CGI Monster vs. Practical Effects

[DeJager]

Hey all!

Okay so the feature I'm producing has a few scenes with an alien creature species we developed, but we don't know the best way to present the creature in the movie.

Do we find somebody that could CGI the creature? The creatures are only in a few scenes and at night so they will never really be shown all that much.

OR

Do we go practical and use latex/makeup/wardrobe to achieve the creatures?




Lastly, if we go with CGI, can we use green screen or blue body suits with motion balls attached or would this be too impossible to do on a smaller budget? Or would it be best to shoot the scene with only the actors and place the digital creatures in post?

Thanks a lot for the help in advance. I'm not sure what to do!

 

[Nate North]

Hey all!

Okay so the feature I'm producing has a few scenes with an alien creature species we developed, but we don't know the best way to present the creature in the movie.

Do we find somebody that could CGI the creature? The creatures are only in a few scenes and at night so they will never really be shown all that much.

OR

Do we go practical and use latex/makeup/wardrobe to achieve the creatures?

Thanks a lot for the help in advance. I'm not sure what to do!

If the creatures are in the dark, then I would use real props or suits when possible. CGI is tough to make look convincing, and there are a lot of steps to getting it to blend in right. If the camera catches a prop in the shadows just right, it can be much scarier than a CGI monster that is more meancing, but less real.

 

[DeJager]

Thanks for the advice!

CGI is not my specialty, and I don't want those scenes to ruin the movie! It's a tough situation since I want to go practical as much as possible.

 

[Zensteve]

Forum-member ScoopicMan made a very legit lo-budget monster for his Exile flick.

I think he even posted a thread on how they made it. Mainly a just prop monster, but enhanced for the one big in-your-face entire beast shot with a touch of AEFX to add a little something.

But yeah, his monster was mostly in dark or fog with not many direct shots at all.

Maybe see if his thread is still about.

 

[mad_hatter]

Personally, I’d go practical. Anytime it’s possible, go practical. Of course, this is my personal preference, but I’d much rather see a crappy (but not too crappy) practical prop, or a man in a suit, than a flawless CGI model. The creatures in “Alien” and “Aliens” are way better than those in the more recent Alien films.

Again, that’s only my personal preference. What would you prefer to watch?

 

[Chicken Joe]

Personally, I’d go practical. Anytime it’s possible, go practical.

I totally agree
Last weekend, there were some of those cheap monster movies by "The Asylum" ("Giant octopus vs. crocosaurus" etc.). All those CGI creatures looked ridiculous, I would rather see a "real" monster made by a passionate indie filmer.
If you only use digital effects, you will hit your head against the wall during post production, because it doesn't work the way you want.
Working with props, masks, costumes you can arrange camera and light on set for the best result.

 

[DeJager]

Forum-member ScoopicMan made a very legit lo-budget monster for his Exile flick.

I think he even posted a thread on how they made it. Mainly a just prop monster, but enhanced for the one big in-your-face entire beast shot with a touch of AEFX to add a little something.

But yeah, his monster was mostly in dark or fog with not many direct shots at all.

Maybe see if his thread is still about.

Thank you! I will look for it right now.

mad_hatter - I agree with you there! I'm a big fan of practical effects rather than CGI, especially when it comes to blood splatter / gore.

 

[JakeSully]

I would go with both.
Just like the ironman suit, a good monster can be CGI'd for wide shots, or stunts, and a puppet, suit, or someting can be used for close ups, or where CGI work would be difficult (variable lighting, reflections...)

 

[Anim8]

Big CGI shots like creatures, etc usually doesnt work well on low budget flicks. You need to have the cash to do it right. The guys that work for free or super cheap dont have the experience to light and render anything seamless.
Most of my work is CG/VFX work and I'll still try and steer people away from creature shots on low budget stuff. All the SYFY channel stuff is horrible and its on purpose to an extent.

You would be better off with a less is more approach if youre going for a scare. Thats why Jaws and Alien were so terrifying.... you never say the monster.

 

[Jooble]

Hey I specialise in VFX and would suggest both... practical then enhance the costume/prop with VFX where/if needed. Using latex/makeup etc like you suggest can look static and poor if its clearly a guy in a suit. VFX could aid selling the costume approach by hiding more, displacing the costume, making it look more organic.. there is tons that can be done after to sell it.

 

[Tinalera]

I too feel that use a suit/practical when you can, particularly for closeups ect (or scenes as has been suggested where it's dark).

Though it's 90's, for me Jurassic Park is an excellent example (though high budget) of a nice combination of CGI and animtronics that flowed together pretty seemlessly-watching it recently it still holds up rather well.

But, as has been said, depends on the budget you have

 

[Scoopicman]

Hey I specialise in VFX and would suggest both... practical then enhance the costume/prop with VFX where/if needed.

I agree with this approach. We did this with the monster in EXILE and people were surprised how it came to life, when the eyes started blinking and cheeks moving. You can see it at the 1:36 mark in the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv5MkHWEK4c

 

[DeJager]

Hey I specialise in VFX and would suggest both... practical then enhance the costume/prop with VFX where/if needed. Using latex/makeup etc like you suggest can look static and poor if its clearly a guy in a suit. VFX could aid selling the costume approach by hiding more, displacing the costume, making it look more organic.. there is tons that can be done after to sell it.

Thanks so much for all the advice! It has been very very helpful. I believe we're going to go practical and then enhance in AE once we get to post. I'll keep you all updated!!

 

[DeJager]

Another question!

So I have a lady doing the costume design now for the creatures. Each one is going to be attached to morph suits to keep the creatures slender and agile.

Would you go with Blue/Green suits or would you go with black?

In the end, the creatures will be mainly black with scales (something like the ones from The Decent) but I figured green/blue morph suits would allow for easier editing... maybe i'm wrong!

 

[Anim8]

Black... If you do blue or green you would be doing it to key them out and/or to add some CG over them. Keep it simple... black.. Look at the aliens in ALIENS. Spandex suits with foam pieces....

 

[harmonica44]

I'm not scared by CGI creatures at all. In Paranormal Activity I would not have been near as scared if the demon were a CGI effect. However that doesn't mean CGI is bad, and a lot of it is very good. So do the aliens need to jump real high or move too fast, for someone in a costume then?