A few years ago, animations were captured manually. Once the computer became involved with cinema, the computer took on the responsibility of “creating it all.” Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) contributes to the creation of illusions or images for art, such as print media, video games, movies, television programs, and commercials.
Even a small company or an individual can create something using CGI, even from home. This has led to the emergence of subcultures with new vocabulary in cyberspace. It is based entirely on technology, art, and science.
In an interview with the Sunday Observer, Darshana Somarathne, a senior lecturer and deputy director of the National E-learning Resource Centre, explained what CGI technology is and the connection between CGI technology and Sri Lankan cinema.
Q: What is CGI technology?
 Darshana Somarathne
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A: From the earliest days of world cinema, we have seen the use of special visual effects. In the meantime, we used special visual effects to create rain, fire, special characters, and mysterious things. The use of effects can also be seen in 1902 in the film The Trip to the Moon by George Mailey. On that trip to the moon, the rocket made by the people going to the moon and the living beings on the moon were created using special visual effects. It was in the early days. After the computer was created, it began to invade every subject. It was also involved in cinema for creative purposes. Through that, films based on CGI technology were created. Gradually, this technology came to the cinema.
The first Jurassic Park movie was created as a cartoon. The world-famous Jurassic Park movie was made in 1995. There, while creating Jurassic-era dinosaurs, they were physically created in large studios. The dinosaurs’ movements, such as shaking their heads, opening and closing their mouths, and shaking their hands and legs, were then performed using cranes. It is a job that has to be done at a huge cost. Then, by crane, the physically prepared dinosaurs were taken into the jungle and filmed inside the jungle. Not every film-maker has the resources to produce such large-scale films.
But after being given the ability to create different characters from the computer, we can see that different characters are created from the computer itself. Character modeling can be done by the computer itself. Anyone can enter a room, sit in front of a computer, and create any character they want. It can create a good design at a low cost without much effort. Not just one method, but many different methods have been developed in connection with computers today.
Within those methods, there are a number of technical streams like motion capture and Chroma key. We can make movies with it. However, when it comes to Hollywood films, they use the technology that film uses to market films every day. But in Bollywood and in Sri Lankan cinema, they use characters to market the film. Namely, the actors and the directors. But Hollywood is marketing its films based on the extent to which they use film technology. Similarly, in Kollywood and Tollywood cinema, that is, in Telugu and Tamil cinema today, they are trying to use technology without using the traditional ways, such as using characters they originally used to promote films. The best example of this can be seen in the recent blockbuster film Bahubali. Here, the film is marketed based on technology. Today, cinema is evolving through technology.
Q: What are your views on Sri Lankan cinema and use of technology?
A: At present, Sri Lankan cinema has suffered a setback. One of the reasons for this is the lack of facilities in cinemas and the lack of interest in our cinema by Sri Lankan audiences. In terms of world cinema traditions, the number of people who watch films in our country is very low. But we can try to present historic characters through technology since we are unable to spend a lot of money on making the film. We can do so by using CGI technology since the cost is low. Therefore, it is worth focusing on this.
Q: What are the occasions when this technology was used in Sri Lanka?
A: This technology is not much used in Sri Lankan cinema. There are some difficulties in bringing technical equipment. But amid difficulties, some films have been created. For example, the movie Sarigama has created many locations using a technology called Chroma Key. The background is set to green screen, and then computer-generated backgrounds are used. The Bandanaya movie also used this technology to express the girls’ facial expressions and move household items. We have good craftsmen. Also, for the first time in Sri Lanka, the Vijayaba Kollaya movie has been made in 3D with editing effects.
The audience would not understand that technology has been used in the film. For example, Ran Kevita, Maya, and Ranja have used this CGI technology in their films.
Q: What are the different types of CGI?
A: There are numerous and diverse types.
* 2D/ 3D Modeling and Animation
In the early days of cinema, puppets and physical images made of clay and latex were used to capture 3D images. Two-dimensional images were drawn by hand and then filmed. But new experiments in computer technology have resulted in the creation of two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) computer software. Adobe Flash/Animator/Charractor, Toon Boom, Anime Studio (Moho), and Animo software were used to create 2D images, and software such as Poser, 3Ds Max, Maya, Cinema 4D, Unreal Engine, and ZBrush were used to create 3D images.
* Chroma Key/ Colour Key
In the post-production stage, this technique is used to compact two or more images on each layer, often combining the images more frequently. Colour Key, Green Screen Key, and Blue Screen Key are some of the other names for the Chroma Key. This technique involves removing the background or adding something new to a photo or video. This is done by removing the colour from a picture frame shot in front of a blue or green screen, and adding another background to that empty space.
Due to the minimal presence of blue and green colours in the human body, green and blue screens are widely used around the world. But sometimes other colours are also used. The colour of the screen used varies according to the colours of the clothes of the people appearing in the picture frame, the colours of the objects, and so on. For example, if at some point a person appearing in a picture frame or a content item has to be in blue, the screen is used in green.
* Motion Capture
The ends of sensitive points mounted on the moving parts of the body of a living person or animal point to 3D characters that have been computer-generated or scanned by 3D scanners. The three-dimensional character also changes distances according to the varying distances of the sensitive points of the live character. Accordingly, all the behaviors of the living character are represented by the three-dimensional character.
Among the world-famous films created using motion capture technology, films like “Load of the Ring” and “Avatar” stand out. Motion capture technology has also been extensively used in the animation of characters in 3D animated films such as Shrek, Finding Nimo, and Ants.
* Stop Motion
Stop motion filming is a strange art. In this production process, small characters are created and photographed from frame to frame with the variations that occur in them, and then the frames are displayed in a row. It is essential to recognize how the next frame changes from the previous frame and the functionality of the characters.
In the early days, frame-to-frame switching was done at eye level, but now software has been developed for that. Dragon Frame is one such program.
* Match Moving
This technology is used for accurate positioning, scaling, and orientation of action scenes during filming for use in visual effects in front of the camera. For example, in the movie Titanic, Jack and Rose move their arms around the front of the ship while the camera moves around them. It is essential that the three parts of the process should be proportionate, it means the three-dimensional ship model and the computer created background and people who were filmed. There, they have to be careful about the size of the frame, the direction and camera tracking movements, the duration of the frame, and the lighting conditions.
* Matte Painting/Travelling Matte
What happens here is that we create a background, or landscape, that is drawn in a setting since it is not conducive to filming the desired background.
Although drawing was done by hand in the early days, with the advent of computer technology, backgrounds are created using software such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects now. There, a beautiful scene is created using several scenes. Here, the filming is done in front of a colour screen, and the background is removed with the Chroma Key. The matte painting is then applied to the back layers.
For example, in the movie Bahubali-1, a young man and a young woman can be seen dancing in front of a waterfall. Its background is created entirely by graphics. Creating a background using multiple layers is also known as a traveling matte.
* Virtual Background
Lighting in a subtle way is important when using Chroma Key technology. Otherwise, the reflection of the light applied to the rear screen may fall on objects and characters and cause difficulties in obtaining the desired image. One of the latest solutions to this is to use virtual background technology.
Here, actors perform in front of a curved LED panel screen, and 3D-created background scenes are displayed on the screen. In editing, the background screen and the natural background are mixed with light and colour.
This technology was widely used in the creation of The Mandalorian, a Star Wars television series.
* Crowd Simulation
In film production, it is difficult to shoot a large number of characters at once. Therefore, the special technique used is to shoot several characters and then take several copies and place them in the frame as scheduled. This technique is especially used in framing large scenes, such as war scenes. This technology has been used extensively in films such as “Johda Akbar”, “300”, and “Avatar”.
* Bullet time
This is a visual effects system that creates an abstraction between the camera and the object being shot. This involves positioning the camera 360 degrees around a single character, capturing images, and then capturing those images as a single video.
This technology is widely used in the world-famous film The Matrix. In addition to bullet time technology, slow-motion technology was also used in the film.
* Virtual Reality
Virtual reality is a technology that provides an experience similar to or completely different from the real world. This can be identified as state-of-the-art technology used in the world of computer games as well as movies. When a player or a movie-goer holds a virtual reality device in front of his or her eyes, he or she enters another world. It is an image created before the eyes and a way of carrying his mind through the sounds heard in the ears. The direction-sensitive haptic technology activates images in front of our eyes in every direction we turn.
* Miniature Effects
A method of adjusting the scales of images produced by visual effects contained in image frames. In large-scale films such as Titanic, technology allows the ship to be small-sized and the human imagery to be adjusted to fit the dimensions of objects on those planes.
* Visual Effects (Maya live)
Using software such as Maya, you can create rain, snow, fog, clouds, explosions, clothing, fur, etc. and make movies a success.
* Digital Compositing
Image screens using any technology such as Chorma key, motion capture, crowd simulation, matte painting, virtual background, mini-acture effects, Maya live, etc. are systematically assembled as a single image by digital technology. Balancing the light, colour, image, depth, and motion of each layer is a special function here.
In creating these computer graphics, software such as Art of Illusion, Blender, V Ray, calimax modellers, DAZ 3D, Genesis 3D Editor, GLC Player, ZModeler, Maya, 3D MAX, Cinema 4D, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe After Effects have been used.
Q: Why do we need to give more attention to CGI technology?
A: The initial cost of purchasing CGI technology equipment is high. But film production can save a lot of money. One of the reasons why South Indian Telugu cinema is world famous is that it has beautiful stories with valuable concepts. The other main reason is the CGI technology they use. Although the CGI technology in Telugu movies is not as smooth as in Hollywood movies, it seems to make some effort. Although Sri Lankan cinema is poor in film technology compared to Telugu cinema, it is rich in conceptual aspects. There are a number of creators in Sri Lanka who provide CGI technical support for foreign films.
But they do not have the opportunity to contribute to Sri Lankan films. The main reason for this is that Sri Lankan filmmakers and directors, with the exception of a few, are still reluctant to trust CGI technology. During the Covid-19 epidemic, film companies and young people around the world turned to producing films and short films using CGI technology. If Sri Lankan filmmakers, directors, and responsible officials are concerned about this, it will be beneficial for the future of Sri Lankan cinema.
The advent of digital technology in the cinema has given a huge boost not only to film production but also to technology in cinemas, developed from 3D technology to 7D technology to give the viewer a realistic experience of the environment created by the film.
Digital technology enables the viewer to experience the three-dimensional scene, the smell, the heat, the cold, and the rain, the changing streams of light in front of the viewer’s eyes, and the movements of the seat, similar to the movements of film frames.