XPost: alt.tv.scifi, alt.tv.scifi.channel   
   From: cpd@cat.pan.net   
      
   "Stewart"  wrote in message   
   news:hem8pb$hc6$1@news.eternal-september.org...   
   >   
   > "Tim McGaughy"  wrote in message   
   > news:POGdnR0pEc_cqpbWnZ2dnUVZ_s2dnZ2d@posted.toastnet...   
   >> catpandaddy wrote:   
   >>>   
   >>> "Tim McGaughy"  wrote in message   
   >>> news:17ydnWp2f9kwZpTWnZ2dnUVZ_oWdnZ2d@posted.toastnet...   
   >>>> RT wrote:   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>> It was ground-breaking in its use of computer imagery, but the bar   
   >>>>>> was   
   >>>>>> about as low as it could be at that point. It would have been nice,   
   >>>>>> too,   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> Quite good for 1982.   
   >>>>   
   >>>> Again, the bar was quite low. They weren't even able to integrate the   
   >>>> computer animation with the live action. Most of the scenes where   
   >>>> people seemed to be interacting with computer imagery were done with   
   >>>> matte paintings or traditional cel animation. There weren't even any   
   >>>> textures.   
   >>>   
   >>> I knew bits and pieces of that, but I never fully got why there was such   
   >>> a technical barrier with compositing the CGI over the live shots.  One   
   >>> would think computer generated images would be just as easy to make   
   >>> mattes from. Any word on what made it problematic at the time?   
   >>   
   >> Lack of imagination, maybe. Or maybe cost.   
   >   
   > Most likely cost.  There is probably more computing horsepower in my phone   
   > today then what was available for what was basically the infancy of CGI in   
   > those (VisiCalc) days.   
      
   But if the problem was the cost of integrating existing computer footage   
   with live action, I don't see where cost would have been a factor.  Just   
   make the pixels in the empty background space the same color as whatever   
   blue screen you are using for the actors, and the CGI objects should   
   composite in just as easily as any physical object.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)