its a matter of style...

I was recently able to catch the pirated trailer for the new Clone Wars CG movie that will be in theaters this August. After running the video abut a dozen times, I decided that I'd check out the reaction posts that were listed below the frame. Much to my suprise, more than three-quarters of the responses were negative, with the biggest complaints being about the style.

Most of the posts were angry that Lucasfilm didn't use a photorealistic models of the characters, or that the Tartovski-style caracters should have been hand drawn. While I can appreciate their concern, I realize the great advantages these design choices granted.

First, why CG and not hand drawn? While it does take much longer to build a computer model of a character or object, once you build it, you can "photograph" or move it like a puppet or physical model ad infinatum. Once you get past the initial investment, CG cartoons are much easier to put together.

Second, why abstract instead of realistic? I have found that a realistic model can never be real enough. There is always some detail, usually in its expressiveness that seems lacking. Better to have a stylised character I can emote to, than a distracting or wooden performance.

All things considered though, this defense argument will be pointless if the story is sub-standard. I'll be waiting with fingers crossed, eager to see this new chapter in the saga, hoping that George hasn't been too hands on with the script...

welcome to my world

Greetings,

A friend of mine and I were having a conversation a few days ago; and as we moved from discussing gaming, to anime, to sci-fi, he brought up a valid question. " Rob, I mean I like Star Wars, but you LOVE it. What's the facination?" I thought about it for a moment, but I came down to the realization that aside from the story, characters, and visual effects, it's the connections it helped me form. Growing up in the seventies and eighties, the overwhelming effect Star Wars had on my generation is hard to explain. I distinctly remember that when I was in sixth grade back in '83, my junior high school actually called school off at lunch because they knew that nearly everyone was going to call in sick to see the first showing of Return of the Jedi.

I sincerely doubt that the world will ever see a phenomenon like that again. Sure there's been Pokemon, Harry Potter, and countless other "next big things", but they come out with such frequency that die-hard fans are hard to find.

So to all my fellow fans, hello and welcome. If you are looking for financial or health information, you'll find none of that here, just my random musings on the future of my favorite movie (and soon to be TV) franchise, anime, comics and gaming. Thanks for visiting, and may the force be with you....