Talk:Computer-generated imagery

2009-11-10T08:41:57Z

4.254.82.181: /* 2009 Toys R Us Big Book Ad Has CGI Transformers! */ new section

Was the wireframe grid in TFTM's "Behold Galvatron!" sequence CGI? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] 19:18, 27 March 2008 (UTC)
: No, it was not. the entire thing was drawn.--[[User:Grand-majin|Grand-majin]] 20:00, 27 March 2008 (UTC)
:: The fly-through of the "O" in the opening titles is, though. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 20:32, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

== 2009 Toys R Us Big Book Ad Has CGI Transformers! ==

Just in case my recent edit doesn't survive I figured I'd note about it here. The 2009 Toys R Us Big Book Ad features CGI versions of Prime and Bumblebee [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Lqn_H0uPL8]. What's the big deal about that you ask? The big deal (at least for me anyway) is that the CGI models are not simple, crude morphs that you might expect from a brief appearance in a toy commercial, but accurate recreations of the toys and their transformations. They are so accurate, that unless somebody obtained the CAD models directly from Hasbro, I suspect the animators may have actually taken apart some of the toys, created 3-D models of the parts (possibly with a 3-D scanner), reassembled the virtual parts and then animated them. Note the differences between these CGI models and ILM's, particularly Prime's crazy leg movements, exactly like the 2009 Leader Class toy. There are some subtle differences, but not all that many. Had these been rendered photorealistically, they might have been indistinguishable from the actual plastic toys.

Am I the only one to notice these new CGI transformers? Am I the only one to care?

Computer-generated imagery

2009-11-10T08:08:22Z

4.254.82.181: /* Trivia */

'''Computer-generated imagery''' (CGI) in Transformers media has gone through four phases thus far.

==Generation 2==
[[Image:Cybernet Spacecube.JPG|right|150px|thumb|Cube 4: Superdupercube]]
The [[Generation 2 (cartoon)|''Generation 2'' "cartoon"]] was simply the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]] with a new CGI opening, and new scene-transitions featuring the nefarious [[Cybernet Space Cube]]. These segments added nothing but glitz (and annoyance) to the cartoon, and are mostly forgotten.

CGI was used more extensively in ''Generation 2'''s [[Commercial|commercials]]. Entire segments were computer animated for early commercials advertising the toys and the comic. Initially the CGI was quite primitive. Later, more advanced techniques were used to allow computer-animated characters to interact with live-action actors.
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==The Beast Era==
[[Image:BWPart1 beastmodes.jpg|left|300px|thumb|"Tarantulas! Find us some mood lighting, too!"]]
Both ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' and ''[[Beast Machines (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]'' were fully CGI, created by [[Mainframe Entertainment]] of Canada. ''Beast Wars'' was a bit primitive, even in its day. (It is notorious for lacking shadows except when vital.) Its animation quality improved steadily over time, most obviously in comparisons of the landscape between first and third seasons. ''Beast Machines'' was a further step forward, and holds up reasonably well even by modern standards. Both are praised for their good use of facial expressions and body language. {{-}}

==''Energon'' and ''Cybertron''==
[[Image:CobyLoriWedding.jpg|right|300px|thumb|"Well, a firetruck is bigger. Much, much bigger."]]
The last two-thirds of the [[Unicron Trilogy]], ''[[Energon (cartoon)|Energon]]'' and ''[[Cybertron (cartoon)|Cybertron]]'', both used shaded CGI for the Transformer characters, and traditional cel animation for almost everything else (humans, backgrounds, etc.). Some episodes (e.g., "[[City]]") used CGI for doing complex environments, particularly when the camera needed to be able to move through the city quickly.

In comparison to the Beast Era, the character animation in ''Energon'' and ''Cybertron'' is generally unimpressive. For an extensive discussion of its flaws, see ''[[Energon (cartoon)|Energon, Production flaws]]''.

On the positive side, the character models are [[Toy-accuracy|toy-accurate]] to a fault, reproducing the design and transformations of the toys in detail.
{{-}}
==''Transformers'' (2007)==
[[Image:Movie Scorponok leapsout.jpg|left|300px|thumb|"Oh, crap! He's got 5,000 pieces of geometry, and over 1,000,000 polygons! Run!"]]
The [[live-action film series]], obviously, uses CGI extensively, most spectacularly for almost all appearances of the Transformer characters in robot mode.
{{-}}

==Trivia==
* If one includes the Generation 2 cartoon, then of the nine Transformers TV shows that have aired in the U.S., more than half have used CGI, and nearly half have used it extensively.
* A [[Toys R Us]] Big Book ad airing in late 2009 briefly featured CGI versions of the movie [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] not animated by [[ILM]] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Lqn_H0uPL8]. The CGI models appear to be based on the 2009 [[Optimus Prime (Movie)/toys#Leader Class toys 2|Leader Class Optimus Prime]] and [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#Deluxe Class toys 2|Deluxe Class Bumblebee]] toys and utilize the same transformations as the toys without any apparent morphing (essentially computer rendered versions of the toys and their transformations).

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Talk:Computer-generated imagery

Computer-generated imagery