Talk:Computer-generated imagery

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Contents 1 What belongs here? 2 A good CGI weblog 3 This is mostly the history of CGI - need 'how its done' 4 Hierarchy needed? - the 'Root page' suggestion 5 Digital effects versus analoge effects 6 Vandalism 7 CG 7.1 CG vs CGI 8 Criticisms 9 Motion graphics 10 Free? 11 Spoilers 12 External links 13 Only movies?

[edit] What belongs here?

Strictly speaking, CGI is the film technique. The beauty pageant is confusing because it is for video game characters, and the intro specifically mentions that CGI doesn't usually refer to video game characters. The part about web commerce avatars is unrelated as well since that is a real-time computer graphics application. I removed these sections. – flamurai^TM 21:38, Jan 26, 2005 (UTC)

I think the distinction between CGI and Computer animation is slight. It can't really be called a film technique because of its major application, as listed here, to pure animation, and whether this is for film or video is only a matter of detail and the resolution used for rendering. HDTV is blurring the separation of 'film' and video, with movies about to be shot and delivered digitally, with no 'film' ever involved, not even Videotape. The resolution used for Toy Story was, surprisingly, lower than HDTV. If there is a distiction, CGI is probably just a matter of 'hi end' (3D Hi-Res) as opposes to 'lo end' (2D) animations --Lindosland 18:12, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

We must be careful to preserve the 'hierarchy', which is a problem arising in many Wikipedia pages. CGI is a class of computer animation, which is a form of animation. Games take the concept to real time, and Avatars perhaps even further. Some unnecessary repetition is occuring here. I have suggested the concept of 'Root pages' to get round this. I would call 'animation' the root page, and then list this first in the list of see also, on all associated pages. -Lindosland 18:18, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

I do not totally agree on the hierarchy nature of CGI as a class of animation, I mean, CGI could be a class of many other things (e.g. it could be son of Computer Graphics, Visual Effects and so on...). The top of page backlink seems to me out of place. I would like to remove the top one and leave just the back link in the 'see also' section. ALoopingIcon 23:31, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] A good CGI weblog

Is there a good weblog that covers the latest developments in CGI, e.g. new movie releases, software, etc.?--Eloquence* 22:58, July 28, 2005 (UTC)

"The first real CGI character was created by Pixar for the film Young Sherlock Holmes in 1985 (not counting the simple polyhedron character Bit in Tron)."

Wasn't the MCP in tron also conputer animated? Or was that simply hand-drawn animation appearing to be computer animation? If so, it certainly counts even if Bit doesn't.

Also there is a movement to refer to CGI as CG instead, as CGI is more commonly (in technology) used to refer to Common Gateway Interface, the protocol to submit web forms.

Dodger 18:52, 17 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] This is mostly the history of CGI - need 'how its done'

This is mostly a history of CGI, but gives little clue as to how it's done. While I know something of this, I'd like to know how characters are moved realistically, how many variables are involved, is it done by entering numbers, or by dragging opbjects, or by people wearing lights that are tracked, as I've seen demonstrated? Can someone write a section headed, "how it's done"? The modelling page is mostly about rendering, and does not answer the question.--86.135.122.101 11:58, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Hierarchy needed? - the 'Root page' suggestion

This is only one of many good articles on aspects of Animation, all of which tend to be suffering from omissions and duplications, as well as misconceptions over what constitutes CGI for example, as opposed to, computer animation, and whether CGI is a 'film technique'.

I've solved a similar dilemma on other topics by introducing the concept of a 'Root page', in this case Animation, and a hierarchy. I suggest that CGI is computer animation, is animation. If anything, CGI is 'hi-end' computer animation, meaning probably hi-res 3D rather than 2D, but the distinction is disappearing. CGI cannot be a 'film technique' as fully animatied 'movies' like Toy Story are now about to be delivered to cinemas digitally without ever seeing 'film' even as 'videotape'. Avatars and games come 'highest' in the hierarchy, as they involve real-time CGI.

The newcomer to CGI, or to Computer animation, may need to have animation explained, hence the need for hierarchy, with the 'Root page' listed at the top of 'see also' and described as such. The Root page should list all key associated pages in the hierarchy first. --Lindosland 18:35, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Digital effects versus analoge effects

I was just wondering. Can a digital computer today do everything an analoge tool can, or can analoge effects still do some things better than digital? Like Lear Siegler Video Synthesizer and some of the other stuff they used in movies such as The Andromesa Strain (1971)? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 193.217.136.92 (talk) 17 January 2006.

[edit] Vandalism

This page has been vandalised but for some reason I can not do a rollback like on the Afrikaans wikipedia. --Renier Maritz 13:46, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] CG

Computer-generated imagery is often referred to simply as CG (though this is a less specific term). The initialization CGI also has different meanings, which could be confusing. Maybe these should be mentioned here? WurdBendur 05:54, 18 March 2006 (UTC)

I concur! I hate the term CGI when referring to graphics.

Second that! This article is WRONG. CGI can only refer to imagery entierly generated by computers. ALL artists in the field of Computer Graphics dispise this use, as it suggests that the computers is taking an active part in the design work. The computer is just a tool, the artist is the creator. Therefor, all visual effects we see in movies should ONLY be refered to as CG. If you are refering to graphs, waveforms, patterns and other imagery solely created by computational rules, then that's by all means computer generated imagergy, CGI. Any other use of the term is simply degrading to artists! You will not find anyone working in the business of post production or digital animation refer to thir work as CGI. So, I demand a complete re-write of this article as it doesn't match reality! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.226.159.128 (talk) 10:52, 14 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] CG vs CGI

At the very beginning, the term CG was used for Computer Graphics, and CGI was used for Common Gateway Interface. I wonder that people mistakenly used CGI instead of CG for Computer Graphics and then invented the term "Computer Generated Imagery" to justify this mistake.

I hate the term CGI refferring to CG as well  :( 61.231.211.106 12:09, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Criticisms

Someone needs to address some peoples criticism of CGI. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Metnever (talk • contribs) 16 April 2006.

Yes, I agree (although I think the criticisms are silly). Scorpionman 01:14, 1 May 2006 (UTC)s

Silly? Yeah. CGI is only killing cinema with its idiotic appeal to the eye. Goodbye good plots! Now we have beautiful digitalized images and cute human robots! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 201.19.155.79 (talk) 05:18, 12 March 2007 (UTC).

Not to mention that this computer stuff looks awfully stupid, the puppets certainly would suffice.

I'm actually getting pretty tired of seeing every main-stream animated movie in CGI. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.96.200.103 (talk) 5 August 2006.

CGI took the best thing about going to the movies out...the grittiness. Now all films look slick and more cartoony...Thats right I said it....CGI doesn't make things look realistic...It makes them look like slick, boring, cartoons. DEATH TO CGI! BRING BACK OTHER WAYS OF FILM MAKING!

[edit] Motion graphics

Is Motion graphics a synonym of CGI? I thought a merge to this might be OK. thoughts? --Clubmarx 03:58, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Free?

How is Maya free? --Chewxy

• I think whoever wrote that is thinking of Maya Personal Learning Edition. However, I think that the section in the article is a permanently incomplete list stuck in the middle of an otherwise useful article. I'm about to remove it in a minute or two. Ayavaron 21:02, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Spoilers

I just turned to this article and had a movie — the second Pirates of the Caribbean — spoiled for me with the picture that some clever person put up. Thank you! Not everybody in the world sees every movie right away. Wouldn't it have been possible to show a picture from an older movie? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.182.34.229 (talk) 19 September 2006.

That sounds rather selfish of you; you know, some people still have not seen citizen kane but would that make it acceptable to tell everyone what rosebud means? Some people actually go back to watch movies back in a time when cinema was good, not with your johnny depps and shitty pirate movies.

[edit] External links

I cleaned up the external links section, but was reverted by an IP address with no comment. I would be interested to hear how those links meet our guidelines, or otherwise make this a better encyclopedia article. They appear to mainly be a directory of studios who do CGI. I'd like to remove them again - any objections? -- SiobhanHansa 13:11, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Only movies?

I notice it is only movies where computer-generated imagery has been used that is mentioned in the history section. Why not also include shorts and early technologu and experimentation, like the The Kitte, which was an example of Russian computer animation from 1967? 84.48.35.203 (talk) 13:31, 15 April 2008 (UTC)