Just finished the final episode of Babylon 5’s season 5, including all the 2 hour special insertions. As it usually is, it was inspiring, even though it was the CGI technology of a decade ago.
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When I look back on the things of the 80’s and 90’s that inspired me to pursue 3D graphics, either beginning my pursuits or further encouraging me), a distinct list comes to mind. Some are early CGI movies (Tron, The Last Starfighter, The Abyss, Terminator 2, Spawn, The Fifth Element, Dragon Heart) , some are TV shows (Babylon 5, Starship Troopers), some are 3D designers and developers (ISO, Eric Wegner, Kai Krause, and many others).
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Looking back at a the state of the art a decade ago, I see very clearly what the last decade has brought to CGI. In many ways, the advancement of tools has caused a revolution, and in other ways, a backlash. Routine use of Photoshop in publications has drawn heat for representing too perfect a world for our impressionable youth. Films now contain more CGI than people want to see. CGI is now a hobby as well as a production industry, with many people entering the field with expectations of it to being much easier than it really is, often fed by visions they gain in digital gaming. The hobbyist stores that expanded like mushrooms are starting to feel financial strain.
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Yet CGI continues to advance, growing better and more efficient. And for me, this is why it is important for me to keep in touch with those things in the 80’s and 90’s that inspired me to pursue the field. It reminds me in the face of much of the backlash why I got involved with it in the first place.
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But now it is time for me to return to end of this decade, carry that fresh charge of inspiration with me.