Post #8: Jurassic Park
The 1993 film Jurassic Park is unquestionably a landmark in film-making. The film represents the first time that convincingly realistic computer animation was used in a feature film.
CGI had been in use in feature films for more than 10 years by the time Jurassic Park was released. But, while movies like Tron (1982) used the backdrop of a computer world to explain their blocky computer imagery and The Last Starfighter (1984) confined its usage to inorganic space craft, Jurassic Park sought to bring organic creatures to life in a way that had never been done before. Jurassic Park showed movie-going audiences computer-generated creatures that were, for the first time, absolutely convincing. In the same way that the environments of Avatar (2009) has convinced some that CG can convincingly replace traditional sets, the same can be said for animatronics and the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park.
A “making of” Jurassic Park video.
The most amazing part is that the CGI hold up extremely well even today. Perhaps that opinion would dampen somewhat if I ever saw a version of the film in high definition, but watching Jurassic Park on VHS or even DVD reveals none of the telltale signs of early CG: there are no discernible “black lines” nor is there any noticeable aliasing (jagged lines) surrounding the creatures. They also lack the shiny “plastic” look that so many early attempts at CGI suffered from (or embraced, in the case of Toy Story (1995)). Going back to watch this movie is remarkably similar in quality to much more recent effects pictures, and that is truly an impressive feat.
March 23, 2010 at 6:20 am
Nice post! You are right in saying that Jurassic Park really did bring the computer animated dinosaurs to life very realistically. It really did look as though the actors were being filmed alongside species that have been extinct for quite some time. The authenticity of the dinosaurs really helped to intensify emotions of the viewer; especially those of fear and anticipation.
Once again Steven Spielberg amazes us!