Nerdist: There’s been a lot of debate surrounding Martin Scorsese’s latest epic crime film, The Irishman. The film’s astounding running time—209 minutes—has plenty of critics, and the visual effects, most notably those used to reconstruct the characters’ younger faces, are as divisive as they come. But people on either side of that latter conflict may have their minds changed by new insights in this BTS visual effects video, which hopefully helps everyone to better understand how this spicy Bufalino was made.
5 comments:
I have not watched the Irish man but I have seen a few movies that used De-aging software (including Star Wars, Guardians of the Galaxy, and the latest movie Gemini Man) these visual effects are honestly crazy! It is insane to see the type of software that people are creating for the visual effect world. The use of these softwares are used more and more in Hollywood nowadays and it gives the producer more room for storytelling. Depending on the capabilities and realism that the software can accomplish so really believable effects are being used in film (and if the budget allows TV). Creating a face is so complex! I didn’t even realize how detailed the human face is (my only experience with the coloration of human skin is pulling a single flesh-colored crayon from my pencil box in elementary school). The videos are pretty interesting too, I don’t fully understand everything that is going on and how these softwares do what they do, but the effects that come out after are really cool (and creepy but that's just my opinion)
It is so crazy to think that I could see a movie nowadays and that the actors could look decades younger than in real life without me even knowing! The level that this software has evolved to is definitely frightening, and it makes me think about how facial recognition has already been implemented into one of the most basic parts of a lot of people's lives. The new iPhones that allow for a person to unlock their phone by having it scan their face freak me out, although I did cave in and get one anyways. The stuff we were seeing in the high-tech gadgets and security measures of spy movies just a decade or two ago is already becoming a realistic part of our future as a society. However, I do have to agree with the author's comments about the human-like qualities of the effect, because I definitely found myself experiencing the uncanny valley effect, especially around their eyes. Though this technology is really exciting and also frightening to me, this strange effect makes me seriously question the choice to put so much time and energy into this instead of using some younger actors. I understand that in this case the use of those actors is significant, but I just can't seem to get around it.
It’s both amazing and kind of terrifying that we now have the technology to seamlessly engineering people’s faces on screen. This type of software makes me think of facial recognition software that we use for security right now, particularly on the new iphones. I personally am skeptical and scared by facial recognition so I have mine turned off just because I feel like it is invading my privacy by having a camera turned on all the time. However, it is amazing to see companies being able to implement this technology into other areas, like making movies. I couldn’t even tell that some actors in the Irishman were facially altered to look younger! I wonder how this will affect the casting of actors in the future though. Will it be necessary to hire young actors to act as the younger version of a character anymore? Is it going to totally change casting?
I have seen The Irishman and I did find myself often paying attention to the effectiveness of this digital de-aging than the movie itself. This technology is still new and, despite their best efforts and the resources available to them, the effect is occasionally distracting as it recedes into the uncanny valley where the actors appear shimmery and inhuman, like a video game. There are some still shots that appear practically perfect, so it is impressive to see that there is the technology that will very convincingly deceive the eyes of a viewer. Since it’s been in greater development only recently, it’s very interesting to imagine where this technology will be years and years down the line. And, as the article shows, it’s crazy to see just how accessible this kind of technology is getting since there is a video provided that very convincingly achieves a similar effect without the budget of the film.
Everyday it seems that films are one upping the uses of CGI in film. Computers are bringing back the dead and making the old young again. Now, personally I think using technology to recreate dead actors for a movie is creepy and disrespectful to that actor. It’s cashing in on their image long after they have left the Earth and to me there is something really scummy about that. However, for the Irishman, I think deaging the actors is harmless, especially when it serves the purpose of the story. The Irishman is reflecting on the life of a man who was a gangster and how it affected him over the time of his life. The deaging works for the narrative since the movie wasn’t filmed over the course of years. Movies like Boyhood pulled it off with shooting over 12 years, but when great story ideas come at a time where your actors are too old to go back, this use can come in handy.
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