A.I.人工智慧電影內容與視效專業評論

作者: LucasArt@bbs.ee.ntu.edu.tw (小叮噹的口袋),        看板: movie
標題: A.I.人工智慧電影內容與視效專業評論-中文版
時間: 台大電機 Maxwell BBS (Sat Aug 18 11:19:19 2001)

原文作者:Manuel Alducin (已經同意翻譯轉載)
翻    譯: Hazuki 兄  (請大力感謝他的幫忙)

最近最秘密且最受注目的電影就是人工智慧( A.I. ), 此為Stanley Kubrick
的構想,經由 Steven Spielburg 之手拍攝, 劇本是根據 Brian Aldiss 的短篇
"Supertoys Last All Summer Long" 而來. 這個故事是現代版小木偶的重新
改版,在一個不遙遠的將來. Spielberg 的老夥伴 Dennis Muren 是 ILM
特效總監,加上 Scott Farrar, 帶來的是強烈對比以及離奇的世界...

--- 全文---

電影有點獨特而且不容易評論. 有點像是 the Sixth sense (靈異第六感),
評論的話會損壞欣賞電影的過程, 即使是說到特效也會有關聯, 因為這些
特效對於劇情發展是重要的. 我將嘗試避免透漏太多劇情.


劇情

鄰近的未來, 極地的冰帽已經熔化了，人口都轉移居住地, 而海岸城市都被
淹沒了.由於控制人口變得重要, 所以人工智慧機械人 "mecha" 的出現幫助
了為持人類文明.這世界有一個 Dr. Hobby (William Hurt 飾演) 領導的公司
,創造出第一個經過IMPRINT (刻模) 手續後就能愛人的 mecha, 名為 David
(Haley Joel Osment 飾演).Swinton 一家因他們的孩子得了重病冷凍保存起來,
所以他們成為 David 的測驗家庭.Monica Swinton (Frances O' Connor 飾演),
最終決定在 David 上刻模.但是隨著他們的兒子的奇跡般的被醫治好了, 親生
兒子和 mecha 兒子之間的衝突, 讓Monica 做出了一個宿命的決定. 與其送回
David 讓其被摧毀, 她將 David "放生"在現實而殘酷的世界裡. 聽過小木偶
皮諾丘以及藍色仙女故事的 David, 為了成為一個真實的男孩並重得 Monica
的感情, 開始了他的旅程...

預告片

除了再看一次魔戒 (tLotR), JP3 的, Barry Sonnefelld 的 big Trouble,
以及 Time Machine (看起來感覺刻意模仿老片) 預告片外, 沒什麼特別的.

電影

就像我說的沒有辦法在不透漏劇情的情況下討論這部電影. 但是其它的方面是
值得提到.演員表現較人激賞, 當然 Osment 更是鶴立雞群. 他真的將整部電影
扛在自己肩上而且表現優異. 對於 Spielberg 也是證明了他能夠克服種種困
難導演童星. Osment 一個只會模仿感情而不了解其意義的機械人 ( 像是"
百科" ST:TNG's Data ), 變成一個可愛的孩子,但是心理上及感情上卻難以
學習及成長. 他在肉麻和冷酷之間找到了很好的一個地帶, 他的
表現依我的拙見是相當傑出的。

另兩個傑出角色為牛郎機械人 Gigolo Joe (Jude Law), Manica Swinton
(Frances O'Connor).  Connor 成功詮釋精神遭受折磨的角色, 先是親生
兒子生病, 而後是對於親生兒子和 David 之間的心理交戰, 還有那個宿命
的決定. 另一方面 Jude Law 把頑皮個性在Gigolo Joe 表現無遺.
不是真人但總是充滿魅力吸引女士們. 兩個其它優異表現是 Jack Thomas,
飾演忌妒心重的兒子 Martin Swinton, 以及 Jack Angel 的泰迪熊. Thomas
極可能成為一個容易遭人憎恨或是單純邪惡的孩子, 但是幸好 Spielberg
控制得當. 雖然不是父母心中無辜的孩子, 他也不是卑鄙的. Jack Angel
配音的的泰迪熊, 永遠是沉靜, 冷靜, 以及充滿安慰的聲音. 如果我有任何
抱怨的話, 那就是 Teddy 說的不夠多, 做的也不夠多. 他是有趣的角色.
Ben Kingsley 為電影柔軟且平靜的口白不會過火. 大部分其他的角色不太
重要, Sam Robards飾演父親 Henry, 雖然不給他太多的戲份, 但至少他不要
變成隱形人. 難過的他雖然是小角色但也是樞軸角色. Brendan Gleeson 飾演
LORDJOHNSON-JOHNSON, 討厭 mecha 的秀場主持人.他不做過火對我來說是
不錯的.

其它與 Spielberg 的夥伴都有參予. Michael Kahndoes 為剪輯並且跟
Spielberg 太熟悉了.
處處可見的約翰威廉斯配樂, (也許) 是最不威廉斯的配樂, 充滿多變的感情
以及曲調,從頑皮以及孩子氣的, 到狂放, 刺激, 有時黑暗的感覺.
Janusz Kaminski 的cinematography是非常傑出的, 從 Swinton 家中模糊
和溫暖的氣氛, 到 Rouge City 的狂野, 以及被淹沒的紐約市的強烈光線.
Stan Winston 提供各種機械人, Rick Carter 有各種不同的場景和設
計,Bob Ringwood 設計出重 20 世紀的服裝到娛樂用 mecha 的獨特風格穿著.

由此帶來的電影的主旨之一, 有些人會覺得差勁, 有人人會稱贊: 電影場景遍
及各個地方,帶來強烈對比風格, 由 Spielberg 和 Kubrick 融合而出的新感覺.
我自己是一點也不在意,除了有些片段讓人感覺天外飛來一筆.

電影分成三個主體部份，首先在在 Swinton 家郊區的生活,
次為 David 在殘酷世界上的旅程, 以及 2000 年後的世界.
第一個部分非常的Spielberg, 隨然比起之前的作品不是那麼的完美.
第二部分非常的 Kubrick, 但不是如同他一些電影裡冷酷且脫離的感覺.
像是 Spielberg 嘗試混合他的以及 Kubrick的感覺, 大部分的地方都算是成功,
但是有小部份有點不均衡, 甚至是有點粗製.

第三部分是一半一半的融合.結局應該會造成不少的討論 (我看的地方
就是如此). 結局沒有 Kubrick 式的曖昧, 但也不是傳統 Spielberg 式的童話
快樂結局. 許多人們會討論這部電影是否值得這兩個導演的名字,一些人會愛
這部電影, 有些人則會討厭或者發現它令人厭煩, 但是都認為是相當尖銳的
作品.我的建議就是保持開放的心胸來欣賞這部電影.

特效

由 ILM 負責的特效, 由大師 Dennis Muren 監督，與 Scott Farrar 的表現
傑出. 工作內容包含相當寬廣的題材, 從創造機械人, 到會走的 Teddy, 以及
各種環境, 淹水的紐約, 以及2000 年後的未來. 有各種角色的動畫. 它是一
傑出的作品, 也將會是明年特效獎項的主要競爭對手. 雖沒有珍珠港或是
神鬼傳奇二一般的炫目, 但是絕對是讓人驚訝的.

特效大部份都是創造 mecha. 就像預告中一樣, 我們看到失去零件的機械人,
或是一邊是機械, 另一邊是人的機械人. 特效自神鬼傳奇一到現在已經有一
段時間, 當時電腦動畫的應用是在 Arnold Vosloo 上. CG 追跡 (tracking)
的進步以有光年般的距離. Mummy Vosloo 沒有在影片中移動很多, 有時還回
出現滑動的現象,

但這次 mecha 到處步行並且不時轉動他們的腦袋.有時配合 Stan Winston 的道具,
有時則是純粹的 CG 加強畫面. 有些像是ST:TNG 的百科,但是表現更為複雜.
影片開始看到一個女機械人打開自己的臉, 而零件接縫處毫無痕跡.
當他正在說話時, Dr. Hobby 靠近他並且從口中的開關打開他.
而關閉的時候我們看到接縫完全密合, 而她的頭又開始說話.

一個保姆機械人，那個預告中跑過森林, 轉過她的頭和繼續跑,而追捕他的光線
正好反射在他頭上. CG 機械部分不但補足並且追跡的分毫不差, 而且背景和
光線都巧妙的合成在一起. 在另一個例子中我們看到他的左側打開, 拾起一
個眼球和對他的空的眼框插入, 並眨眼測試, 而另一個的缺少右邊下巴皮膚,
露出牙齒以及下顎. 不但是他的內部機件移動, 而且他的皮膚也會搖動.

如果有不滿意的就是幾個熔化的特效. 有次 David 故障,而他的皮膚開始脫
落對於我的品味是有點極端. 另一個是 mecha 被酸液腐蝕. 臉部溶解但是
是看起來像是平面的. 有點像是一塊碎布或者紙片滑落的感覺.

有可能最好的特效卻可能被忽視: Teddy熊. 跟模型比起來幾乎分不出來了.
你明明知道行走的是CG, 但是靜態或者近照時你不知道是否這出是遙控的,
線控加上移除鋼絲效果, 還是 CG 加強.特別棒的是: 他移動的動畫(或更精確
地說) 一個蹣跚行走的機械的玩具. 它不是完全流暢的像是活著的動物, 但是
行動一點僵硬像是關節是金屬做的. 他的感情被抑制而且不會變成卡通的感覺.

動畫是 Hal Hickel製作, 首部曲的老手. 當然他被完美的融合進畫面中.
你能看見他踢起塵土, 或者看見所有在 Flesh Fair 上的光線反射在毛髮上.
毛髮做的不錯, 而且是全身都被毛髮包裹, 它不是直立的毛髮, 而是卷曲的並
且雜亂的倒向不同的方向, 處於混亂狀態且老舊.

這是CG 角色的一大進步, 特別是如此一個熟悉的物體,不是外星人,不是恐龍,
或是大猩猩,跑著穿越森林. 只是一個看似簡單的玩具。

***中度劇情透漏開始***
動畫小組也創造其它的動畫,像是卡通般的 Dr. Know,離奇的藍色仙女, 以及
未來的生命.一些動畫會回想起 Abyss, CE3K 甚至 ILM 的 Mission to Mars.
必須要講一些人會有些挑剔.

Dr. Know 本來就是高科技卡通造型, 但其他的就不是如此了. 藍色仙女應該
是夢幻的, 但大部分她都在黑暗中. 相當明顯的她並不是一個真實的人, 但很
多人都覺得這個特效有缺點. 它有類似 Final Fantasy 一般的擬真或是假的擬真,
並有自己的風格. 不像是人類的皮膚的貼塗材質但它本就不應該是.
但因為是夢想般的場景自然也不減損感覺.

未來的居民可能是最有趣的.設計有趣，很藝術, 幾乎是 Art Nouvea. 看似簡單
的樣子, 是他們的結構( 內部的結構)真是詳盡.
如果任何問題, 就是看起來太亮了, 也許是我個人的偏好, 但是自從他們的概念
是抽象的,他們可能還會更誇張. 動畫也有點超現實主義般地夢幻(surreal),
有時太漂浮. 我偏好“堅固”的感覺,給他們更多存在敢, 因為他們在真實且
殘酷的環境中也許會更適合. 這就是你會感覺兩種不同風格開始分離的時候.
它是沒有什麼技術上的問題, 應該是風格的決定. 但電影本身就是有些夢幻.

***中度劇情透漏結束***

另外的特效在創造未來感的環境. 三個表現突出: 像拉斯維加斯的 Rouge City,
淹水的紐約市,以及未來的紐約市. Rouge City 入口的長橋感覺突出. 有一個
現場我們看見在一輛汽車進入隧道,但它仍然看起來有點像是合成背景. 車頂上
的光線明亮, 有點模擬過度曝光, 但是是從特效而來的.
有點綻放且錯亂, 也有一點閃光和光暈, 因為這些光線應該是強烈的. 有點像
首部曲的Naboo反應爐. Rouge City 真是是一個有趣和夢幻的城市, 像打類固醇
的拉斯維加斯. 城市範圍廣大.

幕後花絮介紹的實際的模型比畫面小的很多, 真是令人驚奇, 混合模型和 CG.
雖然廣場似乎很大但天空看起來很空曠, 讓我感覺不到進入一個大城市. 天空
中有光線和雷射投影, 但是一些看起來像是浮在空中,不會感覺倒是投射在螢幕
上或是雲層上, 或許需要多一點材質吧. 會飛行的警車有不少細部, 雖然有些
場面適用真的直昇機拍攝的. 看起來很棒, 而且不會向一架鈦戰機一樣瘋狂的
飛行, 以現在來講當然是比較受歡迎的.

但 Rouge City 的色彩不能與淹水紐約的盛景相比. 預告中的一小片段只是
最終影片的小小一部份.倒塌的建築物, 包括 Twin Towers 相對著傾斜. CG
海洋就跟珍珠港裡面的一樣好,有優異的貼圖材質以及與建築物激起的浪花.
唯一也許能夠加強的是裡面的瀑布, 不過也沒太多可以挑剔的.

它有可能是用鹽粒技術 (salt technique) 加上水花濺潑聲, 但是我可能是錯的.
另一個例子中我們看見水下的紐約市. 細節的注意相當好, 你可以看見大量的
物體, 同時受到後方以及前方的光線照射. 魚群的亮光不錯, 但是閃光的感覺
很夢幻(超現實主義), 不過電影本身就是採取這樣的做法. 我個人是偏好正常
的魚類, 但我想 Spielberg 要的就是如此. 其他的一些細節包括附著的藻類
一切, 殘缺的街道, 建築和垃圾, 靜靜的躺在海底.

在一個例子中 David 甚至潛入水下. 這些畫面我必須說讓我感到困惑.
你看見他的頭髮在水中下飄動, 在他的前額有些氣泡
( 但是在不是鼻孔因為他是一個mecha ) , 而這個片段相當的長.
他是在像 Daylight 之中用很棒的特效做成的 ( Scott Farrar監督)?
這就是我想翻翻 cinefex 的時候了. 水下的片段相當黑暗, 而我喜歡這種不用
人工光線的拍攝方式. 你能看到微弱光線從水上的太陽穿透下來,
而 cinematography 相當不錯.

***主要劇情洩漏開始***

最後一幕是 2000 年後的紐約. 地球進入冰棟時期. 這次紐約是完全冰棟在
一大快的冰塊中. 開始是未來的 "居民", 在驚人的畫面中乘坐一台交通工具
進入被挖掘的城市. 我們在 Coney Islad 之後看到 Chrysler 大廈. 看起來
相當驚人,但不幸的太過黑暗, 使的我們無法請楚目睹冰封的情形. 最後交通
工具停下, 並類似 Tron 一樣的開啟, 是我覺得看起來最 CG 的特效.

在看過這些居民後讓我覺得什麼事都可能發生. 我提到他們看起來有點夢幻,
像是浮在空中, 也許是CG 般的外表的關係, 特別是外型非常具有風格.
也許我習慣 Giger 的 Alien 以及其衍生的生物設計, 但是看起來就像是 Kubrick
會在  2001 中或是 Spielberg 在CE3KA (第三類接觸) 所會選擇的表現方式,
如果當時的科技允許的話. 我覺得不錯,一部份是因為這種新鮮的表現方式,
但是另一方面也希望有同樣有創意但更真實的設計.

***主要劇情洩漏結束***

裡面充滿了各種的小細節, 像是 Gigolo Joe 的可攜式投影器, 或是滴落他
可變頭髮上的一滴酸液. 我覺得 90% 的特效都是好, 相當好, 到優異的水準.
大部分我抱怨的都是些小細節, 但並不會因此而讓我從影片的本身轉移注意力.
有些是比較屬於概念上的.(如以超現實取代寫實),整體來講, 是 ILM 令人印象
深刻的作品.

結語

在這個無聊的暑期中, 本片當然是不錯的一部. 雖然我想大概要找到喜歡他的
族群不太容易, 但這是 Spielberg 除了辛得勒的名單後最大膽的常識. 結局
讓我感到驚嚇以及捆或, 而我一定會再去看一次因為有太多的細節了. 特效真
的很棒, 只看一次根本無法了解偉大之處. 我確定我錯過了太多的特效, 只因為
做的太好, 而且劇情吸引我讓我大概根本沒有注意到. 起碼不會少到 500 景.
由此帶來了結合頂尖特效以及好劇情的滿足感, 搭配協調而特效
也不會喧賓奪主, 而是讓電影更為真實.
我脫帽向 ILM 所有參予製作的員工們致敬.

> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- <

作者: LucasArt@bbs.ee.ntu.edu.tw (小叮噹的口袋), 看板: movie
標題: A.I.人工智慧電影內容與視效專業評論-原文版(Spoilers)
時間: 台大電機 Maxwell BBS (Sat Aug 18 11:20:22 2001)

本文由馬立諾艾杜辛撰寫並同意轉錄:
One of the most secretive and talked about movie projects has to be
AI (Artificial Intelligence), the brainchild of Stanley Kubrick and
brought to life by Steven Spielberg, based on Brian Aldiss short story
"Supertoys Last All Summer Long". The story is a modern
reinterpretation of Pinocchio, set in a not so distant future.
Long time Spielberg collaborator Dennis Muren was the FX supervisor
for ILM, along with Scott Farrar, to bring the contrasting and
sometimes surreal settings...
---Full Story---
The film is sort of unique and it presents challenges in reviewing.
Sort of like the Sixth Sense, giving a review would spoil the journey
taken with this film. Even with the FX as sometimes they are pivotal
to the plot. I'll try to keep them as spoiler free as possible.

The Story

In the near future the polar ice caps have melted, populations have
been displaced and coastal cities overtaken. Because of these
population control has become imperative and the creation of
intelligent robots or "mechas" has helped keep civilization going.
In this setting a corporation headed by Dr. Hobby, played by William
Hurt, creates the first mecha, a child named David and played by
Haley Joel Osment, to be capable of loving with whoever he imprints.
The Swinton family have their kid cryogenically frozen because of a
terminal disease. They become the test family for David which Monica
Swinton, played by Frances O'Connor, eventually decides to have David
imprint on her. But with the miraculous healing of their son, and the
clash between the real and mecha sons, Monica comes to a fateful
decision. Instead of turning David over to be destroyed he is to be
"let loose" in a cruel world. David, who heard Pinocchio's story
decides to find the Blue Fairy so he can become a real boy and gain
the affection of Monica back. And so his journey begins...

The Trailers

Nothing much new here though another chance to see the Lord of the
Rings trailer on the big screen, along with Jurassic Park, Barry
Sonnefeld's Big Trouble and a short teaser for The Time Machine
(which looks like it's trying to be close to the classic film).

The Movie

As I said it would be difficult to discuss the film without giving
too much away. But other aspects are worth mentioning. The cast does
a wonderful job, with Osment clearly being the standout. He really
carries the whole picture on his shoulders and does so magnificently.
It's also a testament to Spielberg, as he shows that he can direct
kids through all sorts of difficult situation. Osment goes from an
eerie robot who emulates emotions and actions without understanding
them (much in the vein of Data from Star Trek The Next Generation),
to a loving kid, but one that has difficult learning and maturing,
both psychologically and emotionally. He walks a fine line between
what could have been clich嶮 and cheesy, to something that could have
been to cold and detached. His performance is outstanding IMHO.

The two other standouts include Jude Law as Gigolo Joe, a woman
pleasing machine, and Frances O'Connor as Monica Swinton. O'Connor
does a solid job as the tortured soul, first because of his sick son,
and then in her struggle dealing with the emotions of David and later
his real son, and the fateful decision she makes. Jude Law on the
other hand bring great playfulness to Gigolo Joe and looks comfortable
in the role. Not quite human but always charming and the ladies man.
Two other intriguing performances are Jake Thomas, as the jealous son
Martin Swinton, and Jack Angel as Teddy. Thomas could have been made
easy to hate or a plain evil kid but fortunately Spielberg reined in
that aspect. While not the innocent child every parent believes of his
child, he is not soulless. And Jack Angel providing the voice of Teddy
reminds of the calm, cool and soothing voice of HAL9000. If I have any
complaint is that Teddy doesn't speak and do as much as I would've
liked. He was intriguing and fun. And Ben Kingsley narrates the movie
with his soft calm voice that doesn't overbear. Most other roles are
minor, Sam Robards plays the father Henry, though he is not given much
to do at least he doesn't become invisible. Hurt is Hurt in this movie
and his role is also small but pivotal. And Brendan Gleeson plays Lord
Johnson-Johnson, the mecha hating trader and showman. He doesn't play
the part too over the top and that's fine with me.

The other Spielberg collaborators are back in force. Michael Kahn
does the editing and knows Spielberg all too well. John Williams score
is all over the place, the most (perhaps) un-Williams score yet, which
varies in moods and tones, going from playful and child like, to wild,
exciting and sometimes a bit dark. Janusz Kaminski cinematography is
really outstanding, going from the fuzzy and warm atmosphere of the
Swinton's home to the wild Rouge City and the harsh light of the
flooded New York City. Stan Winston provides a myriad of robots, Rick
Carter comes with an eclectic range of sets and designs, and Bob
Ringwood creates the wardrobe varying for the almost 20th century
garments to the stylish clothes of the pleasure mechas.

Which brings one of the main points of the movie, for which some will
fault it and some will praise it: the movie is all over the place,
offering contrasting styles, the hybrid creation of Spielberg and
Kubrick. Personally I didn't mind at all, except for a few sequences
that felt out of places or coming out of nowhere. The film is divided
in 3 main parts, the first the suburban life in the Swinton's house,
second consists of David's journey in the cruel harsh world, and the
third act takes us 2000 years further into the future. The first part
is very much Spielberg in tone, though this is not the perfect
suburban setting as in his previous efforts. Second part is very
Kubrick like, but is not as detached, analytical or cold as some of
his films. It's like Spielberg tried to blend both his and Kubrick's
sensibilities and for the most part he succeeds, though there are
parts that feel a little uneven, even rushed. Third act is more like
a 50%-50% blend of both. And the ending will probably cause a lot of
discussion (as it did where I saw it). The end is not as ambiguous as
A Kubrick one, but it neither is a tidy sentimental happy fairytale ]
like ending of the classic Spielberg. Many people will discuss it if
it was worthy of any of the directors, some will love this film and
some other will hate it or find it boring, but thought provoking
nonetheless. If I can say anything is that be open minded when seeing
it.

The FX

The FX work by ILM, supervised by FX maestro Dennis Muren, along with
Scott Farrar is outstanding. The work covers the a wide range of
scenarios, from recreating robots, to having a walking teddy, to all
sorts of environments, the flooded New York of the near future and the
one from 2000 years later, with all sorts of character animation along
the way. It's a definitely outstanding job and a prime contender for
the FX bakeoff next year. Maybe not as flashy as Pearl Harbor's or The
Mummy Returns' FX but nonetheless impressive.

A big chunk of the FX goes into recreating the mechas. As seen in the
trailer we get to see mecha people with parts missing or showing
through, on one side., and looking human from another angle. FX has
come a long way since the original Mummy, where CG prosthetics were
applied to Arnold Vosloo. The tracking of CG into people has advanced
light years ahead. While in the Mummy Vosloo didn't move much in those
sequences, and sometimes the tracking seemed to slip ever so slightly,
this time around we have mechas walking about turning their heads all
over the places, sometimes combined with Stan Winston's prosthetics,
sometimes just pure CG enhancements. Some shots are similar to what
has been shown with Data in Star Trek The Next Generation, but the
choreography is a bit more complex. Early in the movie we see what we
think is a woman having her faceplate opened up, but with no cuts to
an animatronic (and just animating the opening parts). While she is
talking Dr. Hobby approaches her, touches her inside the mouth and we
see her open up. When she is closed up again we see the face plate
close, the hinges and borders disappear and the then turn her head and
start talking again. A nanny robot, the one from the trailers run
across the forest, turn her head to both sides and continue running,
this while the light of her pursuers shines over. Not only is the CG
mechanical parts added and tracked wonderfully in place but the
revealed background with it's light is very well painted and
composited on. In another instance we see another mecha with his left
side open, pickup an eyeball and inserting it to his empty eye socket
while blinking to test it, while another one has his right lower jaw
skin missing, showing teeth and mandible. Not only are the his inner
parts moving but you see bit of his skin moving and shaking. If there
is any complaint about these shots is a couple of melting FX. At one
point David malfunctions as his skin starts to hang and become
detached but the FX was a bit extreme or my taste. The other is when a
mecha has acid dumped on it. The face dissolves but it looks quite 2D,
it's almost like a rag or flat piece of paper just dragging down.

Probably one of the best FX will probably go unnoticed: Teddy. He
matches Winston's creation to the last T and at some points you can't
tell the difference. You know his is CG when you see him walking but
in more static or close up shots you wonder if it was radio controlled,
had cables out that were later erased or another CG enhancement.
Particularly great is the animation: he moves (or rather waddles)
like what you would thing a mechanical toy would. It's not totally
fluid animation like a living creature, but moves a bit stiffly as if
his joints were metal. His emotions are restrained and never fall into
the cartoony style. The animation was headed by Hal Hickel, a veteran
of Episode 1. And of course his is integrated into the scenes
perfectly. You can see him kick off the dirt, or see all the fine hair
being backlighted on the Flesh Fair. The hair is quite well done also,
as Teddy is totally covered by it, and it's not straight hair, but has
a lot of curl to it, all messed into different direction, tangled and
worn. It's another big step up in CG characters, especially since it's
such a familiar object, it's not an alien, or dino or a big gorilla
running in the jungle. A deceptively simple toy.

*** MEDIUM SPOILER BEGIN ***
The animation team also created other types of animation, like the
cartoony Dr. Know, the surreal Blue Fairy to the inhabitants of the
far future. Some of the animation will remind of The Abyss, CE3K and
even ILM's work on Mission to Mars. It must be said that some people
will find fault with these. While Dr. Know is fine and it's supposed
to be a high tech cartoon, the other too are difficult to gauge. The
Blue Fairy is supposed to be dreamlike and for the most part she is
in the darkness. It's quite obvious she is not a real person, though
many will think she ought to be and fault the FX for that. It has a
similar look to the humans in Final fantasy very close to realism or
some sort of hyper or pseudo realism, but stylized. The skin texture
is not quite human but it's not supposed to be. But since the sequence
is dreamlike it doesn't detract. The future inhabitants are probably
the most interesting. The design is interesting, very artful, almost
Art Nouveau. The look deceptively simple, though their texture
(internal structure) is quite detailed. If anything they are quite
glossy, maybe a little too bit for my taste, but since their concept
is a bit abstract, they could have gone with it anywhere. The
animation is also a bit surreal, sometimes too floaty. I would have
preferred something a little bit more "solid" to give them more
presence, especially since they are set in very real and harsh
environments and could probably have fitted better that way. It's one
of those instances when you fill the two styles pull into different
directions. It's nothing major technically speaking, more of a style
decision. But at these point the movie is a bit surreal anyway.
*** MEDIUM SPOILER END ***

The other big chunk of FX was dedicated in creating the futuristic
environments. Three stand out: the Vegas like Rouge City, the flooded
NY and the far future NY. The entrance to Rouge City is impressive
with it's long spanning bridges. There is a scene where we see several
travelers in a car entering the tunnel though it still looks a bit
like your typical separate background comped in. The lights on top of
the car are just bright, and while they simulate a bit of overexposure
it might have benefited from more lighting FX, more blooming and
chromatic aberration, maybe a bit of flare and haloes since it's
supposed to be some bright lights. Something like Episode 1's Naboo
reactor. Rouge City is quite an interesting and surreal city, a Las
Vegas on steroids. The scope is grand. It's quite amazing after seeing
the behind the scenes pictures to see how little the actual sets were
while the rest of the environments were integrated in, a blend of
miniatures and CG. Though even if the plaza seems big the skyline
looks a little too empty so it was difficult or me to get a sense of
a big city after entering it. Also there are lights and holograms
projected into the sky, but some look like just floating there, no
screen or real clouds to project against, or at least it required
quite a bit more texture. What does have great detail is a flying
police car, though in many scenes it's actually a real prop. It looks
great and it doesn't fly like a crazy Tie fighter which is always
welcome nowadays.

But the colorfulness of Rouge City doesn't compare to the grand vistas
of the flooded New York. The trailer is just a tiny scrap offered to
what we eventually see. Buildings collapsing, including one of the
Twin Towers crashed against the others. The CG ocean is a good as
rendered as in Pearl Harbor, with a great texture and crashing against
the buildings. The only bit of water that could used maybe more detail
is a few long shots of cascading water, but it's hardly anything to
complain about. It could probably have been made with the salt
technique and just add the splash, but maybe I blinked wrong. In
another instance we see NY underwater. Where the attention to detail
is quite good, you see plenty of particulate matter, both backlighted
and also frontlighted. A school of fish also are illuminated nice,
though their flocking is in the fantasy range but here the story
starts taking it surreal and fantastic tone. I would have preferred
regular fish though, but I guess Spielberg wanted that. Some other
details include the flowing algae attached to the everything, the
eroded streets, buildings and junk that lies at the bottom of the
sea. In one instance even David goes underwater. These shots I must
say have me perplexed. You see his hair flowing underwater, with some
bubble in his forehead (but not on the nostrils as he is a mecha),
and it's a long shot. Was it shot wet for dry and then masterfully
done like in Daylight (which was supervised by Scott Farrar by the
way)? These is what makes me yearn for something like Cinefex. The
underwater shots are quite dark and I like the fact that they don't
have that artificial light needed for underwater films. You can see
the sun faintly shining from above and I found the cinematography
quite good.

*** MAJOR SPOILER BEGIN ***
The last act of this film takes us to NY 2000 years into the future
from when our story takes place. Earth has entered a drastic Ice Age.
We see NY again but this time all frozen, it's inside this permanent
block of ice. We start with an extended shot of the future
"inhabitants" of NY, crossing the glacier and then in a stunning
shot, their vehicle goes into a big excavation hole that is unearthing
(or maybe thawing?) the city. We see the Chrysler building until we
end at the Coney Island fair. It's stunning though unfortunately a bit
too dark as I hoped to see more of the building embedded into ice
while light shines through. Final the vehicle stops and opens up in a
fashion quite like Tron, which to me made it feel the most CG-ish FX.
It's a bizarre concept though after seeing the occupants I guess a
nything is possible. As I mentioned they were a bit too surreal and
floaty themselves which also lends them maybe their CG-ish appearance,
especially since their design is highly stylized. Maybe I'm too
accustomed to Giger's Alien and it's derivatives creature designs,
but it looks certainly something both Kubrick would have done in 2001
or Spielberg in CE3K had the technology been available to them back
them. I certainly feel ambivalent about them, one part welcoming the
more or less fresh approach while the other wishing for maybe
something as creative but more real.
*** MAJOR SPOILER END ***

There are plenty of small details like Gigolo Joe's portable
holographic projector to and acid drop falling and burning a bit of
cloth to Gigolo Joe's reconfiguring hair. I would say that over 90%
of the FX are from good to outstanding and excellent. Most of the
ones I had issues with were minor details and didn't really take me
out of the movie or detracted me. Some are a bit conceptual. All
around, an impressive job by ILM.

The Verdict

In what has been a dry Summer season this is definitely a standout.
Though I'm afraid it won't fully find it's audience, but it's
Spielberg's most daring film besides Schindler's List. The ending
haunted and perplexed me and I'll certainly check it out again there
is just too many details. And the FX work is gorgeous, too much to
appreciate on just one viewing. I'm sure I missed plenty of FX shots
that were so well done, and with a movie that drew me in, I probably
didn't even notice. It certainly doesn't fell like 500 shots. Which
brings the satisfaction of having superb FX combined with a good
story, they fit perfectly and the FX doesn't overshadows the film
but bring it to life. My hats off to all involved at ILM for creating
the truly wonderful FX.

> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- <

發信人: LucasArt@bbs.ee.ntu.edu.tw (小哆拉的天真),     看板: movie
標  題: Re: 昨天去租"AI"
發信站: 台大電機 Maxwell BBS (Sat Jul 27 10:00:51 2002)

:         怎麼可能猜的到下一幕呢？    最後一幕若猜的到算你行...
:         我看完以後一直覺得還沒結束，一直很想去看原著是怎麼寫的...
:         真的要用心去體會這片要表達的意思...
:         本來我也以為這是一部特效片，但看完才發現不是這麼一回事...
:         要看CG特效就去看太空戰士Fantasy，整片都是用畫的...
:         而AI的特效也很多，只是那都不是重點，
:         特效只是輔助用，是為了劇情需要...

           AI的特效，兩百多景，但時間長達45分鐘，很Photo-Real
          (照片感光擬真)的複雜特效，所以研究特效的人，這一片也
          可以當成範本，光那一隻泰迪熊就很驚人了，三百萬根CG毛髮
，一千兩百萬個控制點，也夠複雜的了，SIGGRAPH 2001大會
，在Soft-Image展示會場，華裔女ILMer被邀請去幫Soft-Image
講解用Soft-Image製作泰迪的過程.