8 CGI moments you didn’t know were CGI

CGI effects are so ubiquitous in film and TV these days that we think nothing of it. In fact, we expect any summer blockbuster worth its salt to be chocka with them, to the point where they’ve lost most of their impact. But there’s another category of CG which is worthy of far more admiration and which has become the holy grail of VFX houses: an effect which is integrated so seamlessly and which is so unobtrusive, you don’t even know it’s there. These often crop up in the most unexpected of places, and the highest compliment they can be paid is “Wow, that wasn’t REAL?” Here’s a smattering of some of the best recent (and not so recent) examples.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics

Here was a prime case of literally billions of people being fooled by CG. Perhaps with good reason, there was a small outrage when it was revealed that some elements of the opening ceremony – firework displays in particular – weren’t entirely live action, but incorporated a ridiculous amount of work from Crystal CG. Is this sort of fakery justified for “live” events? And who cares when it looks this good?

Zodiac (2007)

David Fincher’s 2007 film about the infamous 1970s serial killer isn’t an obvious candidate for excellent CGI… but then that’s kind of the point. Fincher, always a keen proponent of the medium, incorporated CG in several lengthy scenes where practical effects would be impossible or impractical. Most notable is the stunning opening swoop over San Francisco bay, created by Matte World Digital, as well as an aerial shot of a cab driving through the streets, both of which are virtually impossible to detect as being “fake”.

Fight Club (1999)

Another Fincher production, another sterling use of unobtrusive CG for the sake of story rather than the gee-whizz factor. Aside from the obvious opening shot (travelling through a brain), sequences such as an ultra-fast vertical pan through a car park, a zoom into a wastebin, and even the figure of Helena Bonham-Carter in a sex scene are all CGI. Easier to spot now, of course, but at the time you would never have known.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Okay, the last film from Fincher, we promise. The marvellous thing about Digital Domain’s humungous amount of work for BB is that while you as a viewer KNOW there must be CG involved somewhere along the line – it would be simply impossible for there not to be – the animated head effects and indeed other shots are blissfully seamless.

The Dark Knight (2007)

Another example of a film where there just had to be effects – but spotting them is damn difficult. Director Christopher Nolan is a sort of anti-Fincher, preferring to do everything in camera if at all possible, so Double Negative’s work had to be stellar. During the armoured car chase scene in particular, the transition from practical effects to digital and back again is textbook stuff.

Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)

But it’s stop-motion! Isn’t it? Well yes, most of it is, but here’s an interesting case of a few CG shots that needed to look both realistic and unrealistic at the same time. The Moving Picture Company created a shot of around 50 rabbits floating about in a vacuum, as well as various smoke, firework, fur and touching-up effects. So the next time someone bangs on at you about how much “better” traditional animation is, gently apprise them…

Children of Men (2006)

There’s one obvious moment in this gritty near-future masterpiece where the use of CG seems like a given: the seemingly single-take shot near the end. Actually, though, that was more a case of cutting and splicing. The real CG genius comes with the car scene and accident, which incorporates many virtual elements, including the Molotov cocktail, car roof, motorbike and its driver.

Jurassic Park (1993)

We’re including this one mainly for curiosity value – and to demonstrate how today’s apparently seamless CG effects might look unredeemably fake and cheesy in a few years. It’s hard to remember now that when Jurassic Park first appeared, its use of integrated effects was unparalleled – and not just for obvious elements such as the dinosaurs, which after all could have been miniatures. Watch it now, though, and you’ll be wondering what all the fuss was about…