Computer generated imagery (CG) has advanced significantly over recent decades. Early CG sounded synthetic but now most music incorporates digital elements while sounding organic. Similarly, CG techniques that were previously unusable can now be applied due to faster computing. While major studios drive innovation through blockbuster films, techniques also transfer between movies, games, TV and ads due to shared development platforms and artists. As the industry matures, more realistic virtual characters and complex simulations of phenomena like hair and liquids are achievable through increased collaboration between technical and creative professionals.

1. 46
“CG is a bit like synthesisers in music,”
says Quentin Miles, animation director
at Cinesite Europe. “When they first
came out, you ended up with loads of
really-in-your-face electronic music.
Today, a lot of what you listen to sounds
completely organic and live, although, in
fact, most of it has been created on
samplers and synths.” This draws a
useful parallel between industries
transformed by the incredible advance in
computer technology over recent
decades. In CG, faster computer speeds
have opened up unusable techniques
computer generated
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2. 47
conceived of years ago; renders that
would have taken days just for one
frame have now been reduced to hours.
As these techniques are put through
their paces, new areas of discovery have
opened out, driving advances even
faster. “We are learning new things and
genuinely new ideas are coming along,”
explains Andy Lomas, head of computer
graphics at Framestore CFC.
Though most CG-based companies do
have research departments, what
ultimately drives innovation is the
clients. The time and expense of R&D
makes this a necessity. In the features
world, the studios set the pace,
searching out material that can feed the
next effects extravaganza within realistic
financial constraints. Commercials work
in much the same way because they are
able to benefit directly from feature-film
development, which, due to the superior
budgets and the relative lack of time
constraints, often leads the line.
Sell-through of solutions created
during features are now becoming a
good source of revenue, directly
justifying an R&D spend. Massive, the
crowd-generating program developed
for Lord of the Rings, is perhaps one of
the best known. The software is now
widely used throughout the film and
commercials industry, in Sony
PlayStation’s Mountain, for example.
“It’s a very good argument for having
commercials, TV, film and whatever else
within the same company because they
can cross over. R&D in one can lead to
useful techniques that can then be
employed in another area,” Miles
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3. 48
notes. Not only can this generate
revenue for the company, but it can also
save on buying in expensive externally
developed software.
Feature films have long been seen as the
flagship of CG work. It is, however, widely
felt that computer games are becoming a
real player in the CG arena. According to
Samuel Moss, studio assistant at Escape
Studios: “Having an involvement in both
video game and film industries, we are
interested in how much it seems they are
converging. The tools are becoming
common among both. Maya (Alias) has
always traditionally been used in the film
and television industries, but is now being
used more by game companies. The
quality of visuals on the latest gaming
hardware has come so far that the assets
required are often comparable to that of
a film. In fact, the assets used for many
film-licensed games, like King Kong, for
example, shared as much as they could
with the film.”
One of the most hotly debated areas
around CG is the creation of totally
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“The quality of visuals on the latest gaming hardware
has come so far that the assets required are often
comparable to that of a film. In fact, the assets used for
many film-licensed games, like King Kong, for example,
shared as much as they could with the film”
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4. 49
believable artificial characters. One of
the first attempted, Jar Jar Binks in Star
Wars Episode One, led many to doubt it
could ever be done convincingly. Yet only
a few years later Gollum arrived in the
Lord Of The Rings films. Gollum was the
product of a recent trend for using
motion-capture technology to generate
CG characters, a technique again used by
Peter Jackson in King Kong. But, as Miles
is quick to point out: “Huge amounts of
manual editing work still goes on with
these characters, to the point that it’s
like the old stocking: if you keep stitching
it up how much of the original is actually
left by the end? The discussion ends up
being about whether believable humans
can be achieved. It’s a bit of a pipe
dream really because it’s not about
getting the look of a human to work on
screen. What feels real isn’t just about
how something looks, it’s about the
performance. I just don’t think anyone is
going to get there in the near future.”
For Moss. this all leads into questions of
artistic talent: “The problem with
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5. 50
Jar Jar Binks wasn’t knowledge of the
software, and it certainly wasn’t the size
of the budget, it was simply artistic. It’s
almost as if the industries have grown
out of their pre-pubescence and are now
ready to be used as artist’s tools. It’s no
longer about what can be done, but how
well you do it in service of the narrative
and the director’s vision.”
Lomas, also sees the industry as having
reached an interesting point: “Working in
computer graphics over the last 10 years
has gone from being a Wild West sort of
industry, where people were almost
inventing things off the cuff, to a place
where the serious science has started
coming in. In the past, if you looked into
the maths and physics of what was being
done, you would have found people had
already gone way beyond what the
computer graphics people were trying to
do. Now it’s like the serious scientists
have started stepping in, and there’s
some really cool stuff going on. We’re
talking about a mature-industry type of
thing. All the obvious things have been
(Above) Taking a leaf: CG gets seasonal with trees
“Now it’s like the serious scientists have started
stepping in and there’s some really cool stuff going on.
We’re talking about a mature-industry type of thing. The
obvious things have all been invented but now we want
to push those things that much further”
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6. 51
invented, but now we want to push those
things that much further.”
Moss concludes: “Convincing cloth, hair,
fur and liquids are all still massive
technological challenges, but they only
exist because directors and artists want
to use them. If you want to make a
technical director sweat, tell him you
have an entirely CG character covered in
hair and fur that jumps into a swimming
pool, wearing a shirt.”
So in the years to come the CG world
looks set to plumb increasing depths of
subtlety following its noisy adolescence.
As the industry matures, more serious
science is attracted in to the top level.
Increasing computers speeds are
allowing this dense and rather esoteric
research to filter down into practical
solutions in the hands of an ever-more
skilful group of artists. “That’s something
I really like about this industry,” Lomas
concludes. “You’ve got the really top-
level craft side tying up with the top-
level academic side that makes it
really fascinating.”
(Above) Water works: how CG can make a waterfall. (Below) More monkey
business: Rexona goes ape
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