Visual effects have become an absolutely staggering art form. It's amazing how much of what we see on the big screen can be created, or simply enhanced, thanks to computers. A new video shows us just how much of Black Panther was never really there during Captain America: Civil War. While we expect some costumes, like that or Iron Man, to be created as a visual effect, it turns out that the same is very true for T'Challa as well.
The VFX focus for this new video is Black Panther, possibly because he was one of the elements of Captain America: Civil War that we had not seen previously. While we certainly knew that even Black Panther's (comparatively) simple costume benefited from CGI work, it's remarkable to see just how much of it really was. While there was a suit, that we see clearly here, it's missing much of the detail of the final version. All of that was added digitally.
The other intriguing thing to look at is how much of the environments were created via computer. It's so easy to assume that the skyline and horizon you're looking at must be real, because why in the world would they not be, and yet, we see here that quite often a sequence that appears to have been created outdoors was not.
The difference between the image before and after the effects is remarkable. It's not surprising that so many movies are relying so heavy on visual effects, as doing so gives you nearly complete control over every aspect of the shot.
Many would argue that visual effects are relied on too much in movies these days. There's a feeling that a great deal is lost when so much of what we see on screen is artificial. Certainly, with comic book superhero movies, it's a necessity to do a lot of visual effects work, but do they take it too far. Should movies rely more on practical effects and, well, reality, whenever it is possible to do so?
What do you think? Should Marvel be doing more work with practical effects? Certainly, there was a time when CGI had an obviously artificial look, but to a large extent, the technology seems to have gotten past that. Are VFX realistic enough now that it doesn't matter? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
