so, shoot your way around it and don't let audiences see something that looks fake and distracting (aliens don't apply because our minds don't process them as human).

[@FancyFramePictures]

Its not that this remarkable cg looks bad or fake, its that most people know that Peter has been dead for a long time. Hence most of us understand that it is cgi, which takes away the realism.

[@FancyFramePictures]

Same with Carrie

[@8bit_pineapple]

I disagree. To me it's very obvious that Tarkin is CG and sits in the uncanny valley for me making him a little creepy. I wouldn't say they did a bad job, it's just that people are very good at processing human faces so anything even slightly less than perfect will get picked up by some people. People in other comments have said gamers seem to notice more easily, which might be true, I tend to play allot of games on my pc and I was surprised people here are commenting they didn't notice that he was CG.

[@bradwright9477]

FANCY FRAME They needed him for the film. It was necessary. Him being dead doesn't change anything, as long as they respect the character. Whicy they most certainly did

[@FancyFramePictures]

I never said it was unnecessary

[@bradwright9477]

I know quite many people who aren't big Star Wars fans who had no idea Tarkin was CGI. Whether you believe it was noticeable because we know hes dead, people who have no idea and just see another guy on screen just naturally interacting with other actors is incredible. Could the technology be improved? Sure there is always room for improvement in the world of special effects. I'm not sure if we will ever hit that peak where special effects can ever not be improved. But I still look back on the original Star Wars trilogy and appreciate the effects even if they are dated by todays standards. And I will do the same for Rogue One for pushing this and taking the chance

[@jonde3]

Rogue One showed us that theres still hope for future Star Wars movies and tv shows

[@leonardbrubaker3779]

What's wild is we have all these expectations on how things should look, and completely disregard the technical majesty that really brings these stories to life.

[@extraextra8021]

Rouge one is way better than the force awakens in my opinion

[@bananiaman3162]

The lighting was so off, kinda ruined the scene for me.

[@Luizanimado]

I Agree

[@jehodocarmo5441]

He looked very rubbery and the animation was way too smooth.

[@twanduvigneau5809]

Look at the blue-ray version, its AMAZING

[@SteveMilligan364]

That's simply an uneducated response. Renderman is plenty powerful still. Arnold will get you a realistic look with the least fiddling about, but the answer is not as simple as "shoulda used a different renderer". The renderer is simply a tool. The biggest reason a studio would switch to a different renderer would be for speed and efficiency, not realism.

[@RadagonTheRed]

The Tarkin one was ok but the Carrie Fischer one at the end was an absolute nightmare of uncanny valley.

[@WolfgangSchwach]

The moment Tarkin appeared I couldn't get the thought "Gollum" out of my head. And at the end of the Movie I thought "Oh nice, there's a Princess Gollum as well."

[@flaggerify]

Perhaps the animators meddled to much with Guy's performance. The end result was unconvincing.

[@maximeteppe7627]

my takeaway from this is that they shouldn't have kept the camera so close to the character. The extreme closeups are what break the illusion the most. But you might be right, keeping it closer to the original performance capture could have erased some of the more blatant problems. I would really like to know if character animators can tell me why the skin always looks too thin, around the mouth and cheeks: I thought we had gotten pretty good at simulating muscles and volumes under the skin.

[@ibcgamingsable]

Maxime Teppe Weta actually did, with their in House Software "Tissue". Dunno what ILM used for Facial Simulating. I would recommend to google weta digital Tissue, its more advanced that the work from ILM. Weta also used Tissue in alot of shots for Fast 7 for Paul Walker ,Planet of the Apes Avatar and Lord of the Rings.

[@luccaribeiro1728]

God so glad that CGI get better over the time... He seemed so fake on Ep. IV...

[@sus5770]

@Yeezy Slayz facts

[@nathanwalter1]

It was a wonderful tribute to Peter Cushing to include him in the film. The likeness was incredible and I was not aware he was in the movie until I watched it at the cinema. I was blown away when he appeared larger than life on the screen. My only criticism is they could have made a far better job at getting his voice right.

[@dragonquestpi]

Oh, I was kind of weirded out by how fast Tarkin was talking, but apparently, that's just how the actor talks.

[@wheatpenguin2311]

I wish they used him more sparingly or simply limited his appearance to out of focus/reflected shots. In four/five years (or maybe less) we will look back and cringe at this CGI.

[@ofekmantzur]

He looked fake, but kudus to their efforts

[@youuuuuuuuuuutube]

That's how I feel. I'm glad they tried, but also a little bit sad they didn't ask better people to do it.

[@kholwayd9839]

In the movie you can easily notice its CGI. It looks like a very good video game and that’s it.

[@icedbannanas]

I am amazed at just how close we are to making a like for like representation of people in CGI. Absolutely incredible work by these guys.

[@hentesgyik95]

The orcs in Warcraft had more believable human eyes.

[@uncleblunts5]

Titanlizard Also the facial movements werent as fluid as ppl think. I get the "uncanny valley" feeling when i see Tarkin talk.

[@racmo1000]

What if Peter Cushing would not like to be involved in that movie? I find it a bit immoral/strange to use a image of the deceased person.

[@BushraShourinAnni19]

I have been thinking the same thing.

[@Tuckerscreator]

They asked his family first for permission.

[@CoolGobyFish]

@Tom Caine actually, they brought Cushing back to life. it's his image. ever wonder why star wars characters in cartoons look nothing like the actors that play them in movies? it's because the actors "own" their image. you have to get their permission and pay them money to have the characters have their faces. Cushing couldn't consent to this (he is dead), and as far as I know , he did not have an immediate family. so, i would say that's in poor taste to use his face in the movie

[@aglaraandune6602]

You guys did an amazing job on Tarkin, the only issue I saw was a bit overly exaggerated cheek movement

[@pavma7]

that's some next level stuff acting another actor who acts a character

[@alpolo007]

Remarkable for a video game, but still bad for a movie.

[@CDexie]

Alpolo007 Actually Remarkable for both video games and movies. What ruins it for you is the uncanny valley. Enjoy those effects before (and if) they get outmatched :P

[@bradwright9477]

Alpolo007 You LITERALLY have no idea what your talking about haha

[@kingchimp1942]

Funny enough I didn't know it was CGI until my second viewing

[@penske_material]

even if you don't believe it, but the people who don't know who the actor was or didn't remember didn't notice...

[@jasonthacker5844]

Most movies are just basically video game cutscenes.

[@Lego_nerd]

Cushing is one of my favorite actors. Seeing him reanimated as a lifeless Tekken zombie is just sad.

[@georgemorley1029]

It's a ghoulish mess. Horrid.

[@autumngust238]

I had no idea that he was CGI. That's a first for me. I'm blown away.

[@nickgonzalezbrown2503]

If the filmmakers just got an actor to play Tarkin, nobody in the audience would say he 'looks bad' or 'looks great' - they'd just accept him has a human character.

[@magnuscamper]

Sorry, he looked like a character ripped straight out of a videogame, was a really big distraction personally. Trying to pass cgi as real humans will never work, that technology is still ways away.

[@sidarthadipayhana4206]

no it's not, they could do it now, but movies have budget

[@bradwright9477]

magnuscamper He looked fantastic. Cry somewhere else kid

[@yeetusfetus8687]

magnuscamper never work ≠ still ways away

[@SgtZaqq]

I thought he looked good, but the fact many people dislike this CGI means it's not good enough yet.

[@NaudVanDalen]

That is objectively 100% false. Video game characters are rendered in real time with a whole world surrounding them. Tarkin is 1 character that took many hours to render.