Computer-generated imagery
From open-encyclopedia.com - the free encyclopedia.
Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the application of the field of computer graphics (or more specifically 3D computer graphics) to special effects. CGI is used in movies and in printed media. Real-time computer graphics are rarely referred to as CGI.
CGI is used because it is often cheaper and because it allows a single artist to produce the required content without additional help. CGI is sometimes used in advertisements to render a more appealing image of the product.
CGI was first used in movies in 1973. During the next 30 years the image quality progressed enough to make possible fully CGI movies. In early 2000s, computer actors, especially virtual stuntsmen or actors in mass scenes, became indistinguishable from real people. The Timeline of CGI in movies shows a detailed list of pioneering uses of computer-generated imagery in film and television.
In late 1990s the success of several high-profile computer animated films by PIXAR forced Disney and most of the other animation companies to start the transition from traditional animation to 3D.
Developers of computer games and 3D video cards strived to achieve the same visual quality on personal computers in real-time as is possible for CGI films and animation. With rapid development of 3D accelerators for personal computers and gradual improvements in First person shooter graphics engines artists took on this ability to render complex computer graphics in real-time using game engines. The new artform was called machinima.
Developments in CGI technologies are reported each year at SIGGRAPH, an annual conference on computer graphics and interactive techniques, held each year in Los Angeles and attended by tens of thousands of computer professionals.
There have been several beauty pageants held among CGI women. The October 2004 issue of Playboy features topless CGI photos of BloodRayne, a video game character. There are several virtual pop-stars in Japan that enjoyed certain success, releasing music CDs, having their music videos on TV and playing in TV advertisements.
See also
External links
- SIGGRAPH - the annual conference on computer graphics and interactive techniques, held each year in Los Angeles and attended by tens of thousands of computer professionals. The best animations from 2001 are archived at the Internet Archive.
- A Critical History of Computer Graphics and Animation - a course page at Ohio State University that includes all course materials and extensive supplementary materials (videos, articles, links).
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