What Makes Practical Effects So Special? | Video Essay

Where can I watch this movie ? With English dub if possible ???

So true! Those 90s Kung fu movies were so much better than the ones now.

It's possible blend practical effects with CGI ?

Take notes Hollywood.

You got me at Tarzan gunfight. Disney should've learn a thing or two from this smh

I need a stephen chow collection.

Since Watching the Original King Kong, i watch more movie not for a Story but the Effects.

I have a soft spot for these kinds of movies and you as a creator have a calm vibe and funny humour and are not screaming in my ears like most content creators, i love getting a snack and watching and finding hidden gems or laugh at the absurdity of some movies! Good work, friend!

I think the physicality aspect is a very big aspect. Personally, I know that something different happens in my brain when I see something on a screen, and especially something that for lack of better words comes from the screen.

No matter how realistic you can make something look, I think it always shows when something wasn’t really heard, felt, tasted and smelt. When I type up notes on my phone, I know they won’t leave nearly as much impact on my memory and actions as if I wrote it down. Every detail of it multiplies the effect, and even the physical piece of paper leaves a lasting image on me. I think practical effects come far closer to that goal than any cgi and foley has done up to date.

I remembered watching this movie in Tv not cable somewhere in the earlies 90’s for those who are from Mexico I remembered watching it in a weekday in Imevision now TV Azteca. Awesome movie and great video, love your content!

Independence Day, the original one, and its exploding buildings. Model shots, but still real Soooo good.

Ripping the lock out of the metal door looked amazing! In CGI it might've been a punch through the wall.

maybe galium infested aluminum?

Tarzan gunfight 😂 I'm dying

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.

👍 GunHeD

I must be honest, a lot of old practical effects look outdated to me. There are exceptions(like terminator 2 for instance), but generally even if impressive for the time, you'll notice the age. That being said, modern practical effects in conjunction with VFX is probably the best thing I have ever seen. Mad Max Fury Road was just a visual feast for me.

Love all your work, but maybe because I'm biased as I have worked in VFX for over 15 years, I'm not disagreed on many points in this video, let me prefix this by saying that I also grew up on HK movies and also marvel at the first Jurassic park film, I would argue that the missing charm in vfx isn't because specifically because of the vfx but precisely because of this mentality presented here: "practical effects is always better than vfx" from a lot of the directors with traditional film training but lacking training and understanding in VFX and post production but also reluctant to learn about them, so they failed to plan well and placed unreasonable demands on vfx. and then vfx gets all the blame at the end. I'm sure you can't denied that "everything everywhere all once" is charming, and it is a good example of what a well planed vfx film is like, vfx is after all just a tool but a very sophisticated one.

I think the best mix of CGI and Practical effects in recent times is Shin Godzilla 2016. The CGI is not as flashy as Hollywood’s and used only in scenes where it needs to be. Plus it used a Japanese theater actor for modelling Godzilla’s movements.

Good to know I´m not totally alone in the world about this matter.

Damn the Principality of Zeon is attacking the earth and their only chance is a Gundam bitch named Alita - I mean Maria. Movie truly ahead of it's time.

Thank you so much for bringing this movie into my life

Could you please add IMDB links to the movies you are presenting? Thanks for a nice video! :)

Я до цих пір згадую це кино! Нічого подібного не згадую!

lol I just watched this on your recommendation...it was great! Inventive and fun! Oddly enough it reminds me in production to Tetsuo 2 Body Hammer...but only in production. As that movie is much darker in tone...

Two thumbs up. Excellent break down on a film audiences expectations. I for one agree.

Snob

Thanks for introducing me to yet another fantastic movie! I'm laughing my @ss off watching this - the comedy elements are slapstick gold! I don't know how I would even begin to describe this movie - other than "must see" and "cult classic". The VFX are spectacular, as you point out. If anyone else out there is looking to watch this absolute gem, there are ebay sellers out of Hong Kong selling both the DVD and Blu-ray.

Dam what is the first movie there?

Sometimes practical affects can look very bad, like hand puppets or prosthetic masks on actors. I think a middle ground is best, practical fx spiced up with cgi. Good examples imo include Mad Max Fury Road, Automata, Dark Crystal Age of Resistance, or even stop motion movies from Laika.

fucking ads

I agree completely!!!

I loved the mad mission movies!!! Omg i have to look if they are online somewhere

- ! - FREE HONG KONG - ! - FREE UIGHUR - ! - SAVE MYANMAR - ! -

Five seconds in and I'm already being fucking spammed. Go Away.

A perfect copy of the Mona Lisa IS the Mona Lisa.
Because you cannot distinguish between them - they are the same item. By all definitions.
Suggesting otherwise is pseudo-intellectual garbage.

jesus I miss real cars blowing up in tv and cinema

You know... I've never seen a woman-robot that shoot with the gun from her hand. Surely you can do that by CGI (CSFX), but I think that PSFX (Practical SFX) gives more vibes and color to movie, it's like you're watching something real, yet you predict that's not real, but you're still getting tricked somehow. And that's the purpose of PSFX - to impress the viewer, or leave him with the thought "Is this actually real in real?" (yeah sounds weird, I agree).

I would say that CSFX could be great in funny movies, instead of a serious. But sometimes - PSFX makes even serious movie a whole fun or even comedy, yet you didn't expect it to be like this. This sort of dilema haunts my mind from time to time, getting stuck with such question. But surely, in right hands - CSFX and PSFX are being the one magic. With one aspect - PSFX gives you more realization that "IT CAN'T BE REAL! OR CAN IT?!"

Thank you very much for this video! That was truly a good experience of comparison CSFX with PSFX.

As a fan of the oldshool Godzilla movies I completely agree. That being said some movies wouldn't be feasible with practical effects like Lord of the Rings Gollum (actually it was a guy in a suit so the actors could interact naturally and his final appearance was added later). I think movie makers should use as much practical effects as possible and mix it with CGI but thats a thing moviemakers can't do without a giant budget. More over that I fear that practical effects are kind of a "lost art" so I guess its hard to recruit enough know how to squeeze it into todays "time=money²" shedules.

I love Maria 😭

I disagree, a great cgi doesn't need pre-production but it needs great and unique vision. It needs unique art design. It doesn't need heavy time. I agree with you that special effect has it's own magic but a good cgi would try to create similar type of feeling with great enough details to perplex you instead of it looking very similar and normal animation like. In fact, i would say a good mixture of special effects and cgi creates the best experience. A good example is that whale/dolphin scene in 'The Boys'.

clever analysis very insightful. clever channel name too.

"Practical effects"?? That boomer crap looks so fake. Computers are at least a trillion times better, if you do the math. Only poor movies use practical effects now a days.

I do miss the practical effects days, but I gotta acknowledge the scheduling and safety benefits CG has over practical. However, one issue I have with CG shots is how... template the shots are. Vast new world? Overhead panning shot, zoom in on some random animal/person doing something mundane, then zoom out and fly off somewhere else. Some scene to represent data transfer, or time/dimensional travel? Blue lines representing tunnels like a roller coaster ride, curves downwards at around 3 seconds into the shot, and so on. Big creature unleashed? You watch the spectacle of things crumbling around it, until it finally gets free, and a moment pause, before a roar (either really low pitched for mammals, or somewhat high for reptiles/others). The details are different but the presentation is almost exactly the same each time. It's hard to get awed if the awesome thing looks the same as what I've seen in the past 20 movies.

Bro, this channel is great.

keep up the great work

Thanks for this amazing hint! Looking forward to watch it!!!

YES! We love creativity above all else!!!
CGI is very creative... the first time. Then, there's a pre-set plug-in that does the same thing; not quite as nice, but a whole lot quicker/cheaper.