SPECULATION The Evolution of Practical effects

Indeed great clip.

 

Ah, the old practical vs. Digital argument.

Here's a few things to understand.

Let me get the Walking Dead out of the way first. It's done by The Dave School...they have damn near refined their actual physical effects, but their cgi is um...well...it leaves a lot to be desired.

Here's what you need to remember. The PT DID have a massive amount of practical effects and miniatures. Problem? The CGI was groundbreaking but not refined (obviously), so despite the many miniatures etc, the accompanying cgi made it seem very fake. Case in point? Mustafar. They built that whole damn River of lava, but once the cgi add-ons were applied, it became over-saturated.

That's one of the major areas that CGI has made massive improvements in the last decade.

I noticed that everyone thought that images from the teaser were obviously digital, except we've since learned that BB8 is at least mostly practical. We've also heard that the falcon and x-wings were actually models. Why didn't they look that way? Because they layered over some cgi goodness.

The PT failed in its rendering, which is why it looks dated. I don't think we will have that same problem with TFA.

Perfect example: the new Planet of the Apes. Those apes looked much more "realistic" than in the original films. Why? Because even though the original used practical suits and make-up, you still knew they were obviously fake.

So, that said, curb your expectations a little for this dream of TFA somehow looking just like the OT.

 

I think we are going to get a mix of both worlds! The best of the prequels and the best of the OT. They're gonna enhance the old school with just a few touches of the new school. It won't be prequel style CGI overkill, but it will use it where necessary. I imagine the action sequences will be as big and as loud as possible, and if CGI helps with the scope, then you use it.

I expect they will use what was established in both trilogies and update it where needed, so there will be a flavor that is consistent with all 6 other films, not just the OT. But I fully expect something slightly closer to the OT than the prequels were.