VFX Artists React to Bad & Great CGi 90

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Sam, Niko, and Wren discuss some of the best (and worst) visual effects in some of your favorite Hollywood films!
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[@iamalexdim]

Can't believe you guys are almost at episode 100, it all stared with Sonic's human teeth. How time flies 💯

[@T0YCHEST]

@Yeehaw and good vfx we must balance the negative

[@okeycokey2000]

Why, they post twice a week you plumb

[@OakholdC]

@@AnthonyMak21 they look at the bad vfx and explain it in a _constructive_ manner

[@ayayron8221]

What?? The first episode was Sonic's human teeth? That feels so fuckin recent, jesus.

[@brodull1142]

They've been around way before sonic teeth. Since Freddie Wong still around I think.

[@loganmitchell2878]

3:34 they use the Minecraft sound effect lmao

[@skunky74]

The moment in Avatar II that the kids jumped into the water, for me, was the equivalent of Dorothy opening the farmhouse door to the land of Oz. The amount of detail in those underwater scenes was amazing. I wish the first and last acts of the movie were each about 25 minutes shorter, but the middle... perfection.

[@jacobrev6567]

Merry Christmas Eve corridor crew

[@kinnexion]

The Avatar 2 leather strap scene has two different shots because it’s two different scenes. The second one is of Jake’s son. The very first shot we ever saw is of Jake himself. Two different shots in the film. Not the same shot done twice

[@sporkleton]

Niko talking about surface tension was *chef's kiss.* I love that you guys have understanding of physical phenomenon and tie it into your work.

[@lukeyang6306]

I hate that when she throws the Canoe into the water, you hear the same sound as filling a bucket in Minecraft at 3:40

[@xAlbin0003x]

There is actually an article that mentions this shot and they confirm it is partially real, The hand connected to the leather strap is indeed a real painted hand

[@xAlbin0003x]

And some of the water is real too around the strap

[@TheRealAlpha2]

Ahh see that's what I was thinking. The first being a real shot with some elements CG'd for the sake of capturing the detail in the hands and strap, then the second time done all CG using the original as reference.

[@xAlbin0003x]

@@TheRealAlpha2 The second shot is actually just another shot in the movie, tho very very valid point

[@vennril]

@@xAlbin0003x It looks like someone's being taught to do that kind of knot, so oft course there would be multiple shots of it. I don't know why the guys even though it had to be the same shot and they changed it haha

[@LeSpicey]

Yeah, basically they’d do some CG water extension for where the Na’Vi body interacts in the background of the shot, and maybe the arms are CG, but everything that’s the harness and the hands, and the water directly around them is real take. There are also many shots of “live action” Na’Vis that haven’t been picked up yet, although they can be quite more obvious to spot So in short, the main thing we see in this shot is live action that is enhanced with CG “to the sides”

[@elrossnut4997]

I love how they go into huge detail on the water sim but don’t even talk about how the poles come out of nowhere

[@moonhowler_OG]

I was thinking the same the poles looked really janky on that.

[@RPAudioeVisual]

Which poles? Put the time stamp

[@ManlyGaga]

@@RPAudioeVisual they talking about the canoe shot, I also got mistaken and thought they were talking about avatar

[@disguisedostrich]

what poles

[@sayansarkarz5414]

@@RPAudioeVisual 4:42 The poles\handles coming out from the middle if the boat

[@esztercsorba]

My favorite episode was with Arin Hanson! I hope he comes back. Plus the challenge between Mark and Sean was epic! Thank you for making these videos still, they are the highlight of my weekends!

[@kaichow1015]

Thanks for always educating and entertaining us with these videos, Crew.

[@The_Ostrich]

The de-aged Nicolas Cage looks terrible bruh, what are you guys smoking.

[@jack_rim]

For that shot from foundation you can see the wipe better if you look in the top right hand of the screen. Crazy to think that I’m actually learning more from watching you guys than what I learned in intro to VFX in college

[@TheCoppoy]

15:41 when u make an awesome joke and u r the only one who's laughing. Happens to me all the time

[@leelanzini]

I think the muzzle flash gets a pass from me. I never noticed it and I’m glad you guys still praised the shot for being cool

[@MrMarshallMan3]

Merry Christmas, guys! Love you all! My favourite video this year was the collab with Adam Savage

[@cameleon303]

Two Jackie Chan recs for future episodes: 1. Drunken Master: the fight in the restaurant at about 40 minutes, the master fights with a rag and it seems to be stiff like a baton but can't see any hidden cuts. 2. Kung Fu Yoga has an odd looking CGI battle opening.

[@robspracklin261]

Thank you to the Corridor Crew for an awesome year. As for fav. The Boston Dynamics "rip-off" video. (the biped robot)

[@mdoerkse]

Thanks for a Christmas video with no sponsors or ads. 🎄❤️

[@deployed246]

The one thing from the original shot from the Avatar clip that is making me feel like it is practically shot is the character's left hand. The way the skin creases and wrinkles around the knuckles and how the water reacts to it reminds me of how skin of actors with _very_ thick make-up paint reacts. The creases and wrinkles come across almost like rubber and the water rolls off the skin too quickly. As with the guys, I am not certain that this is the case, they could be intentionally making the skin look that way to make it seem extremely thick (like rhino skin) and the low level water absorption could also be intentional for a more aquatic attuned Navi, but both of these are different in the second version of the shot, but due to the increased movement it is really hard for me to compare. However, while I think the first shot's main giveaway is due to limitations of practical makeup in front of high def cameras and with water, it still looks amazing, especially the thumb on the left hand. If I am right, then its still crazy that they would go to that length of practical setup when it is intended to be CGI'd later down the line.

[@TheLizardKing752]

I was very impressed overall with their ability to have both long ocean shots AND detailed flip-style sims in the foreground, and how well they interfaced the two. I'm learning Houdini and water sims always feel very tricky, even with all the tools available.

[@Giovakhiin]

Love hearing the dissection of the art behind all these shots, but I really wanna know where Niko got that awesome Akira hoodie

[@toycoma98]

I noticed the weird muzzle flash before, but thought nothing of it until now that you brought it up.

[@Whofan06]

I have learned two very important things from this channel: 1. No one EVER does muzzle flashes right. 2. I still have no idea what CG muzzle flash is supposed to look like

[@camdumas]

In the original Avatar shot, the piece that convinced me it was a real shot was the cinching of the leather strap around the wrist when the end was pulled. The movement was perfect.

[@BrutalCarnage]

the reason the muzzle flashes are backwards is because it's Batman's nightmare, and that first gunshot as a kid turned his entire life backwards and the muzzle flashes represents this -Zack Snyder

[@Fakan]

I didn't notice the muzzle flash because I was distracted by all the bad guys using their guns as clubs instead of for shooting.

[@DaveBarrack]

My biggest pet peeve with CGI is the "Matter from Nothing" problem. When the cylinder expands into the canoe, that's fine, who knows how it was all packed in there, but then the steel crossbar just comes out of nowhere, and then the rim supports just fold out of nothing, and keep unfolding, that's what always makes it look fake. There's not even an attempt to make it look like the rods are folding out of a compartment. Each new piece just appears then begins to rotate. It doesn't matter how good your lighting engine and ray tracing and material specularity is. That looks fake. At least with something like Star Lord's mask, they put some kind of noise mask over it so it looks like maybe it's nano particles or maybe it's being transported onto his face or something, but when Batman clicks a thing on his belt and 700 pounds of armor slide out from literally nowhere to cover the batmobile it looks fake. That's not to mention, why not have the armor covering it in the first place? The weight of the armor would still be there. It would still affect the handling of the car. You're telling me Bruce Wayne came up with a way to add 700 pounds of armor to his vehicle that sits behind some slot, all stacked up and not protecting the car most of the time while still slaughtering his gas mileage and acceleration, just so he can hit a button to make armor slide out at a dramatic moment? Okay, actually I kind of buy that. But the Matter from Nowhere CG will always look super fake.

[@michaelpalmer5995]

I did the Weta experience in Auckland and it was so cool. Highly recommend if you ever get the chance. Adam Savage has done some stuff with them too.

[@ollililjestrom]

Merry Christmas to each and every one of you in the Corridor Crew (including Clint)! Thanks for the great content you keep providing! 😍🔥

[@John-ru4iz]

I feel we should get a full making-of documentary about the effects in this movie, because I just don't understand how they made everything look SO DAMN REAL. I don't know if it's water simulations (which would be insane) or if they somehow composited real water splashes with the CGI (which would also be insane), but whatever they did, this movie made CGI in all other movies look like child's play.

[@flackbyte]

Niko is a veritable cg forensics analyst. I’m always impressed.

[@Mariopwnzu]

I didn't watch the trailers before seeing Avatar but there is something about the shot where Jake wrapped his hand with the strap that just stuck with me and made me think "Woah holy shit"

[@Idekbru]

For the avatar clip. The left shows the thumb cuticle in detail. The right one the thumb is positioned awkwardly to hide it. 1st real second cgi

[@christianrivas7617]

3:40 The sound it makes when it hits the water sounds like the Minecraft water noise

[@Gundumb_guy]

I want to see you guys react to the younger versions of the actors on Amsterdam!

[@kaniphish]

niko can't stop himself from saying "the way the water..." for describing the scene and each time I react like a dog hearing his favorite word.

[@MisterUnconcerned]

My wish for 2023 is to see the Mugatu escapes prison scene from Zoolander 2 picked apart. You can see they plugged a ton of budget into it. Not shabby for a low budget 2016 movie, and Will Ferrell looks amazing jacked.

[@TomNobody631]

Now, is the dotted yellow line that flashes up for one frame at 4:16 an error, where you'd originally intended to demarcate the water elements that were being linear-wiped? Or is it a deliberate mystery like the flipped muzzle flash or the spark element with the bad frame rate in Transformers?

[@joshm5514]

React suggestion: Not sure if you’ve already done this but the scene from transformers 2 where Shia and Megan are running in slow motion from the explosion behind them. You’ll know why whenever you spot the issue with it. This is when they are in Egypt towards the end of the movie.

[@ryanallison928]

Can’t remember which episode but the reveal of you guys screaming “WAIT, it’s all puppets and mirrors!!!” Sticks with me

[@adamkennedy6296]

“The rock” car chase needs to be reviewed with stuntmen and drivers! It’s insane what went into thay

[@BOHICAvsFUBAR]

Yall should look at the 1954 movie called, "Rear Window". There is a scene at the end where the main character falls out the 2nd story window. I think yall will get a kick out of that.

[@cyphershell]

Don't worry about the haters saying that if it's guesswork then you shouldn't be doing it. You're providing a high quality educated guess. That's different than an ignorant guess. Also, what you are doing is reverse engineering a completed shot into the possible elements and process it took to make it. In cyber security, reverse engineering malware is more or less the same thing. The executable binary is compiled code, which is not possible to perfectly revert back to its original code character for character. There are technical tools to help start the process and bring it back to functional parts, but it takes an experienced engineer and/or developer to recognize the patterns and bridge the many/large gaps that the tools could not reverse. Keep up the good work guys.

[@IM80HD]

We have an answer for the Avatar scene. No Film School put out an article yesterday (search "what's the truth about that one shot from Avatar") with a quote from Weta FX's Visual Effects Supervisor. Turns out they were spot on (from what I got from the article) and only the arm and body are full CGI with the rest editing of a live action shot done in a baby pool.

[@jaytotheroq]

The strap is CG on the right for sure because you see the tip of the strap teleport from under the thumb to below the wrist...

[@jj481012]

NIKO, where did you get that awesome sweatshirt?? I 100% need one of those.

[@ramanjedi]

Probably will get another avatar 2 video with his shot telling us abt rhe reality

[@pe_stroud4891]

Can't pick a favorite ep this yr, well i can it's AI Jake voice, but my favorite thing is probably how yall keep upping the variety. Yall keep getting better & better & continue to exceed expectations.

[@wisemoon40]

My favorite video this year was your breakdown of RRR. I don’t remember for sure if I’d heard something about it before, but your video sealed the deal. And boy was it worth it! RRR is one of my top 5 movies of 2022, and I might not have taken the time to see it if not for your video. So thank you!

[@Davedosa]

The VFX supervisor of Avatar 2 said following: “Some of that was an actor with blue hands doing the leather bit shot on a buck in water,” Letteri said. “And then we did a lot of rotoscoping and re-creating the water to fit it back around the hands. We did three shots like that. One of them was CG and two had live-action elements.”

[@gilgermesch]

14:14 if you look to the very right of the image, pretty much centre height, there are indeed a few bubbles! Play it back at .25x speed to see even better!

[@aidanyelsma7762]

One of my theories for that Avatar 2 shot is that I do think that it was filmed practically and maybe they just painted the actors hands blue.

[@purefoldnz3070]

bahahahahaha

[@namehereandthere]

You are correct.

[@jeremyc4811]

Yah, my thought the whole time. So much easier to just do that shot in a pool with a light and some makeup. Throw a guy in some body makeup, get a bunch of shots of him just messing with some props, easy way to get a bunch of cutaways and make the editor’s life a lot easier.

[@cody8860]

That's not how it works. Paint reflects light completely different from skin.

[@olivierdecitre5818]

You should really watch the opening shot of Athena, a movie that came out on Netflix, it's an amazing one shot take that took months of prep!!

[@pisti7252]

14:25 bubbles on the right

[@pilotdog68]

Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a hilarious hidden gem that suffered from bad marketing

[@unvergebeneid]

I agree that the water un the second shot looks more CG than in the first shot.

[@stephenflav3383]

Would love to see a breakdown of Small Soldiers (1998)

[@ranjeetmahato5351]

Happy New Year!!! keep up the good work

[@jacobfarkas3916]

First time I've seen one of your videos. Liked and subscribed! Merry Christmas, happy holidays.

[@Kito-san13]

Imo the biggest difference between the avatar shots are the hands. The movement makes it obvious that the first shot had real (to some extent) arms and the second shot had 100% CG arms

[@clarkkent6921]

That laugh @15:42 was...interesting.

[@justinv.535]

At 3:38, Minecraft water splash sound effect llol (or its already a royalty-free sound before Minecraft, idk)

[@TheJoshkc662]

Now that season 3 is out, gotta talk about His Dark Materials!

[@StrickerMobileMechanic]

The fact that all three of your arguments are so factual because you all do CGI. It's just so nice because arguments should always have facts. I appreciate a proper argument from 3 different stand points

[@allissondiego1989]

Merry Christmas and a happy new year to whoever is reading this 💚❤

[@kamielmonsecour29]

I always love the animators react episodes!!!! Those are really my cup of Thea. And the episodes where you talked about videogames CGI were alsof very cool!!

[@kirkanos771]

Having seen the movie now, it's funny because the two shots you thought had been remade are in fact both in the movie as they involve two different characters and moments.

[@t-bonegaming7295]

I swear, at 3:40 its the minecraft water splash sound effect!

[@mattshnoop]

I can't wait for the next time they get Weta onto this show and they can ask them about the Avatar 2 shot!

[@LiquidSkyGuy]

Would love to see your take on the Terminator 2 - 3D: Battle across time footage. 👀

[@antlixo]

3:39 is that the Minecraft water splash noise?

[@Herowebcomics]

Thank you for doing Snyderverse movies! It's important to show off this stuff now that a certain producer wants to erase it from existence!

[@smwad7103]

I couldn’t make 20 minutes into avatar 2 felt more like a tech demo than a movie

[@nikolayberestok9076]

Much more important to understand is How that navi-girl can smile with opened mouth under the water without air coming out?

[@bigpoppapump3982]

Merry Christmas Guys

[@alfonsoPina]

Merry Christmas GUys!!!!!

[@13thousandmonkeys]

Cameron would never want to allow a real shot to sully his all CG-3-D-giant smurf-ocean getaway-epic. From dances with wolves to finding Dory. Cameron is "so original"

[@Shadow-nx4yl]

3:39 minecraft water sound lol

[@john73087]

Merry Christmas!

[@blitzgirl6522]

Saw Avatar 2 last night, and both strap-securing shots are in the film, and they are two different characters. But it just shows that if they did many things "real" and many things "CG", then it shows how many techniques they used for this film.

[@ajinkyabansod5438]

Do Bollywood , Bhramhastra. You’ll also see sone tacticool reloads

[@johnhrinko9855]

Y’all should react to Scrooge (1970) my family watches it every year on Xmas eve and I’m curious how they did some of the shots!

[@agoon7092]

There was a twitter thread about this Avatar shot. Maybe you can find it, from a guy that made it.

[@Earthenfist]

... That first scene, I wonder if it WAS an intentional easter-egg. Like, that's a dream sequence, right? And it's Batman's dream, and he _doesn't use guns_. In fact, he very specifically has regular nightmares about being on the OTHER SIDE of a muzzle flash. So what if that was the compositor putting in the reversed muzzle flash as a nod to Bats dreaming about the gun firing -towards him- because he doesn't think of muzzle flash/bullets coming from himself? Especially as the other guns seem to have correct muzzle flash.

[@beardedgaming1337]

react to Star Wreck: In the Pirkining. an independent film (students iirc) from Sweden (iirc). it was a great comedy spoof and back then they did a great job with CGI. (watch the version with startrek ships, not the new version after copyright issues)

[@Scripture-Man]

To me it seems like Weta just saw your original video, felt slightly embarrassed that it wasn't CG, rose to the challenge and said "Hold my beer, I'm giving them an even better, 100% CG closeup for the next trailer!"

[@liamohara1198]

Is that Minecraft water sound effect actually in that Foundation clip?

[@kyleprokop2770]

Speaking in the Avatar shot. It says a lot when we can’t tell if something is real or fake. We’re getting to a point of such high photorealistic cgi, there will be no point for practical sets anymore.

[@DatBlueVQ]

I personally think the first shot was 100% real. Real arms, real water, real prop. They probably digitally painted the person blue though. Filmed for reference for the CGI, which may have not been completed for the trailer so they threw in that shot instead. And the second one is 100% CGI.

[@RoryCMahan]

There were bubbles to the right edge of the final shot.

[@Jakal_CH]

1 Big classic is missing. "Timecop" with Jean-Claude Van Damme.

[@Valiant207]

How did they create the tornado scene in the Wizard of Oz? I've always been curious

[@wavion2]

There's a lot of hate on Foundation for the changes they made, but as someone who hasn't read the books, I enjoyed it.

[@corken613]

It would be hilarious if Weta did the new shot to troll you guys haha

[@lads205]

The Rome lightning storm scene in 'The Core' has some pretty janky explosions and debris.

[@nonjabiznas]

Niko is my little brother or rather reminds me of my little brother who passed away. Same personality and mannerisms he had. I watch corridor because it makes me feel closer to my brother. I know this doesn't mean anything and you'll probably never see this but, I love you and thank you for that.

[@youruncleted]

effect: exists wren: *hardest* shit ever how can you not love our boy with the jewfro

[@Korcsmaros]

As a fan of this channel, I've waited 2 years for you to analyze these scenes from The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. I was one of Nicolas Cage's photo double in this movie - you can see my dotted face in the BTS clips. I was doubling for Cage's current self, and Nick Wittman doubled for his younger self. But in the end, when you see Young Nick Cage's face, it's the real Cage, just de-aged. Thank you, for mentioning this movie in your show!

[@ethai1]

He meant he was working on this film for 2 years and waited to see their reaction

[@ianrawley4230]

@DenkyMan if he was in it he would have been working on it for at least months before release

[@timdedecker7894]

Filming started in 2020 so this probably already thought of corridor when he was shootint. If it is actually him ofc

[@trevorcarlisle5447]

How do you as being only a photo double have the information on how the special effects were rendered?

[@Korcsmaros]

@@timdedecker7894 Exactly!

[@abhinav_bammidi]

I might be wrong, but I think the left one was a shot of Jake, because I remember Jake also doing it (pulling the leather straps) with the fish-bird thingy when he first learns to ride it, and the one on the right is the one with Lo'ak when he first learns to ride the other fishy-thing, because the hands are more than enough to show it, because Jake has a much more vibrant pigment than Lo'ak, and the one on the right might be Lo'ak and the one of the left might be Jake and that is why both the shots looks a lot more different. 😅😅 and I think the shot on the left might've been real with Jake and used it as a reference for the second one with Lo'ak. And also the colors of the saddle are different in both the shots, which further pushes me to believe that they might be two different shots.

[@728GT]

Yep

[@Povfill]

Same thought, it's two differents scenes. But the first one looks so real it's mindblowing to say this is CGI. Very impressive!

[@omniscribblr]

Wasn't it a longer shot with jake tying his hand to the reins? I might be wrong cause it's been a week since i watched.

[@jjclaxton1652]

@@omniscribblr yes it was a longer shot. Two shots I believe

[@mastercheif999]

Yeah, having seen it yesterday:They are two separate shots that are both in the final movie