There's no doubt in my mind that CGI will always feel like an ugly cousin of practical effects and make-up to me. When they're good, their great and impossible to detect (American Werewolf in London's transformation scene). When their bad, they're great fun and have a lot of personality (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2's head chopping scene).
In his commentary for the Fly, David Cronenberg said that the advantage of practical effects is that they have a physical presence and they exist in the same space as the actors. James Gunn said in an interview that practical effects are great because even when they don't look real, they're an actual work of art.
This thread will be an ongoing tribute to Practical effects throughout the ages.
Since it's the scene that inspired this thread, I'll start off with the transformation scene from American Werewolf in London. This scene is a masterpiece of editing and framing, not to mention the propwork and make-up effects. AND SOUND. The cut that does it for me is his hand stretching and extending, with that sickening bone crunching sound effect, then it cuts to a medium shot behind him with the same sound effect. But if you look carefully, the hand isn't growing anymore. But because the stretching was so slow, and because the subject (David twisting and writhing in agony) is so interesting, and because the shot is rather quick, you never notice that it's not stretching. And THAT cements the shot before it as reality.
Just an amazing sequence.
In his commentary for the Fly, David Cronenberg said that the advantage of practical effects is that they have a physical presence and they exist in the same space as the actors. James Gunn said in an interview that practical effects are great because even when they don't look real, they're an actual work of art.
This thread will be an ongoing tribute to Practical effects throughout the ages.
Since it's the scene that inspired this thread, I'll start off with the transformation scene from American Werewolf in London. This scene is a masterpiece of editing and framing, not to mention the propwork and make-up effects. AND SOUND. The cut that does it for me is his hand stretching and extending, with that sickening bone crunching sound effect, then it cuts to a medium shot behind him with the same sound effect. But if you look carefully, the hand isn't growing anymore. But because the stretching was so slow, and because the subject (David twisting and writhing in agony) is so interesting, and because the shot is rather quick, you never notice that it's not stretching. And THAT cements the shot before it as reality.
Just an amazing sequence.
