That´s incredible, l just assumed the city was a mix fo CGI and real buldings but never imagined this. Thanks a lot for sharing the magic of these films!
The art of miniatures in filmmaking is rapidly dwindling, so I was so overjoyed to see that the team at Weta did the effects for this picture. You've all outdone yourselves, this is some of your best work ever committed to film.
It's a shame because it looks so much better than CGI. This film was so much better than all those CGI junk films. It looked REAL and gritty and the brain knows.
Honestly, with the recent star wars movies, this one, and the Laika movies, I feel like we might see a comeback of practical effects and miniatures. Much remains to be done, but it feels like it's been 10 years that I hadn't heard of big budet movies using miniatures at all (the last I can think of was Hellboy 2), and here are major releases clamoring their lineage to practical SFX and coming back to a "best of both worlds" approach that had been lacking since the Lord of the Rings. Now I wait to see movies using practical that aren't remakes or sequel of nostalgic movies.
It's making a slow comeback with 3d print tech getting better in better. It's actually more common now than it was 2005-2015. Those were the dark years.
Rose: Or not www.artofvfx.com/BladeRunner2049/BladeRunner2049_JohnNelson_ITW_02B.jpg www.artofvfx.com/BladeRunner2049/BladeRunner2049_JohnNelson_ITW_02A.jpg
I mean, yeah there's gonna be some purely CG shots, which is fine and to be expected, especially since CGI has gotten to a point where it's pretty damn good. The thing that I think most of us are excited about is the blending of the practical effects and the visual effects, where the illusion becomes seamless. They're both tools to be used to help tell your story, and when both of them are used in the right way, you can get some incredible results, like the Lord of the Rings or more recently, this. I'm fine with a pure CG shot, and I'm fine with a pure miniature shot, it's when they're used perfectly together that you get that "movie magic." I'm just happy we're seeing a bit of a return to form practical effects having a place at all in a film. Like ToyFan said, the last few years really saw a steep decline of practical effects.
Frankly I think Deakins' cinematography DID NOT do justice to the beautiful miniatures created here ... Looking at all the details of the models in this clip, its a lot more textured and real than the actual movie itself ... the director and cinematogrpher seems to have blurred out much of the grittiness with soft lens and the camera movements feel very cgi like... the movie made a lot of comments think its cgi .. whats the point of using such intricately made models and end up looking so fake that people think its bad cgi ?
88feji When watching on a standard TV, I agree, but in the cinema all the detail was there. If they're too detailed then it's just distracting and the shot loses its flow and momentum as your eyes have wandered away from where the director wanted them.
+Amberoot Audio The fogging and misting in 2049 is overly done as it almost completely blurred out the talented model maker's artistic detailing on the miniatures. As a result looking at aerial scenes like the approaching the police headquarter, most of the buildings become just outlines rather than the beautifully dystopian detailed buildings we see in the making of clips ... misting is overkill in 2049 ... The first movie in contrast, got the fogging just right in that it gave the movie a lot of cinematic mood and yet does not overpower the gritty dystopian textures and set details .. the end result is amazing.. There's a video putting the visuals of 2049 alongside the visuals of the first Blade Runner, many comments are saying that the visuals for the first movie is superior to the sequel in terms of mood and texture, some also mistook 2049's practical effects scenes to be cgi because of how soft and smooth things look .. I also think the flying car's flight is a lot better in the first movie as it looks like its moving against the wind and atmosphere, more real ... In the sequel, the flying car mostly just moves too evenly like in a computer game and its especially bad when it crashes through the junks in one scene, it bulldozes through in a straight line so evenly like as if the junks are ping pong balls, as a result many scenes like this looks like a typical bad cgi scene ... The first movie's flying car scenes feels very real because they took into account the laws of physics in reality, the flights felt real because you can almost feel the tangible resistance of the wind and atmostphere, the sequel failed to do these things .. I do think that Deakins and Villeneuve made some bad judgement calls ..
88feji You've made some fair points which I can't really argue with, so thanks for that. I only differ in your opinion about the mist, as I personally just took it as extreme pollution. Google smog images of Hong Kong and Dehli and tell me they look sharp and detailed and non-cgi, and then add another 30 years in the future to that, and then factor in that it's a great artistic tool for someone like Deakins to use to his advantage. Also don't forget about the scale of these buildings compared to Hong Kong and Dehli, atmospheric perspective would definitely appear more pronounced.
+Amberoot Audio The thing about the premise of Blade Runner is that it is the neverending toxic rains and toxic haze that created the dystopian world .. if you think about it, there has to be a balance where you have some of the toxic haze absorbed by the toxic rains. In the first movie, from the aesthetic perspective of establishing a cinematic look, it strikes a fine balance between showing off that dystopian textures vs adding an atmospheric mood to the movie. But in 2049 there are a lot of self-contradicting scenes where on one hand the atmosphere has so much thick fog (much more than the first movie) that the buildings are almost blurred out completely BUT in many other scenes, the lighting is so flat and bright instead of being dispersed and darkened by the haze .. its very self contradictory and unscientific .. Aside from the unscientific aspects, my main problem with 2049's thick fogging is that I'm just thinking from the movie making aesthetic point of view that 2049 just overdid with the fogging because now a lot of the dystopian textures are not visible anymore which makes the environment less real, less tangible and too smooth and cgi like, which defeats the whole purpose of employing great talented artists to created dystopian looking models. Of course the environment can be anything the director wants it to be for the future, he can always rationalise it by saying the future is this and that ... but whether its effective and creates the problem of looking intangible and cgi like, its up to the audience's personal preferences. I can't argue on personal tastes, so you're just as right as I am with regards to whether those scenes work or do not work from a cinematic point of view ..
I didn't realize these were miniatures while watching. Amazing job. Using good miniatures instead of CGI, future proofs films. 2049 will look great 20 years from now just like the original.
@@gc3k The key is they have enough practical footage to design the CGI to match up with. If there's no practical footage, they can't match it up with anything (hence zero-practical films usually have bad CGI).
@@MrMarsFargo I don’t think either yourself or the original commenter know how CGI works. There’s no such thing as a zero practical CGI film. CGI artists use photo scanned elements and environments, photographed textures, filmed reference and so on and so forth. Even if it is a completely CG film, it’s going to be based in reality. You don’t need to go and ‘film’ anything today in order to get photorealistic results, reality can be scanned into the computer and rendered in a totally photorealistic way all in real time ua-cam.com/video/k5t7DxTcBHw/v-deo.html
When I saw this film in the theater I was blown away with how good it looks. I joked to myself that You guys at Weta made miniatures for the film. Then I watched the credits and when I saw a glimpse of "Alex Funke" gliding up the screen and confirmed it was you guys. I (quietly)cheered, laughed, clapped, and hollered! Ohhh, that was a good day. :]
I worked on Blade Runner 2049, trust me, there are also gigantic amounts of CGI/digital vfx, more than you could ever find while searching for it. CGI isn't ugly if used cautiously, it's like any other tool. It's great that they also did miniatures, in fact, the more you mix techniques, the better. But don't fool yourselves, it's not a major part of the VFX in this movie. Many people criticize CGI harshly while praising practical effects, while not even realizing these same practical effects are enhanced, improved or even mostly replaced by CGI.
That's awesome that you worked on it! I was just thinking to myself "I wonder how much CGI really went into BR2049..." I kind of feel that practical effects and miniatures might now be used more as a promotional tool than perhaps because it's essential to the production process for that film. With all the bad press that CGI often (and quite unfairly) gets, it seems like every big production has some practical element now which is highly promoted as part of the hype as if to say "hey! Look this is done for real, come watch our film!" If so then hat's not necessarily a bad thing I guess, because the audience gets to see some wonderful old-skool techniques in use, those craftspeople are in work and the film doesn't feel as souless as a result. CGI is a bit like sound. You only notice it when it's bad (unless there's a stylistic reason to draw attention to it).
@@ker7743 Stands the test of time in the future when current cgi would look outdated. One of the reasons the original Blade Runner still looks phenomenal till this day.
@@gooner3681 were at the point where CG has conquered most of the "dating" anomalies from decades ago. Physically based lighting for example. You really cant get more advanced than the way real light works. (this is why the rock looked so horrible as the scorpion king..bad lighting and no subsurface skin texturing.) VFX sims are also physically based, like explosions, smoke, etc behave mathematically so similar to the real world its indistinguishable. biggest problems arise when companies do things on the cheap.. too many cheats will give you bad quality, no matter the medium. I know modern CG mostly works because of how many people dont even notice it anymore, which means job well done.
This is the reason Blade Runner will always be miles apart from anything produced in a regular Hollywood CGI movie. True art in the hands of masterful, passionate, talented and dedicated artisans.
People who do CGI are artist too. www.artofvfx.com/BladeRunner2049/BladeRunner2049_JohnNelson_ITW_02B.jpg www.artofvfx.com/BladeRunner2049/BladeRunner2049_JohnNelson_ITW_02A.jpg area.autodesk.com/customer-stories/richard-hoover-of-framestore-my-journey-to-blade-runner-2049/ And they put their soul into it for sure, its not easy as it seems.
CGI can look indistinguishable from reality, it just isn't all the time. If given enough time and money, it will look flawless. Also CGI artists are no less artists than these
I'm working on two short films. It may take a year to finish, but I can assure you that its posible to archieve fotorealism in animation recreating films with just 1k$ PC at your house. Also, as a CGI artist, I've seen movies, especially independents , where enviroments are CGI and I did not even noticed at all until I saw the breakdown on internet. In natural state rather than extraordinary enviroment its indistinguishable, again, as a CGI artist, this has blown my mind so many times.
I'm studying fine arts with specialization on painting and yes you're right. Doesn't matter what render you are using, its all upon the artist, thats why most of GREAT cgi artist are traditional artists too, you can't skip it.
Bloody hell I thought they were all CG. Honestly if the whole film was just sweeping shots of the city and landscapes I would've been just as happy. I really hope they go deeper into this stuff on the Blu-ray
Underrated by normal movie goers (who mostly don't know shit about the value of filmmaking), and called an instant classic by paid critics (who mostly know shit about the value of filmmaking) ....man I would really like all schools in the world teach filmography
I have watched the Lord Of The Rings Appendices many times. With an average of 7 hours each and after so many times watching it, you start to feel like you're getting to know the people who worked on those things. Seeing a veteran like Alex Funke after so many years makes me feel like I've seen a dear old friend that I hadn't realised I missed very much. Alex Funke and his miniatures/bigatures are one of the main reasons why the LOTR series were visually so great and can still hold up to visual scrutiny after so many years. It's very nice to see you working on a major movie again Alex. You and the work you're doing is simply irreplaceable.
Alex Funke deserves to be hired on every big budget effects movie til the day he dies, with directors kissing his feet. The dude is the greatest. His work is impeccable. Miniatures are always the way to go.
one of the best sequels I've ever seen, the amount of love that went into these from people that really appreciate the beauty of the original is what makes it so special
Personally, I think miniatures look far better than CGI, so if I were a film maker, I'd try to get weta workshop to do as many miniatures as possible. Go New Zealand
When I first heard there would be a new Blade Runner movie, I was incredibly sceptical (like any sequel nowadays). But it blows my mind how much detail and love was actually put into this movie. This is quite possibly my favorite movie of the decade and it makes me proud to be a Blade Runner fan.
So that's why it looked so unique. We're just so used to CGI which just isn't quite there yet. Getting there though. Really cool to see practical effects playing such an important role. It proves itself time and time again. Great work!
Konrad Dobson CGI is pretty much already there, it's just that modelling, painting & render time is a limiting factor. When you're using an unbiased renderer with physically based materials, things get very slow. Also, textures get very big for diffuse, specular, normal, bump, subsurface etc. There are shots in the new Mad Max movie in a canyon/valley where you'd be shocked to find it was filmed in a flat desert. The plates for that are insane. I like to think I can spot CG effects, but it fooled me. Check out 'Why CG Sucks (Except It Doesn't)' video by Rocketjump Film School.
its interesting everyone complains cg looks bad, it certainly doesn't you just only notice it when its bad. The whole point of a vfx artists job is to make it look like they never did anything
CGI needs to be look custom again rather than looked mass produced. Compositing should be easy nowadays due to latest software and tech. Miniature sets can be enhanced with technology. Blend them for creating best effects.
I need more clips like this, from behind the scenes. I have seen the film 3 times in the cinema, and it is one of the most gorgeous films ever made, so much talent went into making it, so incredibly talented people, in all fields. So glad i saw this clip, just wished it was 1 hour longer. I need more, a lot more. I want to see everything! :D
Amazing work! Miniatures are a timeless tool to achieve stunning cinematography. Thank you Weta for being so passionate at what you do and keeping the bar so high.
penile 1 sometimes it's just better to have something physically built rather than just doing it all on the computer. It's just more satisfying to see something made by hands be shown on the screen. It's not the same if it was simply done with CGI.
There is no substitute for real. I've always said that CGI should help augment traditional effects not replace them. What these artists have created is truly amazing.
Bigatures! The Weta Workshop is amazing. The stuff they have done...the documentaries about their work on the Lord of the Rings extended edition DVD's are pretty amazing. The sheer love and passion for their craft comes shining through.
I'm so glad to see practical FX making a comeback! This is exactly what I've trained my whole life for and then felt discouraged when CGI started to take over. Nothing will ever look as good as real practical FX
Alex Funke, the miniature genius also behind the Lord of the Rings movies as well. The miniatures for those movies are what gave Middle Earth such a grounded and real feel. It's a total shame that physical miniatures have largely been replaced entirely by digital effects now. Peter Jackson said that when filming any kind of scene, having an actual physical object to film is far better than filling it in later with a computer effect. The eye picks up the subtlety of a tangible thing vs. a non-tangible thing.
It fills me with so much joy to realize these were miniatures, or bigatures, as I sat through the movie I was almost entirely convinced I was watching something digital. I'll forever be a fan of handmade practical sculpted work that Weta does. I'm blown away still.
I'm amazed at the insane level of detail in the buildings for what, in some scenes, will be a fleeting glimpse. In Blade Runner, Scott had model makers create miniature magazines with covers for the newspaper stands even though they could never be seen.
what about the part, when K is passing through the giant sculptures, its also practical? :) btw the film is masterpiece and i admire every artist who worked on this mindblowing film
There is still a few movies to come out this year. Phantom Thread, The Post and all the money in the world are all strong films that are expected to compete strongly for the oscars. So it's hard to say at this point. But i think this movie will be front runner in Production design, sound mixing, sound editing, best female supporting role (Sylvia Hoeks), best male supporting role (Harrison Ford), Best director and maybe even best film. The CGI in this film is actually for the most part background fill, most of this film was set pieces and real environments. So it does not stand a chance against movies like war for the planet of the apes, which has insane CGI. Before i have seen the last major films coming out later this year, i think this film will win for best production design, that's the one i'm most positive about. Because the production design in this film is absolutely fantastic. EDIT: And lol. i forgot about Deakins. i have taken it for granted he will win it this time, i have started forgetting him xD The strongest Oscar canditate in this film is by far Roger Deakings for cinematography, the film is so beautifully shot, it ranks as one of the best works of cinematography of all time. Deakins is this year in his own league entirely. Not even a competition.
Lol yes. Thanks xD. I have taken it for granted he will win it this time, so i have started forgetting he was even in the movie roflmao. I have been like saying for a month now that this cinematography is in another world basically, that Deakins is in his own league entirely this year and that the Oscar should be more or less a guarantee. lol. so yes, the absolute strongest Oscar candidate in this film is indeed Deakins, without any doubt. It's not even a competition IMO, if he does not get it, it's a scandal, because this film is one of the most beautiful shot film of all time. There just isn't a chance any film coming out later this year can compete, not a single chance.
You guys at Weta Workshop are an inspiration to myself and countless other filmmakers, keep up the good work! The seamless beauty of the worlds built by your teams will live forever in the arts.
I thought they were CGI... your miniatures were ruined by too many digital filters in the final product. They look better in this video. Absolutely brilliant work on your part!
It's incredible, plain and simple. I'll admit, as I was watching I had a strong suspicion I was seeing miniatures, but it incited such a joy in me. You associate miniatures and stuff like that with the greats of cinema, not so much contemporary film. To see it done for a 2017 film is just awesome.
And still more $$$ goes to the top actors and marketing, which is one of the biggest problems in making films. Like most capitalist endeavours, the real creators are grossly underpaid.
yeah, this is why I quit this industry. I felt like it was ruining my passion. Overworked, underpaid and always taken advantage of...even if you were CEO you would still be under a lot of stress and little pay
Well seeing as the top actors and marketing are what usually draw people into seats and so all the other filmmakers can still get paid, well yeah I imagine that would be where a lot of the money goes.
You're saying that as if Weta Workshop is some slave labour outfit. I'm sure they were very well compensated. What Ryan Gosling made has no bearing on what Weta Workshop made. Like most capitalist endeavours, everyone is free to decide if they want to work for $X or not.
Shadow Broker and like most capitalist endeavours the top 1% decide the Xs that are going to be given .... the workers might have a little say but once again like all capitalist endeavours... not enough say
Shane Benjamson well not fair considering the fact that its the hard work of these people that get the movie done ... you want to enjoy the beautiful cinematography and all the other shit ... pay them good money as well
I love this, CGI can't do inherent flaws that real surfaces illuminated with real light show to a real camera. Suck on that you PIXEL pushing lovers. CGI never made the grade.
All of the work that was put in the detailed scenes, the acting, cinematography, sound design and soundtrack. It all works together to create a masterpiece that I can proudly call my favorite movie.
Stylistically it's to keep in line with the look of the original. Practically it reacts realistically to on set lighting. Also limits how much camera movement you can achieve, which I think prevents the filmmakers from straying into the superfluous camera moves typical of many effects heavy films these days (ie. Ghost in the Shell).
I can't even explain how much I'm in love with everything about this movie.. now discovering about these behind the scene artworks makes me even fall for it harder. Hats off to each and every crew member of BR2049. I'm dying to have more such movies. It's truly a blessing ❤️
Why doesn't it look that good on screen? Did the studio budge in and ask for it to be CGI instead? Because there's definitely something being done that's making it look fake, liquid like
I was amazed on how well the old movie flowed into the new one. Flawlessly. If I didn’t know it I would of thought the two movies were made just a few years apart. Great job.
These sets are fascinating, and really great work by great artists. There ware a lot of comments 6 years ago pro set building and anti CGI, but CGI has improved a lot in the last 6 years. I would imagine today's unreal engine would rival this mini model set. CGI was pretty slow to progress for the prior 30 years, but really has accelerated lately. I am not pro model or pro CGI, but do love movies that show an immersive environment where the viewer forgets about reality.
Seeing the film for the first time, I absolutely lit up during the fly through to LAPD when I recognized that the buildings were practically built “miniatures.” It felt so lovingly old school to me. Bravo to Weta for all their hard/smart work. Hopefully with the advent of 3D printing technology, these types of practical effects will no longer be prohibitively expensive and used more and more in place of CGI. They just fill up the frame and create such a depth that CGI will never be able to replicate.
When I saw BR 2049 I was impressed by the "realness" of these shots, that I thought were CGI. I'm so thrilled to see that they were actual miniature pieces. Fantastic craftmenship!
This is incredible. Unlike a lot of other current day science fiction movies the scenery of BR 2049 had actual weight and I believe this is why. This art & craft should stay part of the movie world!
I remember that I was so blown away after watching the movie, that I still sat when the curtain fell after the end titles. Now knowing that even these buildings were thoroughly built miniatures boosts my appreciation for this true masterpiece!
My goodness. When watching the film I was entranced by the amazing special effects. To see that the city and everything were miniatures just blows my mind. I can't even remember the last film I saw with miniatures that looked this amazing and real.
Its CGI and miniatures. www.artofvfx.com/BladeRunner2049/BladeRunner2049_JohnNelson_ITW_02B.jpg www.artofvfx.com/BladeRunner2049/BladeRunner2049_JohnNelson_ITW_02A.jpg
A great thing to see that there is still place for old school miniature effect and that it's still worth for some people to use it on big screens like in the old days to bring back the real feelings of a world.
Honestly, this just goes to add to my admiration for a film that I already thought was close to perfect! Seeing the work these people went through to add that tiny level of authenticity...my respect!
www.artofvfx.com/BladeRunner2049/BladeRunner2049_JohnNelson_ITW_02A.jpg www.artofvfx.com/BladeRunner2049/BladeRunner2049_JohnNelson_ITW_02B.jpg No, its when CGI is well executed. There is a lot of CGI in movies do you ever will know.
Incredible. I honestly couldn't tell what was CGI and what was a miniature while watching the film. The junkyard blew me away.
junkyard was actually like 80% real, but it did have some CGI elements in it
It's a blend of CG and miniature craft. So you were looking at both.
Then they did thier jobs properly :)
@@ty1978 Exactly.
Yes its crazy !
Art!
That´s incredible, l just assumed the city was a mix fo CGI and real buldings but never imagined this. Thanks a lot for sharing the magic of these films!
+cpard2d2 I just assumed they did really good CGI buildings...Holy heck....
They did but they also use miniatures
+The Big Al Ummmm...yeah, that's literally why we're commenting...
I think it has a lot to do in how they lighted the buildings. Its mostly so dark you dont get a sence of that handmade texture at all.
The fact that you assumed it was real is what was intended.
The art of miniatures in filmmaking is rapidly dwindling, so I was so overjoyed to see that the team at Weta did the effects for this picture. You've all outdone yourselves, this is some of your best work ever committed to film.
It's a shame because it looks so much better than CGI. This film was so much better than all those CGI junk films. It looked REAL and gritty and the brain knows.
Honestly, with the recent star wars movies, this one, and the Laika movies, I feel like we might see a comeback of practical effects and miniatures. Much remains to be done, but it feels like it's been 10 years that I hadn't heard of big budet movies using miniatures at all (the last I can think of was Hellboy 2), and here are major releases clamoring their lineage to practical SFX and coming back to a "best of both worlds" approach that had been lacking since the Lord of the Rings.
Now I wait to see movies using practical that aren't remakes or sequel of nostalgic movies.
It's making a slow comeback with 3d print tech getting better in better. It's actually more common now than it was 2005-2015. Those were the dark years.
Rose: Or not www.artofvfx.com/BladeRunner2049/BladeRunner2049_JohnNelson_ITW_02B.jpg www.artofvfx.com/BladeRunner2049/BladeRunner2049_JohnNelson_ITW_02A.jpg
I mean, yeah there's gonna be some purely CG shots, which is fine and to be expected, especially since CGI has gotten to a point where it's pretty damn good. The thing that I think most of us are excited about is the blending of the practical effects and the visual effects, where the illusion becomes seamless. They're both tools to be used to help tell your story, and when both of them are used in the right way, you can get some incredible results, like the Lord of the Rings or more recently, this. I'm fine with a pure CG shot, and I'm fine with a pure miniature shot, it's when they're used perfectly together that you get that "movie magic." I'm just happy we're seeing a bit of a return to form practical effects having a place at all in a film. Like ToyFan said, the last few years really saw a steep decline of practical effects.
I think this movie has to be in the top 5 best SciFi movies of all time.
Aaron Wolbach Definitely
I would even say top 3. That being Blade Runner, 2001 A Space Odyssey, and .... Blade Runner 2049.
Aliens?
But yeah, top 5 for sure.
Alien > Aliens
Oh agreed. Alien is so much better than Aliens.
When we are praising Denis Villeneuve or Roger Deakins for their talents, we should not forget the exquisite work from these guys
Frankly I think Deakins' cinematography DID NOT do justice to the beautiful miniatures created here ... Looking at all the details of the models in this clip, its a lot more textured and real than the actual movie itself ... the director and cinematogrpher seems to have blurred out much of the grittiness with soft lens and the camera movements feel very cgi like... the movie made a lot of comments think its cgi .. whats the point of using such intricately made models and end up looking so fake that people think its bad cgi ?
88feji When watching on a standard TV, I agree, but in the cinema all the detail was there. If they're too detailed then it's just distracting and the shot loses its flow and momentum as your eyes have wandered away from where the director wanted them.
+Amberoot Audio
The fogging and misting in 2049 is overly done as it almost completely blurred out the talented model maker's artistic detailing on the miniatures. As a result looking at aerial scenes like the approaching the police headquarter, most of the buildings become just outlines rather than the beautifully dystopian detailed buildings we see in the making of clips ... misting is overkill in 2049 ...
The first movie in contrast, got the fogging just right in that it gave the movie a lot of cinematic mood and yet does not overpower the gritty dystopian textures and set details .. the end result is amazing..
There's a video putting the visuals of 2049 alongside the visuals of the first Blade Runner, many comments are saying that the visuals for the first movie is superior to the sequel in terms of mood and texture, some also mistook 2049's practical effects scenes to be cgi because of how soft and smooth things look ..
I also think the flying car's flight is a lot better in the first movie as it looks like its moving against the wind and atmosphere, more real ... In the sequel, the flying car mostly just moves too evenly like in a computer game and its especially bad when it crashes through the junks in one scene, it bulldozes through in a straight line so evenly like as if the junks are ping pong balls, as a result many scenes like this looks like a typical bad cgi scene ... The first movie's flying car scenes feels very real because they took into account the laws of physics in reality, the flights felt real because you can almost feel the tangible resistance of the wind and atmostphere, the sequel failed to do these things ..
I do think that Deakins and Villeneuve made some bad judgement calls ..
88feji You've made some fair points which I can't really argue with, so thanks for that. I only differ in your opinion about the mist, as I personally just took it as extreme pollution. Google smog images of Hong Kong and Dehli and tell me they look sharp and detailed and non-cgi, and then add another 30 years in the future to that, and then factor in that it's a great artistic tool for someone like Deakins to use to his advantage. Also don't forget about the scale of these buildings compared to Hong Kong and Dehli, atmospheric perspective would definitely appear more pronounced.
+Amberoot Audio
The thing about the premise of Blade Runner is that it is the neverending toxic rains and toxic haze that created the dystopian world .. if you think about it, there has to be a balance where you have some of the toxic haze absorbed by the toxic rains. In the first movie, from the aesthetic perspective of establishing a cinematic look, it strikes a fine balance between showing off that dystopian textures vs adding an atmospheric mood to the movie.
But in 2049 there are a lot of self-contradicting scenes where on one hand the atmosphere has so much thick fog (much more than the first movie) that the buildings are almost blurred out completely BUT in many other scenes, the lighting is so flat and bright instead of being dispersed and darkened by the haze .. its very self contradictory and unscientific ..
Aside from the unscientific aspects, my main problem with 2049's thick fogging is that I'm just thinking from the movie making aesthetic point of view that 2049 just overdid with the fogging because now a lot of the dystopian textures are not visible anymore which makes the environment less real, less tangible and too smooth and cgi like, which defeats the whole purpose of employing great talented artists to created dystopian looking models.
Of course the environment can be anything the director wants it to be for the future, he can always rationalise it by saying the future is this and that ... but whether its effective and creates the problem of looking intangible and cgi like, its up to the audience's personal preferences. I can't argue on personal tastes, so you're just as right as I am with regards to whether those scenes work or do not work from a cinematic point of view ..
I knew these miniatures are what made the film feel real
Word on That.
NADS IQ not once they add atmospheric elements to help sell the fact that it is in fact large
When Ryan leaves Greater Los Angeles I spotted the Sulaco in a cloud burst upper right hand corner of the screen..:)...
Don't you mean feel 'reel'? Hahahaha, a beautiful film and an interesting vignette on the lighting, fantastic :)
How to make a train model IMAX-worthy...
I didn't realize these were miniatures while watching. Amazing job. Using good miniatures instead of CGI, future proofs films. 2049 will look great 20 years from now just like the original.
They used good miniatures as well as really complex CGI. Check out the video "Evolution of VFX and the making of BladeRunner 2049"
@@gc3k The key is they have enough practical footage to design the CGI to match up with. If there's no practical footage, they can't match it up with anything (hence zero-practical films usually have bad CGI).
@@MrMarsFargo I don’t think either yourself or the original commenter know how CGI works. There’s no such thing as a zero practical CGI film. CGI artists use photo scanned elements and environments, photographed textures, filmed reference and so on and so forth. Even if it is a completely CG film, it’s going to be based in reality. You don’t need to go and ‘film’ anything today in order to get photorealistic results, reality can be scanned into the computer and rendered in a totally photorealistic way all in real time ua-cam.com/video/k5t7DxTcBHw/v-deo.html
@@MrMarsFargo So what about Avatar…..
This movie is an instant classic.
When I saw this film in the theater I was blown away with how good it looks. I joked to myself that You guys at Weta made miniatures for the film. Then I watched the credits and when I saw a glimpse of "Alex Funke" gliding up the screen and confirmed it was you guys. I (quietly)cheered, laughed, clapped, and hollered! Ohhh, that was a good day. :]
Andy Belarus They probably did. They just know the world isn't ready yet for that kind of insane dedication. ;)
I worked on Blade Runner 2049, trust me, there are also gigantic amounts of CGI/digital vfx, more than you could ever find while searching for it. CGI isn't ugly if used cautiously, it's like any other tool. It's great that they also did miniatures, in fact, the more you mix techniques, the better. But don't fool yourselves, it's not a major part of the VFX in this movie.
Many people criticize CGI harshly while praising practical effects, while not even realizing these same practical effects are enhanced, improved or even mostly replaced by CGI.
That's awesome that you worked on it! I was just thinking to myself "I wonder how much CGI really went into BR2049..."
I kind of feel that practical effects and miniatures might now be used more as a promotional tool than perhaps because it's essential to the production process for that film. With all the bad press that CGI often (and quite unfairly) gets, it seems like every big production has some practical element now which is highly promoted as part of the hype as if to say "hey! Look this is done for real, come watch our film!" If so then hat's not necessarily a bad thing I guess, because the audience gets to see some wonderful old-skool techniques in use, those craftspeople are in work and the film doesn't feel as souless as a result. CGI is a bit like sound. You only notice it when it's bad (unless there's a stylistic reason to draw attention to it).
Could not the VFX team have computer generated the whole movie ? What's the benefit of having practical miniature set ?
@@ker7743 Stands the test of time in the future when current cgi would look outdated. One of the reasons the original Blade Runner still looks phenomenal till this day.
@@gooner3681 were at the point where CG has conquered most of the "dating" anomalies from decades ago. Physically based lighting for example. You really cant get more advanced than the way real light works. (this is why the rock looked so horrible as the scorpion king..bad lighting and no subsurface skin texturing.) VFX sims are also physically based, like explosions, smoke, etc behave mathematically so similar to the real world its indistinguishable. biggest problems arise when companies do things on the cheap.. too many cheats will give you bad quality, no matter the medium. I know modern CG mostly works because of how many people dont even notice it anymore, which means job well done.
@@ker7743 probably cheaper and more control to do practicals..
This movie was amazing to watch in Imax, just stunning. The visuals and the music were top notch.
I'm so blown away by this. Absolutely incredible work!
This is the reason Blade Runner will always be miles apart from anything produced in a regular Hollywood CGI movie. True art in the hands of masterful, passionate, talented and dedicated artisans.
People who do CGI are artist too.
www.artofvfx.com/BladeRunner2049/BladeRunner2049_JohnNelson_ITW_02B.jpg
www.artofvfx.com/BladeRunner2049/BladeRunner2049_JohnNelson_ITW_02A.jpg
area.autodesk.com/customer-stories/richard-hoover-of-framestore-my-journey-to-blade-runner-2049/
And they put their soul into it for sure, its not easy as it seems.
CGI can look indistinguishable from reality, it just isn't all the time. If given enough time and money, it will look flawless.
Also CGI artists are no less artists than these
I'm working on two short films. It may take a year to finish, but I can assure you that its posible to archieve fotorealism in animation recreating films with just 1k$ PC at your house. Also, as a CGI artist, I've seen movies, especially independents , where enviroments are CGI and I did not even noticed at all until I saw the breakdown on internet. In natural state rather than extraordinary enviroment its indistinguishable, again, as a CGI artist, this has blown my mind so many times.
I'm studying fine arts with specialization on painting and yes you're right. Doesn't matter what render you are using, its all upon the artist, thats why most of GREAT cgi artist are traditional artists too, you can't skip it.
I could listen to Alex Funke talk about his job for HOURS.
Can't believe those scenes were done with miniatures! Absolutely amazing!
Weta never disappoints me, you guys are great, keep up the amazing work.
well except the hobbit films. But we don't talk about those
Bloody hell I thought they were all CG. Honestly if the whole film was just sweeping shots of the city and landscapes I would've been just as happy. I really hope they go deeper into this stuff on the Blu-ray
Don't forget the score. That's what made the landscape shots even better.
Blade Runner 2049 just HAS to win some technical Oscars, it deserved them all
This better be on the Blu-Ray. Underrated film.
Kadeem John I'm 100% sure it'll be on blue ray lol
It will be out on 4K blu ray soon enough.
Underrated by normal movie goers (who mostly don't know shit about the value of filmmaking), and called an instant classic by paid critics (who mostly know shit about the value of filmmaking) ....man I would really like all schools in the world teach filmography
@@Ziagl What an insult to this team to not have that included on the BluRay. It’s one of the most impressive things about this film.
I have watched the Lord Of The Rings Appendices many times. With an average of 7 hours each and after so many times watching it, you start to feel like you're getting to know the people who worked on those things.
Seeing a veteran like Alex Funke after so many years makes me feel like I've seen a dear old friend that I hadn't realised I missed very much. Alex Funke and his miniatures/bigatures are one of the main reasons why the LOTR series were visually so great and can still hold up to visual scrutiny after so many years.
It's very nice to see you working on a major movie again Alex. You and the work you're doing is simply irreplaceable.
Looks much much better than CGI, i hope other movies will take some notes from Blade Runner 2049
eeehmm what Only examples I've seen in modern times is the Force Awakens and this. They need to be pushed more, because nobodies barely doing it
Mike Frying christopher nolan did some very cool miniature scenes in the dark knight and inception, they look really awesome.
Interstellar
Don't count on that - it's all about money.
eeehmm what Maybe not. Lost money.
Alex Funke deserves to be hired on every big budget effects movie til the day he dies, with directors kissing his feet. The dude is the greatest. His work is impeccable. Miniatures are always the way to go.
More of this in films please, it's just absolutely incredible.
Honestly, this is the first project in the world that deserves advert money!
Incredible, the detail always amazes me. Brilliant work weta.
one of the best sequels I've ever seen, the amount of love that went into these from people that really appreciate the beauty of the original is what makes it so special
I was sure that the junkyard was made on actual landfill
Me too, I still kind of do, my mind won't accept that it wasn't.
same here! It looks real
It was, but that was for scenes with real actors. This was made for aerial shots in the film.
I’m amazed it was miniatures. Just goes to show how utterly brilliant these people are
Same here. I knew the city was miniatures. But the trash mesa was a miniature too ??? That is truly amazing work!
As if I couldn't be more amazed by this movie, I find out miniatures were used, spectacular.
Bladerunner 2049 is going to age so beautifully.
Like Blue Oyster Cult's back catalog!?:)
Kudos to all visual departments for such an amazing work!
Personally, I think miniatures look far better than CGI, so if I were a film maker, I'd try to get weta workshop to do as many miniatures as possible. Go New Zealand
Hell yeah. This is what it's all about. More of this type of production in movies please.
The miniatures are sick!
When I first heard there would be a new Blade Runner movie, I was incredibly sceptical (like any sequel nowadays). But it blows my mind how much detail and love was actually put into this movie. This is quite possibly my favorite movie of the decade and it makes me proud to be a Blade Runner fan.
So that's why it looked so unique. We're just so used to CGI which just isn't quite there yet. Getting there though. Really cool to see practical effects playing such an important role. It proves itself time and time again. Great work!
Konrad Dobson I can't wait for CGI to get there, as it would broaden what is possible in film, but this is an artform I don't want to die.
Konrad Dobson CGI is pretty much already there, it's just that modelling, painting & render time is a limiting factor. When you're using an unbiased renderer with physically based materials, things get very slow. Also, textures get very big for diffuse, specular, normal, bump, subsurface etc.
There are shots in the new Mad Max movie in a canyon/valley where you'd be shocked to find it was filmed in a flat desert. The plates for that are insane. I like to think I can spot CG effects, but it fooled me.
Check out 'Why CG Sucks (Except It Doesn't)' video by Rocketjump Film School.
CGI is 'there'...but some people are less talented than others, and produce bad looking CGI...the CGI in Prometheus is seamless work
its interesting everyone complains cg looks bad, it certainly doesn't you just only notice it when its bad. The whole point of a vfx artists job is to make it look like they never did anything
CGI needs to be look custom again rather than looked mass produced. Compositing should be easy nowadays due to latest software and tech. Miniature sets can be enhanced with technology. Blend them for creating best effects.
This way to make cinema is called true art.
I need more clips like this, from behind the scenes. I have seen the film 3 times in the cinema, and it is one of the most gorgeous films ever made, so much talent went into making it, so incredibly talented people, in all fields. So glad i saw this clip, just wished it was 1 hour longer. I need more, a lot more. I want to see everything! :D
So cool that they're still using practical models for major films. Can't beat it.
Fantastic work.
Respect for maintaining and creating the typical 1982 BladeRunner non CGI effects.
Amazing work! Miniatures are a timeless tool to achieve stunning cinematography. Thank you Weta for being so passionate at what you do and keeping the bar so high.
This is one of the best science fiction movies ever made, I love how much effort and passion it has been given in such details.
Incredible! The shots I thought were CG but were actually big-atures shows that miniatures are still effective in movies. Well done!
penile 1 sometimes it's just better to have something physically built rather than just doing it all on the computer. It's just more satisfying to see something made by hands be shown on the screen. It's not the same if it was simply done with CGI.
There is no substitute for real. I've always said that CGI should help augment traditional effects not replace them. What these artists have created is truly amazing.
Brilliantly beautiful
My god is this film astoundingly underappreciated. I will NEVER understand that. I think it was incredibly good. A perfect sequel to the OG.
This was literally so good I blue myself...
Bigatures! The Weta Workshop is amazing. The stuff they have done...the documentaries about their work on the Lord of the Rings extended edition DVD's are pretty amazing. The sheer love and passion for their craft comes shining through.
Practical effects are something you feel, as amazing as cgi is, I don’t feel anything when I see it.
My favorite scene in this movie is that drive through the storm into LA. Thank you for all your excellent hard work.
I wish I hade a mini city like that to play warhammer 40k in lol awsome stuff
I'm so glad to see practical FX making a comeback! This is exactly what I've trained my whole life for and then felt discouraged when CGI started to take over. Nothing will ever look as good as real practical FX
Alex Funke, the miniature genius also behind the Lord of the Rings movies as well. The miniatures for those movies are what gave Middle Earth such a grounded and real feel. It's a total shame that physical miniatures have largely been replaced entirely by digital effects now. Peter Jackson said that when filming any kind of scene, having an actual physical object to film is far better than filling it in later with a computer effect. The eye picks up the subtlety of a tangible thing vs. a non-tangible thing.
It fills me with so much joy to realize these were miniatures, or bigatures, as I sat through the movie I was almost entirely convinced I was watching something digital. I'll forever be a fan of handmade practical sculpted work that Weta does. I'm blown away still.
I can't believe they made ALL this shit with their own hands. Imagine that!
I'm amazed at the insane level of detail in the buildings for what, in some scenes, will be a fleeting glimpse. In Blade Runner, Scott had model makers create miniature magazines with covers for the newspaper stands even though they could never be seen.
gtfo no wonder it looked so beautiful.
You should have an exhibition of the models 😊
You can do all the CG you want but it will never replace the real thing, the real set, the hard work and attention to detail. Absolutely gorgeous
AMAZING WORK !!! Magnifique ;)
I was really happy they used stuff made with real material. CGI still can't give me the same effect of presence, of weight, of imperfection.
GoodOleUltraviolence the truth is a good balance of the right tool at the right situation.
what about the part, when K is passing through the giant sculptures, its also practical? :) btw the film is masterpiece and i admire every artist who worked on this mindblowing film
J. Mino yes! There are photos of a huge set with some of those statues and a very cool lighting setup above it!
Yep that was shot in a huge soundstage in Budapest (where most of the movie was shot) and those are actual sculptures.
Wow! Genevieve, what an amazing project, what fantastic artwork you guys did. FABULOUS!! love Dad and Renate.
This movie deserves sooo many Oscars...
There is still a few movies to come out this year. Phantom Thread, The Post and all the money in the world are all strong films that are expected to compete strongly for the oscars. So it's hard to say at this point. But i think this movie will be front runner in Production design, sound mixing, sound editing, best female supporting role (Sylvia Hoeks), best male supporting role (Harrison Ford), Best director and maybe even best film. The CGI in this film is actually for the most part background fill, most of this film was set pieces and real environments. So it does not stand a chance against movies like war for the planet of the apes, which has insane CGI.
Before i have seen the last major films coming out later this year, i think this film will win for best production design, that's the one i'm most positive about. Because the production design in this film is absolutely fantastic.
EDIT: And lol. i forgot about Deakins. i have taken it for granted he will win it this time, i have started forgetting him xD The strongest Oscar canditate in this film is by far Roger Deakings for cinematography, the film is so beautifully shot, it ranks as one of the best works of cinematography of all time. Deakins is this year in his own league entirely. Not even a competition.
FabledSomething don't forget cinematography if Deakins doesn't win he would have gotten robbed
Lol yes. Thanks xD. I have taken it for granted he will win it this time, so i have started forgetting he was even in the movie roflmao. I have been like saying for a month now that this cinematography is in another world basically, that Deakins is in his own league entirely this year and that the Oscar should be more or less a guarantee.
lol. so yes, the absolute strongest Oscar candidate in this film is indeed Deakins, without any doubt. It's not even a competition IMO, if he does not get it, it's a scandal, because this film is one of the most beautiful shot film of all time. There just isn't a chance any film coming out later this year can compete, not a single chance.
so much love and detail was put into this movie.. definetly deserves a place in the hall of fame
I miss the good old day,s when miniatures ruled before the advent of CGI.
Have you ever seen Waterworld? The film is ok but the visual aspects of it are incredible. They actualyy built whole scrap islands it's awesome.
Yes i have seen Waterworld and you are right about the technical aspect of it.
You guys at Weta Workshop are an inspiration to myself and countless other filmmakers, keep up the good work! The seamless beauty of the worlds built by your teams will live forever in the arts.
I thought they were CGI... your miniatures were ruined by too many digital filters in the final product. They look better in this video. Absolutely brilliant work on your part!
It's incredible, plain and simple.
I'll admit, as I was watching I had a strong suspicion I was seeing miniatures, but it incited such a joy in me. You associate miniatures and stuff like that with the greats of cinema, not so much contemporary film. To see it done for a 2017 film is just awesome.
And still more $$$ goes to the top actors and marketing, which is one of the biggest problems in making films.
Like most capitalist endeavours, the real creators are grossly underpaid.
yeah, this is why I quit this industry. I felt like it was ruining my passion. Overworked, underpaid and always taken advantage of...even if you were CEO you would still be under a lot of stress and little pay
Well seeing as the top actors and marketing are what usually draw people into seats and so all the other filmmakers can still get paid, well yeah I imagine that would be where a lot of the money goes.
You're saying that as if Weta Workshop is some slave labour outfit. I'm sure they were very well compensated. What Ryan Gosling made has no bearing on what Weta Workshop made.
Like most capitalist endeavours, everyone is free to decide if they want to work for $X or not.
Shadow Broker and like most capitalist endeavours the top 1% decide the Xs that are going to be given .... the workers might have a little say but once again like all capitalist endeavours... not enough say
Shane Benjamson well not fair considering the fact that its the hard work of these people that get the movie done ... you want to enjoy the beautiful cinematography and all the other shit ... pay them good money as well
I could watch 12 hours of this. Don’t know if I ever would, but I know I could.
I love this, CGI can't do inherent flaws that real surfaces illuminated with real light show to a real camera.
Suck on that you PIXEL pushing lovers. CGI never made the grade.
lol, I call this bullshit
All of the work that was put in the detailed scenes, the acting, cinematography, sound design and soundtrack. It all works together to create a masterpiece that I can proudly call my favorite movie.
can somebody please explain the benefits of such an approach over the more conventional cg route?
uncanny valley
Stylistically it's to keep in line with the look of the original. Practically it reacts realistically to on set lighting. Also limits how much camera movement you can achieve, which I think prevents the filmmakers from straying into the superfluous camera moves typical of many effects heavy films these days (ie. Ghost in the Shell).
I feel like it makes everything seem more real.
You get a much more tangible and realistic feel
THIS is the conventional route. CG Miniatures and digital matte-paintings are the new inventions. ;)
This kind of aspect to this film should've earned it at least another 100 million. At least! Amazing stuff.
Great work, but looks like average cgi in theater((((
It looked alot better in 4k theater
Small Retardedfish Then you don’t know how to spot Cgi.
You guys should be so proud to have helped make such a fantastic film that was truly worthy to be a sequel to the original, well done.
too bad the movie scenes were so blurry, rainy or dark you really couldnt see any of the details in the miniatures
Kalle Konttinen how were they blurry?
They weren't blurry lol, and you could see a lot of details, maybe there was something wrong with your theater's projector.
I can't even explain how much I'm in love with everything about this movie.. now discovering about these behind the scene artworks makes me even fall for it harder. Hats off to each and every crew member of BR2049. I'm dying to have more such movies. It's truly a blessing ❤️
Why doesn't it look that good on screen? Did the studio budge in and ask for it to be CGI instead?
Because there's definitely something being done that's making it look fake, liquid like
I was amazed on how well the old movie flowed into the new one. Flawlessly. If I didn’t know it I would of thought the two movies were made just a few years apart. Great job.
Thanks Wetta for really caring about this masterpiece, just like the first this will be an eternal classic.
I love this movie so much. The fact that these were practical is even better.
"Is it Blade Runner yet?" I love that!
These sets are fascinating, and really great work by great artists. There ware a lot of comments 6 years ago pro set building and anti CGI, but CGI has improved a lot in the last 6 years. I would imagine today's unreal engine would rival this mini model set. CGI was pretty slow to progress for the prior 30 years, but really has accelerated lately.
I am not pro model or pro CGI, but do love movies that show an immersive environment where the viewer forgets about reality.
Brilliant. I hope those sets never get destroyed, are preserve and show to the public somewhere.
Seeing the film for the first time, I absolutely lit up during the fly through to LAPD when I recognized that the buildings were practically built “miniatures.” It felt so lovingly old school to me.
Bravo to Weta for all their hard/smart work. Hopefully with the advent of 3D printing technology, these types of practical effects will no longer be prohibitively expensive and used more and more in place of CGI. They just fill up the frame and create such a depth that CGI will never be able to replicate.
My jaw dropped... These bigatures are plain awesome and looked totally real in The movie!
Love the way modern day filmmakers are combining miniatures with CGI fx!
Compositing should be advanced nowadays than how it look 30 years ago. I wonder of today's tech can blend in moving miniature vehicles as well.
When I saw BR 2049 I was impressed by the "realness" of these shots, that I thought were CGI. I'm so thrilled to see that they were actual miniature pieces. Fantastic craftmenship!
You can hear the passion in that man’s voice! Love it, great job
You guys are amazing. God, I remember the Skotak brothers back in the day. You guys have come so far. Miniatures forever!
How was compositing back then? Is digital composition the successor to rear projection?
This is incredible. Unlike a lot of other current day science fiction movies the scenery of BR 2049 had actual weight and I believe this is why. This art & craft should stay part of the movie world!
I remember that I was so blown away after watching the movie, that I still sat when the curtain fell after the end titles. Now knowing that even these buildings were thoroughly built miniatures boosts my appreciation for this true masterpiece!
My goodness. When watching the film I was entranced by the amazing special effects. To see that the city and everything were miniatures just blows my mind. I can't even remember the last film I saw with miniatures that looked this amazing and real.
Its CGI and miniatures.
www.artofvfx.com/BladeRunner2049/BladeRunner2049_JohnNelson_ITW_02B.jpg
www.artofvfx.com/BladeRunner2049/BladeRunner2049_JohnNelson_ITW_02A.jpg
A great thing to see that there is still place for old school miniature effect and that it's still worth for some people to use it on big screens like in the old days to bring back the real feelings of a world.
I’m so glad to see rhino in this workflow, a real engineer tool for movie production, nice
I just have to say... really, really well done. You absolutely brought the world to life in a way that other tech just can't. Thank you.
Honestly, this just goes to add to my admiration for a film that I already thought was close to perfect! Seeing the work these people went through to add that tiny level of authenticity...my respect!
WOW they DID use miniatures for this movie!! So glad they did, there is something so incredible about them. Really admirable in this CGI driven era
www.artofvfx.com/BladeRunner2049/BladeRunner2049_JohnNelson_ITW_02A.jpg
www.artofvfx.com/BladeRunner2049/BladeRunner2049_JohnNelson_ITW_02B.jpg
No, its when CGI is well executed. There is a lot of CGI in movies do you ever will know.