Has the CGI quality gone down hill?

Discussion in 'Transformers Movie Discussion' started by electronic456, Jun 23, 2017.

  1. electronic456

    electronic456 Well-Known Member

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    One of the consistent highlights of the franchise were the special effects. However with AOE and TLK, something didn't click with me. I look at the robots in the first movie and the rendering of the metal compartments looks almost practical like real metal. Not just the rendering, the lighting and reflection of the metal was there. DOTM reached top-quality and then something happened....

    [​IMG]
    Back in 2007, this shot felt really impressive right down to the sunlight and the chest panels. Keep in mind this is 2007!

    AOE happened. Some of the CGI looked fine like Optimus as rusty truck but oh my god... Is it the cinematography or did the artists get a little lazy? Or perhaps the biggest problem is how much bigger the movies try to go with spectacle leaving little time to polish the effects even further.

    [​IMG]

    From scenes like this for example....[​IMG]

    I just wonder what has happened. And yes this is not helped with the pixel-forming.

    Now to be fair, TLK showed some form of improvement. I think with the attention to how more of the robots transforms were the best examples. But it still doesn't immerse me enough even in 3D.

    Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Or has there been something lacking lately? I don't even know if TLK will get a nomination for VFX at the Academy Awards or something. Something is off which caused to me to make this thread. If Transformers loses this aspect then that would severely affect the quality.

    If the Bumblebee movie happens, I pray that the CGI will be better. In fact, that movie is small-scaled so it shouldn't be too hard.
     
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  2. Music

    Music Primetimus Prime

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    I believe it's Optimus' new design that doesn't blend in with the environment. The Cybertron scenes and the underwater scenes all looked pretty good, but Optimus was the constant outlier in terms of photorealism.
     
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  3. User_136440

    User_136440 Well-Known Member

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    It was worse in AOE, especially in the final battle.
     
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  4. Red Goblin

    Red Goblin Veteran

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    Inexperienced vfx designers and budget cuts.
     
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  5. Shadow25

    Shadow25 Well-Known Member

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    I also think in the earlier movies - especially the first - they knew they really had to had perfect visuals to sell the concept and realism. Most scenes of Transformers were purposefully shot in areas with lots of reflective lights, be they natural or artificial. Every single shot of a robot had special attention paid to every reflective surface for maximum realism.

    Now that the designs are even more detailed and the robots have more and more screentime, and the concept has been sold, it seems like there's less attention paid to this aspect. Parts of that AOE screenshot of Prime look shiny as they're in the sun, but kind of just... generically so and not indicative of a specific direction. It just doesn't feel as integrated into the world, even if it is more detailed.
     
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  6. tonyformer

    tonyformer Well-Known Member

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    I think what it is, is that when they were set on all TF showing a lot of vehicle parts and things like OPs windshield chest and stuff that would have reflections and so on, they wanted those vehicle parts to fit more with the surroundings to keep with the realism of these TFs being objects we relate to. But once they went to these more streamlined human shapped figures and hid all the parts, they just became more of a full CGI piece that they had to fit into a real set. But like others have said, when these same TFs are set into a full CGI scene likeon Cybertron or in a ship, they fit better as they can make the CG all blend better.

    Also as Red pointed out. Just not the same people and many of these designers are younger and my as experienced probably.
     
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  7. tonyformer

    tonyformer Well-Known Member

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    I still like the movie 1-3 OP body better but take his AOE-TLK head and stick it on the old body and IMO we would have a fricking great looking OP.
     
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  8. Ash from Carolina

    Ash from Carolina Junior Smeghead

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    I wonder if penny pinching is starting to be a trend across the industry. Some of the effects in Wonder Woman just didn't seem on par with what you expect out of the big movies. It almost seems like a common thing now to find some highly polished effects in one part of a movie only for other effects to feel rather rushed and unpolished. Maybe my eyes are just faulty but it felt like Alien Covenant jumped around on the quality scale.
     
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  9. Boneless Pizza

    Boneless Pizza Well-Known Member

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    The Matrix, for example, has better CGI than some movies now-a-days and that's sad honestly. In 1999, they didn't had technology as most filmmakers now do.
     
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  10. Livingdeaddan

    Livingdeaddan DEFIANTLILHORDE

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    amen!
     
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  11. NoleScream

    NoleScream The Anti-Troll

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  12. BarricadeLives

    BarricadeLives i'm you! i'm your shadow!

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    the quality in cgi has gone down everywhere across the board in all movies...everything looks so damn cartoony now
     
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  13. tonyformer

    tonyformer Well-Known Member

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    Agreed
     
  14. Ephland

    Ephland Let's Go Rangers

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    There were a few moments were Cogman didn't blend in seamlessly (the sub scenes, for example).
     
  15. BarricadeLives

    BarricadeLives i'm you! i'm your shadow!

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    agree, say what you want about the first 3 films but the cgi is jaw-dropping at times, especially in dotm..my god is that film gorgeous
     
  16. no fate

    no fate Seize the thrown...

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    I noticed that they started making sure that all bots had fewer shiny surfaces on them which saves money on rendering, but also keeps them from blending into their surroundings with more realism. In essence they decided to trade quality for quantity as the movies went on. More bots, less realism.
     
  17. MeekMeekMeek

    MeekMeekMeek Member

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    I have a similar opinion, although I am unsure of the cause. It may be due to art style changes to the bots themselves where as others have pointed out, they don't blend in as well. Another attributing factor may be the fact that some bots like Optimus no longer have any vehicle kibble (smokestacks for OP are what remain) which is a shame in my opinion. Even if the new designs are sleeker, they don't make much practical sense compared to the first 3 movies.

    Another factor may just be that the VFX was handed to ILM Singapore for the most part. I don't have a source but I recall it being mentioned somewhere.
     
  18. imranbecks

    imranbecks Well-Known Member

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    CGI was definitely not as good as the earlier movies. And I don't think there was even a scene where we saw Prime transform. All of a sudden we see him in truck mode..
     
  19. daniel 97

    daniel 97 Autobots' second in command

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    When I watched the first movie a while ago I actually thought Megatron's dead body was a prop...that's how good the CGI was and in TLK it is trash.
     
  20. PaxStarkist

    PaxStarkist BAY-TALITY

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    I wanted point out the irony in someone saying the CGI is a little "cartoony" (considering it's based on a cartoon), but I get the point. after the 1st one and especially after the 1st trilogy, it's like they stopped caring about "This is what Transformers would look like in real life"