It is a relatively recent privilege for consumers to enter a theater now and see a movie with stunning visual effects that are nearly indistinguishable from the actors and even reality. The advancements in digital effects and computer-assisted animation and artwork have brought the robots of Transformers, the aliens of Avatar and the magic of Harry Potter to our theaters and living rooms alike. However, for every blessing that technology brings us, there is almost always a negative result. Whether that is a new chemical by-product from a medicine, the exhaust from motorized vehicles, or the roles of workers experiencing a shift in an industry, it doesn’t take long to find a downside to these shifts. The film industry is no different.
As a medium of immersion, films have always sought to bring their viewers into the world of the actors and what is shown on screen. So, of course, it would also be an industry where nothing is sought more than technology and budgets that allow for this to occur. But as an industry that changes as rapidly as it does, there are often times those that become left behind, and the modern day is no different.
The 20th century has been one of great progress for film beginning with the addition of sound to movies. Gone would be the days of organ players providing a real-time soundtrack as Nosferatu crept aboard a ship, and no more were the actors and actresses whose voices were replaced with rag-time pauses and title cards filling their voices. Audiences delighted in the new sounds of cowboy duels and singers performing for them on the silver screen, but actors were at a loss. The clip below from the movie The Artist demonstrates the paradigm shift that occurred as voices rushed to erase title cards and the actors who used them.
The Artist by Michel Hazanavicius
But actors of the silent films would soon be forgotten as the film industry flourished and began to grow into the behemoth we know it to be today. But why bring up the 1920s and this shift at all? Films have succeeded otherwise and the consumer didn’t suffer. That’s all that is important right? Is the consumer happy? My fear is that soon this question will not have the same answer as it did in 1927. Films have begun a new shift. One that will have a much greater effect on those that make films and possibly those that consume them. The goal of films to immerse the audience has taken precedence over the real requirements that a film makes of its actors and creators. I am talking about the separation of reality in production so as to create a new reality on screen. Below are two clips; one from a film called Forbidden Planet, a film made in 1956, and the other is from a behind the scenes look a Game of Thrones season 7, which aired in 2017. When watching take note that what you see on screen from Forbidden Planet is exactly what the actors and producers saw. The same cannot be said for Game of Thrones.
Forbidden Planet by Fred M. Wilcox
Behind the Scenes of Game of Thrones Season 7 by HBO
To paraphrase Emilia Clarke, it is difficult to act like you are riding a dragon when in fact you are sitting on a giant green blob. The separation from reality and even from what is on-screen for actors these days can damage their performances and the ability of film producers to create meaningful experiences for the audience. If everyone has the ability to create a CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) dragon, why is it any fun to watch? Movies are fun for their stories, and the effects bring us closer to those stories. We are getting close to forgetting that it is the actors that must tell us this story, and threatening an actor’s immersion is just as dangerous as threatening the immersion of an audience.
Not all films are guilty of this trend. Some still to use effects as a support to their story and cinematography, and they shudder from using CGI as opposed to the real experience for their actors. One film that does this brilliantly is Children of Men. The film places actors in long scenes of unbroken acting so that they can fully become their characters and experience the emotions of their roles unhampered by cuts for effects that will be added in the editing room. All of the effects of this movie are also done in real life. Everything on screen is something that the actors experienced and that you will experience as well. If I can leave you with one thought before this last clip, it is to remember that films succeed because of the story, and the story begins with the actors and their performance on-screen.
(***Warning-Graphic Content***)
Children of Men by Alfonso Cuarón