Does The Odyssey Mark A Departure From CGI Effects?

Christopher Nolan’s latest film, Odyssey, has broken new ground as the first film to be shot entirely with IMAX cameras. At the same time, it may also herald a new era of special effects without the use of CGI.

The directorial work of Christopher Nolan has stood out in an age when CGI has been ubiquitous. Rather than adopt it to a large degree in his own films, he has stood out as an exception, seeking to take a different path even when CGI offers obvious benefits.

His work may raise a question for any productions using film studio, as the use of props, models and costumes may not give way to CGI as some might have predicted.

How Did The Special Effects In Dunkirk Largely Exclude CGI?

Dunkirk was a prime example of Nolan’s approach, with the epic war film depicting three parallel experiences - one on the beach, one in the air and one at sea - with different but interacting timelines.

The use of computer-generated images was limited in the film. Instead, features included:

• The reliance on human extras as soldiers, plus painted images, to recreate the crowds of troops waiting to be evacuated

• Scale models for aircraft in dogfights

• The use of a section of a ship on a hydraulic gimbal to produce the scene where a ship sinks at night after being torpedoed

• Some sinking ship scenes did use CG of a sinking ship and crowds in the water.

  
  

This limited use of CGI did lead to some questions about authenticity. In the real event, 338,000 men were evacuated, including 68,000 on May 31^st alone, yet the crowds shown in the film were a tiny fraction of this.

Another element of the film was the decision to shoot it on the actual beach of Dunkirk, rather than a CGI recreation of the town.

However, while some street scenes could offer an authentic representation of the architecture of 1940, other buildings, seen in wider panoramas, were clearly more modern.

Nonetheless, Nolan stuck to his guns and also chose to shoot as much of the film as possible with IMAX cameras.

What Is Unique About How Odyssey Was Filmed?

Nolan has taken matters further with Odyssey. The film initially attracted some criticism over the apparently ‘woke’ inclusion of black and trans actors for the film, but those observing the choice of special effects may have been more interested in the special effects:

• In a cinematic first, the entire film was shot using IMAX cameras

• No CGI was used

• Special effects, such as monsters, were inspired by the methods used by the award-winning costume designer Guillermo del Toro.

  
  

Speaking to the LA Times, Nolan was effusive in his praise of del Toro, who had won three Oscars for his work in Frankenstein.

“I was very inspired by Guillermo del Toro. What I learned from him is that a monster is not a monster. You have to approach them the way you approach any other character.”

This approach to costume design helped create a level of authenticity that some might argue is missing in the CGI monsters that appear in so many films.

If this is your view as well, our extensive costume department may help create all kinds of mythical beasts without the need to use CGI.

The use of CGI was originally hailed as ground-breaking, precisely because it could create huge objects like ships (Titanic being a prime example), large crowds, as well as more realistic monsters than the models that used stop-motion technology.

Why Is CGI Quality Declining?

In recent years, there has been criticism of how ‘fake’ the original CGI technology of the 1990s, such as that used in Titanic, looks to 2020s audiences, but that may be safely disregarded on the basis that any film technology looks dated many years later.

However, a far more damaging claim is that CGI reached its zenith in the early 21^st century and is now in decline.

This has been the subject of widespread discussion among film fans and is even the subject of academic study.

A key conclusion of one study was that lower quality has not arisen from any decline in technology, but from production issues; in particular, limited budgets and tighter schedules that prevent CGI artists from refining their work to the level they were once able to.

This suggests that CGI is as capable of producing outstanding special effects as it ever was, but in the dash for cash, some filmmakers are killing the goose that laid the golden egg.

Nonetheless, Christopher Nolan’s work has shown that there is still a place for films without CGI, where new technological innovation is all about IMAX, but where traditional costume-making and a focus on character instead of appearance can make more authentic monsters.