Moving image production has always been lead by the audience’s demand for new sensation. Discuss

Moving image production has always been lead by the audience’s demand for new sensation. Discuss

The demand for new technologies, in my opinion, is increasing. Modern directors are under the pressure of making their film unique and outstanding. More and more films are using CGI, as producers and investors feel that audience crave a new sensation. CGI makes a film more exciting to watch and makes the whole experience more real to the audience, however some people may disagree on the fact that CGI is what makes a film. I have looked at three films- two high budget, that have used CGI and one low budget that hasn’t used CGI. I have researched audience’s reviews to discover what people really feel about CGI.

Throughout the years technologies have become more and more developed. For example when the first colour film was released audiences went mad, they thought it was the most amazing thing they had ever seen: 'Colour movies were expensive and difficult to produce, and so displaced black-and-white films far more slowly than "talkies" had replaced silent films. By 1954, just half of all films were being made in color'. However, now-a-days audiences are stunned by 3D films (such as the new film Avatar). Audiences have a constant demand for a new sensation, so directors are pressured to create something outstanding and different.

The first film I have researched: Avatar. This film has amazing CGI and is an experience in itself. The fact it is in 3D makes it a real experience to audiences.When Avatar was advertised, the fact it was a 3D film and that it was directed by James Cameron was highlighted a lot: ‘An early review of selected footage from James Cameron's space opera…’ ‘Avatar, James Cameron's 3D spectacular…’ This shows that the marketing was planned to emphasise the director and the special effects used in the film- they clearly thought that this would attract audiences. Although marketers thought that this would be the main attraction, a lot of audiences wanted to see the film because of its genre and fantastic narrative: ‘compelling narrative’ (http://www.allaboutmovies.net/filmreviewavatar.htm). The audience will be aware that the film is going to be mainstream and high budget, as James Cameron previously directed such a high budget film (Titanic). The one specific aspect of Avatar that made it such a talked about film was the CGI: ‘What is new in Avatar is the degree to which it uses CGI artifice: this is about as far in the direction of animation as cinema can go while still retaining any claim to human presence’ (quoted by James Cameron www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk) ‘Visually, the motion capture is seamless; the clarity of the 3D is remarkable, and it's all undeniably dazzling.’ Audiences had never seen CGI like it, which makes it a new and exciting ‘must see’! The narrative of Avatar is so surreal that the 3D is needed to make audiences feel part of it and make the narrative seem more believable. The narrative, however, is less surreal than some thriller or horror films. A lot of audiences went to see this film and loved it because it’s so new and fresh- and narrative that has never been used before. The characters were made with real actors performances captured on a visual counterpart, this made the film an experience for viewers and added to the excitement of the film.



Although CGI is a big attraction to audiences, it’s not everything in a film. For example the film ‘Bruno’ was an extremely popular film and was made on a low budget and used no CGI. It got amazing reviews: ‘This film is howlingly funny, staggeringly rude, brutally incorrect and very often just brilliant’. However, it also received bad reviews, this was due to how extreme and risky certain areas of the film were (it wasn’t due to the fact it didn’t contain CGI and wasn’t made on a big budget). Some viewers found it too brutally honest; for some audiences this was the main attraction of the film. Another aspect of the film that made it so brilliant, was the actor Sacha Baron Cohen, who is well know from ‘Ali G In Da House’. If there’s a well known actor in a film, all their fans will follow which consequently makes the audiences much bigger. This may be the reason for Bruno being so successful. Or the fact that audiences loved seeing a film that was so brutal and honest, no films have been this risky before.



Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was voted number 1 Blockbuster of 2009. This film contained a lot of CGI and was a very high budget film. However, by looking at reviews of the film it’s clear that the reason for the film being such a success was due to the brilliant narrative: ‘It's about friendship, hope, first love, evil, and magic -- and it's all wrapped into a fantastical epic narrative’. The books of Harry Potter were released before the films and were also proven to be a great success, these backs up the fact that the film isn’t just popular because of the CGI. However, a lot of reviews suggest that people just went to see the film because the special effects are so breathtaking: ‘Thanks to fantastic CGI work, Harry’s world has never looked more fantastic!’ In my opinion, the main attraction of Harry Potter is the fact that it has such an amazing narrative. When the books were first released people went mad for them- which make it clear that CGI is not the reason for Harry Potter’s great reviews!

All three of the films I have researched were in the top 10 blockbusters of 2009 and therefore extremely successful films in all such different ways. I used Bruno to show that a film can be a top 10 blockbuster without using CGI. It’s clear that each film has a certain aspect that attracts audiences. However, I think one element that is crucial in every one of these films is the narrative, without that a film would be nothing.

Overall I think directors feel that CGI is a great aspect of a film, but the key part of a film is the narrative. Without a good narrative a film is nothing. CGI can make a film look good and seem to be ‘breathtaking’ but to sit through a film with a bad narrative would be unbearable. In my opinion, independent films can be just as good as mainstream films, for example the film Paranormal Activity was an amazing film and kept me on the edge of my seat. Paranormal Activity is an independent film and was made on a very small budget by students. I think the fact that it was such a huge success will teach a lot of directors now-a-days that CGI and money isn’t everything in a film.