VFX Artists React to Bad & Great CGi 134

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Wren and Jordan are joined by veteran VFX supervisor Erik Winquist (of Weta FX) to breakdown the legendary Planet of the Apes trilogy in anticipation of the latest installment to the franchise: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
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Chapters ►
00:00 Welcome back!
00:30 Happy Ape Day
01:23 Rise of the Planet of the Apes
03:57 Wren enters the Apes enclosure...
05:26 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
11:45 War for the Planet of the Apes

[@kazghost]

I wonder if apes get that uncanny valley feeling when they watch planet of the apes, the same way we do when we see full cgi humans.

[@doctordisco337]

that’s such an intriguing point

[@TheJosephKnight]

I've heard stories of apes having to get facial surgery, and when they are brought back to the enclosure, other apes will see that something looks off and will attack. They're also known to go crazy if they see people with dwarfism and try to attack.

[@wolfelkan8183]

There is evidence that other animals don't experience the uncanny valley. But I don't know i it applies to apes.

[@BakedCookiesallday]

They won't, we get that due to our pattern recognition kicking in.

[@ctakitimu]

I'm guessing most animals don't notice it. Half of them lose their shit when they see themselves in a mirror and get ready to fight it. Smarter animals...maybe. But if they have no knowledge that fake versions of them even exist, they'll probably assume it's just a f**ked up version of their species. Maybe their uncanny valley lies with other senses, like smell instead of us using sight?

[@halfbee7886]

It is a crime that these movies haven’t got a single oscar for best vfx yet.

[@StewartFletcher]

Proves how irrelevant the Oscars are

[@coletrainhetrick]

​@StewartFletcher well no, Interstellar and bladerunner deserved it, it was just bad timing for the apes films. Hugo is far more debatable but of its times hugo was seen with more prestige.

[@StewartFletcher]

@@coletrainhetrick 2049 is one of my favorite movies ever. But War deserved the win 100%. Interstellar is a little more debatable

[@coletrainhetrick]

@@StewartFletcher this is a full disagree. It would be an upset for war to beat bladerunner.

[@gregoryjoslin3173]

Apes blew all of them away in effects.

[@javalzar]

When I was a kid I’d wake up on Saturdays excited to watch cartoons. As an adult I wake up on Saturdays excited to see corridor crew 😅

[@TomatePasFraiche]

Absolutely no shame in that, we’ve evolved, corridor crew is absolutely elite tier content my dudes 🕺🏻

[@GrantZabriskie]

💯

[@jomess7879]

I refer to this as my Saturday morning cartoons

[@Ravuun]

Absolutely!

[@robertryan8784]

This is the only show I will put aside time to watch as it airs

[@tonypang83]

This video reinforces the fact that no matter how advanced technology and AI get, you still need people with artistic vision to drive the process to reach an amazing end product.

[@Im_Coral]

Toby really made Koba the best villain of this movie series

[@leftofpunk]

Koba was so good

[@charlesmaclellan8124]

The "Human.. work..." scene is one of my favorites, where he's pointing at his scars.

[@jackdevanney1193]

Unbelievably good actor

[@guga_dias]

It's incredible how menacing his performance is, even looking at the BTS before the scars and the fucked up eye. It's easy to miss just how intense his mannerisms and physicality are. Andy Serkis is the GOAT, but incredible acting from Kebbel and the rest of the cast.

[@oisinmcgrath6250]

Met him once at a bar. Fawned over him and said "human work" each time I tried to buy him a shot. He left shortly after.

[@Horrormaster13]

War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) has one of the most impressive CGI-effects that I have seen in any movie in my entire life. The photorealism on the apes in this movie is on such a high level that during my third rewatch I was asking myself: "Are those apes real?" or "How the hell was this made on a computer?!" - It just incredible. I can't do nothing but praise the digital visual effects and animation company Wētā FX who did the effects on all the three movies in this trilogy.

[@eyespy3001]

For real! Maurice, in particular, is so flawlessly crafted, from his first appearance in Rise to his last appearance in War, that there is not one single frame of him on screen that doesn’t look like a real orangutan.

[@StewartFletcher]

The shot of Bad Ape rising from the hole into the enclosure looks literally PERFECT. It's insane

[@Luke101]

One of the most incredible trilogies of films ever made. People thought rebooting the Apes franchise was a terrible idea and we were given masterpieces. Caesar is such an amazing character

[@insaincaldo]

To be fair, they started coming out at a time when people were expecting a new "the same super hero back story" every damn movie.

[@TMV420]

absolutely one of the best trilogies of all time. each one is better than the last, at least for me. War for the Planet of the Apes is a goddamn masterpiece. from the vfx to acting and writing and that incredible score, it's my favorite of the trilogy

[@churblefurbles]

No, no one mentions it outside a sequel year because the premise just doesn't hold up past a single film.

[@Luke101]

@@churblefurbles ???

[@MrJohnnagethebrave]

Caesar is my Michael Corleone. One of my favourite cinematic characters.

[@MrSiriusAB]

WHAT A WONDERFUL DAY!!!

[@morrownow]

*chimp noises*

[@lilJimmyJim]

(raises both fists in the air) APES TOGETHER STRONG!

[@wizz2681]

WHAT A WONDERFUL DAY !!

[@lilJimmyJim]

APES TOGETHER STRONG!

[@michaeltnk1135]

That felt good

[@hypermonk33y56]

andy serkis pioneering performing captures that gives us all these great movies. what a legend.

[@cgollimusic]

Man's a living legend of modern cinema at this point

[@markfergerson2145]

He is the modern day Janos Prohaska. That man brought a *rock* to life.

[@PsycHoOone]

@@cgollimusic He really is, so cool to see and must feel awesome to know for him, too :D

[@paulalvarezdelcastillo4117]

That’s me setting up cameras at 6:18 ! Dawn was such a fun movie to work on, and so were War and Kingdom. I just wish I could have worked on Rise, that was the only one in the series that I didn’t work on.

[@ajchann123]

I just finished watching the modern trilogy and thought, "I should look up some BTS on the motion capture and CG used." And once again, Corridor Crew pays out like manna from heaven

[@iloveyouman.amentalhealthp4328]

Same!

[@samuraikitty18]

me too!

[@dozer11]

The tree simulation part blew my mind. Amazing subtle stuff we usually don’t even notice.

[@ausis6214]

Same. Simple brilliance. I really appreciated that because I come from a fine art background and drew/painted a landscape here and there and totally relate with figuring out where trees/plants should go.

[@locinolacolino1302]

And now that Unity's bought some of their tech, there's a good chance it could be available for public use in the game engine.

[@samsondees]

This episode is bananas

[@LifeWatcher]

Get out

[@Arcona]

Quit monkeying around.

[@apexderrick]

Cheeky

[@Valefor]

I see what you did there

[@scarletspidernz]

B-A-N-A-N-A-S

[@Nikkiflausch]

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is actually one of my favourite movies these days. It‘s stunningly beautiful, tells a relevant story and it‘s so emotionally captivating. The scale, the power dynamics, the long shots, the drama, and it all gets carried because of the top notch CG work. Top notch job, guys.

[@Luke101]

A theater experience I’ll never forget. Caeser confronting Koba at the end was cathartic for me

[@eyespy3001]

I HIGHLY recommend watching the three video essays by StoryStreet on these three movies. They’ll make you love them even more.

[@cqoui]

Agreed

[@mushrifahmed8107]

It's crazy how soo many talented people have taken VFX almost to the point of science.

[@egretfx]

it is science dude...

[@hanklestank]

Hahaha @egretfx . Science? Algorithms for ever better facial tracking and skin modelling, for muscle and hair simulations, for lighting calculations, or procedural crowd generation? Do those sound like science words? Nah son, those are wizard incantations that run on magical boxes.

[@egretfx]

@@hanklestank

[@StayFractalesque]

vfx artists doin quik mafs

[@danbelow90]

WETA is just a different beast. Every time I see something new from them, I'm like - huuuuuuuuh?!

[@pyrocore]

You should see our End of Year parties.

[@i-deni-i5138]

Yeah, they really flex it every single time

[@Kantami]

the recent POTA movies prove there should be an Oscar for Motion Capture performances.

[@BakedCookiesallday]

Andy circus would have to build a new house just to keep the Oscars

[@fabienl4979]

​@@BakedCookiesallday Andy Serkis for sure, don't know about A. Circus....

[@scarletspidernz]

It just proves that more areas need to be given awards the list is outdated and skewed.

[@andrewfortunatte7137]

Who tf actually calls this movies POTA.

[@Kantami]

@@andrewfortunatte7137 i do when trying to avoid Autocorrect changing what i'm typing, besides, you knew what i meant, it'd be a different story if i actually called the films POTA in real all the time.

[@The_Razielim]

I think Wren & Jordan were the best possible members of the team for this. I've said it before, but some of my favorite vids you guys put out are either of Jordan or Wren just *explaining stuff*. They're both so fantastic at explaining technical projects, and also the passion and energy they put into nerding out over stuff is just infectious.

[@mordecaisdump5526]

I must disagree, Jordan lacks in charisma

[@Linsey009]

i'll never stop mourning the dvd bonus features that used to give us this information but i am so grateful your channel exists so we can still get it in some other way (and tbh in a more in depth way)

[@pyroslev]

For me, the "we made it" moment was any of the ones with Maurice in War. The details in that face were human. The intelligence in the eyes brought tears to my eyes.

[@locinolacolino1302]

Maurice is the GOOOAT

[@Jesses001]

Everything Weta does kind of melts my brain. They really make my suspension of disbelief rather easy to maintain. I notice a lot of what they do is create systems that make it easier for the artists to work. For example, it is amazing that they built a system to grow trees in a realistic manor, but the end goal is to make it easier for the artist to consitrate on other details.

[@scarletspidernz]

Yeah, If you're repeating tasks then building a system to do it is easier, VFX previously was over 70% of it is repeating similar task across movies. Same with what Unreal is doing on Unreal 5 for the games, movies and tv shows.

[@theteddychannel8529]

I really liked Erik! He seems down to earth and understanding, and at the same time has such deep knowledge of cutting edge VFX. Awesome guy.

[@More-Space-In-Ear]

Love CGI when it's used properly. Kudos to all the guys around the world who give us their mind-bending art. Champions the lot of them.

[@casensitive3695]

As a working artist I really appreciated Jordan's in depth questions about retargeting (for example). That sparked a very interesting conversation from Erik and we usually don't get to get very specific questions to these guest when they're on.

[@kereamohau]

I'm gonna be honest. That was the first time I've even sat through a sponsor segment from you guys. Gave me a good chuckle.

[@Jemppu]

*goes back and watches it*

[@area51pictures]

The gold of gold El Dorado gold standards. This guy is a fucking legend. Weta's work on War is FLAWLESS.

[@MightyManotaur22]

Maurice is maybe the best looking "fake" character I've ever seen in a movie. The eyes and physicality are what does it for me. Incredible artistry by the actress and vfx artists.

[@3twelve206]

Andy Serkis deserved an Oscar for his performance. Incredible effort and output. Unreal dedication 🏆

[@Fuchs1982]

War for the Planet of the Apes is still hands down the best CGI I have ever seen. I still cannot get over how perfectly real the apes look. Even with the human elements to them blended in. It is incredible How photo-realistic it is.

[@omeizasanni]

yall getting out of hand with these sponsored ads😂

[@MegaNever2010]

They said they were watching all the Planet of the Apes movies, but i see no Marky Mark. My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined.

[@cjkalandek996]

I very much want Erik and all the talented VFX artists, sculptors, and animators to know how much I appreciate and love the amount of work that went into these newer _Planet of the Apes_ films. You're all truly an inspiration and I thank you.

[@Wheels-of-terror]

Can you guys take a look at Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) and Journey 2: the Mysterious Island? Some of the effects in the first one looked good at the time but a lot of the green screen stuff was pretty obvious, especially in the second movie. Plus if I'm remembering correctly there were a ton of shots that were very clearly meant to be for the 3D release.

[@mosab643]

At this point if someone told me all this was magic, I wouldn't really argue.

[@BlendWithRoy]

😂

[@kareningram6093]

Very cool episode. I loved learning about the evolution of the performance capture suits throughout the films, and all the stuff about hair, and trees growing, and light. Everything. What you and everybody who works in this field does is just amazing.

[@AGI_Unleashed]

There’s a powerful group of magicians in the world. I’m talking about real magic and that’s WetaFX! I can’t imagine the world without these artists making magic!

[@PikaPetey]

I love the shout out to all the animators and artists to make this work.

[@Ravuun]

Back in the late 90's when I was studying computer animation in college, PBS put out a video about fractal geometry. In one part, they showed a rudimentary computer program that created things like trees based on a fractal recursive equation. Watching this video, I feel like I just saw the evolution of that simple program into something that grows realistic trees from scratch. Mind blown!

[@Gnomable]

The fact they can bring real world light into a digital scene with physlight is incredible

[@folarinosibodu]

I was with this channel from day 1 of these vfx artist episodes. Now to see that they are vfx supervisors go-to channel to do interviews on is so amazing. To watch that rise. I remember I was new in Canada then, around 2018 or so. Now years in, still watching so interesting.

[@Veyron722skyhook]

I still remember when I first saw Rise, for a long time I used to think Maurice (The Orangutan) was either an actual real one that had been trained, or was an actor in a costume. Goes to show though that's how good the CG was and still is. (In fairness also, a lot of what Maurice does in the first film does seem like things that COULD have been done practically. So that further helped sell the illusion)

[@NiamhAllStar21]

I work on sets and I love when everyone shouts “BALLS” “GUYS ITS BALLS TIME”. Great to know it’s called physlights haha

[@arsonleigh]

this was absolutely one of my favourite episodes of the year.... mind blown by some of the explanations!

[@LilyJohn96]

That is some crazy work ! One of the best we've ever seen in movies.

[@PeGeProd]

Wren: You can't just change the physics to make the shot work! Also Wren when in trickshot competition: If I just change gravity and wind at this precise moment, it will perfectly go in!

[@betweenthepylons5506]

Love the ape series so much. The process behind it is incredible

[@mythicalsalmon3621]

This is one of the best ones!! So much insightful knowledge!

[@skybluepainter]

Always so cool to see how much tech and talent goes into films like this.

[@GoFidoGo]

I've been watching you guys create for 13 years and have enjoyed so much. With this series, its becoming more and more clear the ground shiting impact you have in recognizing the genius effort that goes into our favorite movies. i hope yall realize that.

[@kamelpa]

Wren cranking up @12:37 is everything ❤😂

[@Inframesdigital]

Always amazing to see someone from Weta FX! great episode!

[@mightymistermike]

This was one of the most interesting, amazing and informative React episodes yet! Thank you to everyone involved! 🐵

[@harrypugh2002]

I've been requesting for you guys to look at the planet of the apes films for years! So excited to finally see this video!!!

[@henmat3000]

12:34 Look at Wren's reaction to the ape impression 🤣

[@wirelesmike73]

Absolutely amazing work on all of those movies. I love the franchise, and can't wait to see the new one. I hope they find a way to keep on going with the story and keep making them. The source material is really extensive. Great episode, as usual.👍

[@jacobhealey8280]

Great to see you on one of my favorite channels Erik! You were always talented back in high school. I had heard that you went to work at Weta. I have followed your career over the internet. It is great to see you on the couch with the Corridor Crew. Your work on Gollum was amazing as of course was your work on Cesar and the rest of the apes.

[@Slapthesushi]

Perfect timing! I just watched all the movies for the first time!

[@Tonto151]

Would absolutely love to see you guys talk about the original Planet of the Apes movies as well. Even the Tim Burton one from 2001. It would be cool to hear about the make-up effects from an industry pro. Like a "VFX Make-up Artists React" video series I think could be really fun.

[@MrJuanno42]

This is my favorite trilogy! I’ve been waiting years for this episode

[@stevepokrajac1208]

I’ve been watching you guys (and girls) for so long. This is by far my most favourite episode. Amazing. It’s not like I didn’t have respect for VFX artists before.. but wow, you’re artists. And anyone that wants to delve into this amazing world and art, you have my full respect and love. Thank you. ❤

[@mintywz]

At this point I start to believe, that the only reason you guys havent done Dune 2 react yet, is that you are waiting for Dany Villeneuv himself to get comfortable on the couch.

[@zhanezar]

Greatest trilogy really amazing job by the VFX team , hope the next movies are just as good

[@miguelteixeira2250]

Big Respect to all the Artists that worked on all these beautiful movies! Thank you Corridor Crew for an awesome video!

[@eliasfrey4445]

Wow it’s so cool to see the behind the scenes

[@zoobyzoob]

12:33 The cut back to them on the couch and Wren's just tryna suppress a laugh from the voice Erik did is so good.

[@Confluera]

Dawn is already loved but it deserves the same discussion as Terminator 2, The Dark Knight, etc as one of the most cinematic blockbuster sequels ever made.

[@macfanguy]

The improvement in quality is just stellar to see.

[@smigot06]

That description of the trees was amazing

[@aprilzackary]

Finally! I've been waiting for this exact video ever since Kingdom was announced

[@thedarkknight2221]

Andy Serkis should’ve gotten an Oscar for these movies!

[@AlteranKing]

The rain on the war paint in the opening scene of Dawn was my "we made it moment". What a spectacular vfx team.

[@SavageAnimated]

Nice for all (a lot) you guys, but I have to wait for evening time, but ALWAY worth the wait. The stuff that's put out, the guest they have, amazing!! Such a great situation they are in and they are smashing it!!

[@SA12String]

Watching Jordan internalize the technology of an engine that naturally grows digital trees is worth the entire video.

[@thekrest]

Those episodes with special guests are my favorites. They are the video equivalent of a Cinefex article. Entertaining and interesting. Love it.

[@MDelorean]

Amazing tech tools. Love this show.

[@wycliffenyangate5018]

i loved everything about this episode.

[@dayoltay]

This is insane amount of work! Dawn is my favourite

[@wortwortwort117]

Wow I JUST watched all three of these this week

[@cocobean0390]

LOVE this trilogy! So cool to see you guys cover it :) As long as recommendations are still welcome, this will be Day 5 of asking you guys to look at the original 1999 Walking with Dinosaurs TV series from the BBC. Not only does it have a great blend of practical and cg elements, it was also the very first attempt to show dinosaurs as living animals in a documentary rather than as movie monsters. Plus if you can catch them, there are definitely a few shots where the dinosaur models clip through themselves. 😂 Definitely worth a look!

[@sathwikkanneganti]

Beautiful ad section that I almost watched all the way through 😂

[@alexpritchett5766]

God I love these movies. They’re a masterclass of story and art. Truly exceptional in every way. Great vid guys.

[@jacob_90s]

16:14 I never saw this movie but he's right. That orangutan looks perfect. Texture, color, lighting, I don't see a single flaw.

[@brandonnelson94]

Honestly the bit about the simulated forest growth was the mind blowing part for me. That is such a clever and useful technology that can be used for many movies/games all sorts of applications

[@bleachedbonez]

I legit had my jaw open for the entirety of Kingdom. Every single shot just floored me

[@brj_han]

Get Bill Pope on the couch to discuss the minatures, puppetry and VFX of Team America! They you could discuss some other movies of his, like Spiderman, Jungle Book, The Matrix (not the orig), Alita, Antman and the Wasp, Men in Black...

[@Biscuits..]

THE EYES CHICO. The animation of the facial expressions, even in the first movie, were just incredible. It's literally art.

[@s0leviden954]

OMG I have been waiting for this video and now it's finally here letssss gooooooooo

[@alexvaliton1107]

Great episode!!

[@jenumba]

Much love to Erik for highlighting the animators who make mocap work, and for contradicting Serkis' 'digital makeup' bullshit.

[@stevenjwiles]

Fantastic episode.

[@carlsoll]

6:50 Woah O.O Thanks for the break-down *Eric*

[@aarondenverlamb5826]

That was an excellent episode.

[@MikeMaris]

I HAVE WAITED FOR THIS FOR SO LONG 😭

[@erinrutherford1374]

Erik’s first film was Two Towers? That’s a flex 👏🏻👏🏻

[@RemyLeBleau]

I was watching "3 Body Problem" on Netflix the other day. When I got to the Boat vs. Nano Fibre bit, I genuinely had to double check whether it was made by the corridor folks. Had you guys written all over it

[@unvergebeneid]

What are you talking about? That's a huge sequence with lots of practical effects. No way could these guys pull this off.

[@KrazzeeKane]

Watching Andy Serkis covered in mocap dots gently nuzzling James Franco's ear was absolutely top tier behind the scenes comedy footage

[@GoetiaTV]

Last month I finally got around to seeing Dawn and War. They blew my mind. Dawn is almost 10 years old and it still looks amazing. I’m so glad Corridor did this video. So many questions I had were answered and questions I didn’t think of were answered too. I could listen to Erik Winquist talk shop for hours. These recent Planet of the Apes movies are better than I ever thought they would be back when Rise was announced. Hoping to see Kingdom next week.

[@xgozulx]

the tree growing simulator left me in awe, that is so awesome

[@coreyrand9018]

Wren: "You can't just change the physics to make the shot work!" Jordan: "Wind" 😏

[@matthiasice]

As a mocap animator...thank you for explaining that there is a level of artistic touch between the actor and the character on screen. I never want to take away from what the actors are giving to a performance (I'm the actor sometimes too 🤣), but there's SO MUCH work until it makes it into a movie, game, etc. Even just for human to human retargetting, you very frequently have to account for height/limb differences, clothing, prop interaction, character proximity. Not to mention the parts that weren't always captured (i.e. fingers). Thank god we capture fingers now, but it still needs cleanup.