Shooting time was rarely so absurd and crazy. "Most of the time a bunch of production assistants were running around with sign-boards so we knew exactly where Godzilla would place his massive foot and where he would sit", recollects Hank Azaria who played the part of the dauntless cameraman.
In the film Godzilla, what we saw 90 percent of the time was a larger-than-life computer-generated lizard, which was otherwise a miniature model.
On an average, American studios today invest US$53 million in the production of a film. Around one-third of it goes towards VFX (Visual special effects). The art lies in perfectly integrating these special effects so as to leave the spectator wondering about what he saw.
Marc Weigert, who set up a company called Dreamscape Imagery in 1995 in Hollywood, says "...as a VFX supervisor, it is important to be aware of all the possibilities available to a scene". Independence Day was his first project where he was in charge of the VFX management for the director Roland Emmerich. Weigert and his team developed a logistics program for VFX. This was also used for productions like Alien, Volcano and Godzilla.
"The optical bank in the copying workshop has been constantly replenished with digital processing for the last ten years", explains Weigert. "Even pyro-technicians responsible for explosions and fire on the sets have to keep up with the competition from digital effects."
The best example for the highly competitive computer artist was the comic film Spawn. The story was based on the agents from Hell, and abounded with fire, breathtaking morphing, expensive digital effects, animatronics and digitally composed, futuristic backgrounds. CGI (Computer Generated Imaging) pioneer Steve Williams made the hero wear a costume that stuck to his body like a second skin. His computer-generated armour consisted of trillions of nerve contacts that converted his thoughts immediately into action.
wow - this is the FIRST and most comprehensive article i have read on special effects. you have a very good team of writers and congratulations!! looking forward to more articles from bertram and berndt