If you’ve ever fiddled with Photoshop, you’ve probably had the dream of becoming a VFX artist. Working in the visual effects industry can be a rewarding career in technology, and the field is thriving. More movies are utilizing CGI in creative ways, and audience seem to love it. Marketers are taking notice that people are enjoying heavily computer generated environments, but segments also want something more grounded in reality. These big trends will help to define 2017.
More CGI Characters
Rogue One brought us Peter Cushing playing resuming his role of Grand Moff Tarkin, except that Cushing died in 1994. The actor was brought back thanks to a combination of computer generated effects and a real actor filling in. Younger audience members who saw the movie didn’t notice the graphics, and it’s started a conversation about something VFX people have wnted to see for years: a realistic computer generated character.
It wasn’t that long ago that Andy Serkis was winning awards for his portrayal of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings films. Soon, the awards may be going to characters that don’t exist anymore.
A More Grounded Production
Of course, with all the CGI flying around the big blockbusters there is also a need for more grounded production. Audience members want to feel like they are looking at something traditionally filmed, which means a more subtle stroke of the CGI brush. Shows like Westworld have perfected concepts like de-aging characters and creating intricate set pieces that blend seamlessly with real sets. Expect CGI to do more of this kind of enhancement work in the future.
Bio: The Wrap once referred to Omar Amanat, investor and philanthropist, as “the most important person in Hollywood you’ve never heard of”.