Week 2 Blog 1

We began watching The Day the Earth Stood Still. It’s interesting to see the special effects in old films. The flying saucer was just an oval-shaped light. We’ve advanced so far, utilizing special effects that, at their best, cannot be identified as being artificially created. I’m a little scared that in the future there will be no need for the actor/actress, as a digital version would be easier to manipulate and cost even less than an actor/actress. We need a human element in films. Humans can transmit minute feelings through their movements and speech variations that a computerized character would never be able to do. Take, for example, Robin Williams: he is a brilliant person, coming up with jokes and ideas that very few other people could possibly come up with; and when he acts, these jokes and ideas are transmitted to the viewer through his movements and facial expressions along with his many different voices. A digital character couldn’t hope (or rather, its creators couldn’t hope) to possibly transmit as much information in an entire movie as Williams does in 5 minutes.
One effect of having very limited special effects is the increased emphasis on the actual plot of the movie. One can tell that the people who worked on the movie paid attention to the plot, with only a few resources devoted to the special effects. This leads to a much better movie. I just wish more recent producers would realize this.