What Makes Practical Effects So Special? | Video Essay

Accented Cinema - Episode 103
By the way, this movie came out before Terminator 2.

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[dvdw_graphics_crafts]

CGI to filmmakers is like computers to graphic designers. Back in college professors told us to treat computers like a tool, that we should still rely mostly on hand crafting and use tech to merely better or deliver the final result.

[Fanboy]

The Godzilla series (pre 2014) is another example of how fun and meaningful practical effects can be. The entire charm of those movies is believing in the fantastical yet still also very tangible reality that the effects sequences of those movies present.

[PachyPro]

I really love how much, even in just a few short clips, you can really see the unabashed passion for science fiction that the filmmakers behind I Love Maria have. They wear their influences on their sleeves, and that’s just so deeply endearing (like the references to Metropolis and Bladerunner you mentioned, but also I’m 90% sure the robot’s design was pulled heavily from the Zaku from Mobile Suit Gundam). That passion is infectious, and it’s just nice feeling like there’s lots of other people like yourself who share in your interests.

[kirisakijake]

i think thats also why kamen riders are still fun to watch even at its worst season, it all came down to a bunch of dudes fighting in horribly impractical costumes.
also personal tangent here, even the with the "worst" season in the heisei era, i still consider some of them as the peak of kamen rider seasons. Real LED strips in Faiz suits so they stand out in the dark, Ryuki survive form reveal in a room thats actually on fire, the kind of things that makes you think the suit actors better get a raise. something the more recent seasons kinda lacks.

[JovanKo]

Your comment about how difficult it is to understand CGI VFX reinforces for me how important channels like Corridor Crew are. Regrettable or not, as the ubiquity of CGI in the film industry becomes inevitable, it is up to audiences to educate themselves about the tricks of the trade; to understand at least what is difficult and what isn't, so that when CGI breakthroughs like Avatar 2 show up, we as audiences can more fully appreciate the craft that goes on behind them. Having a channel that breaks down the tricks of the trade really helped me appreciate CGI effects in movies even more, and gives me insight into the effects that didn't work as well for me.

There was a time when people DID think magic was real, and magicians refused to reveal their tricks for fear or "losing the sense of wonder". It was most likely the same with movie practical SFX too. Now we live in an age where we can appreciate magic tricks BECAUSE we see how difficult it is to pull off. I think the same needs to happen to CGI.

[EvilTedSmith]

I love this movie so much! A friend turned me on to it back it the 90s before the CGI way. Like you my mind was blow away on the level of Effects costumes and props. I've been trying to find a good copy on DVD for years.

[kbotjammer]

My dad took us to see this when I was a kid. Thanks for doing this. At the time, Tsui Hark was very creative and he introduced a lot of new ideas into the so-called "mainstream" HK cinema. Robocop was there a year before but it was considered not for family viewing. We haven't watched it until the VHS rental came. "I love Maria" was a comedy for all ages. You may find the acting a bit cartoonish and the pacing was fast but that's understandable. Back then, we applaused at big explosions and cool hero moments. We laughed when the bad guys got their asses kicked. Practical effects made the audiences' waiting and rewarding process much more enjoyable simply because the filmmakers tried their best to design those impressive moments. CGI sequences do the same but we are all so fed up with that "the larger, the better" thing.

[PutingInaKo]

I hope to chat with you one day. You have been my favorite film analysis channels since 2020.

[Barot]

In the first Jurassic Park they did use a large mechanical puppet T-Rex for many of the close shots involving it's head. It was created by the great Stan Winston and his studio.

[TheLingo]

By the end I think you pretty accurately described why I love Nolan’s VFX.

He only uses CG when he thinks there’s something that we haven’t seen before that can be done with it. Otherwise he does it practically since tactile known quantities are far more impressive when done for real.

[mwkcheng]

It's interesting how when I was young, I remember feeling uncomfortable with these unconvincing special effects in Hong Kong films, and preferred CGI. Now somehow I feel intrigued by these amazing efforts of trying to turn imaginations real when the technology was not there. There are always stories about how these practical effects were done, the struggle, the breakthrough, and how people at the end achieved the impossible with very limited budget.

[funglegunk]

"Have you ever been thrilled by a CG explosion?"

Shows that famously bad explosion from Black Widow, lol 😄That got a laugh out of me dude

[joaoaffonsodiasdesa]

Amazing point of view, SFX are really a product of a creative vision. just pointing one thing, vinyl records are actually better sound sources than digital, for it being a physical analog to sound waves, not being a series of digital "sound frames". Besides that great video as whole, i love that era of film making. keep bringing this gold to the light.

[GForce_ART]

Excellently put. The malaise and indifference the casual moviegoer feels is a direct result of filmmakers abusing techniques that don't exist in the scene with the talent. CGI is, in many ways, the safe and predictable path. The path of least resistance and the path of least risk. But, it turns out, for a visceral experience that engages the audience, it's best to embrace risk, unpredictability (like a real explosion), and capturing real moment in time.

[machinefannatic]

the other thing about vfx is that you can always tell that its vfx because of how the lighting is applied and the animations, soon as a digital character or object moves you can tell it straight away since the motion is unrealistic

[maskoolio]

Old practical effects become endearing as they get older. I love 80s effects films (the thing 1982, the blob 1988, the gate 1987) and the old effects are either stunningly good or charmingly bad.

[umjackd]

I had this discussion with a friend who was an engineering student. He couldn't see beyond the idea that newer is always better, and I suspect a lot of people do think that way because it's how we look at society: as moving forward, not backwards. Art doesn't really work this way though. New technology just creates new tools to fuel creativity, and of course everyone likes a new toy to play with, but in the long run it just joins the variety of toys and tools available. Movies are at their best combining different tools and their respective strengths to create the best effects.

[TheJoePiper]

An excellent video essay on why older practical effects still ‘hold up’ and look magical. While older CGI often doesn’t.

👏

[azurisuru]

Oh dang Jackie Chan. Fave actor who does his own stunts. You not only perceive his stunts to be real but you also feel them to be real because they're done mostly by him with practical fx.

[momo]

ahh i just watched i love maria, love tsui hark wildly jumping from all time classics like once upon a time in china and peking opera blues to extremely silly schlock like this (complimentary).

my personal favorite hk practical effects come from lam nai choi's the peacock king, so many creative effects in that