Prey vs Alien Romulus

[SiL]

The quality of the craftsmanship has been pretty high through the entire franchise.

[BlueMarsalis79]

Apart from... the Predators faces since the nineties, the compositing in Alien³ and the CGI in Alien Covenant.

[SiL]

Scar's face features excellent craftsmanship. Incredibly expressive animatronic.

The compositing in A3 is actually pretty good when you watch a film print.

The CGI Alien isn't remarkably bad in Covenant.

There are dodgy moments in all films. But they have hired excellent craftsman throughout.

[SM]

Wasn't your question about what we thought about the craftsmanship which was answered?

[BlueMarsalis79]

I agree to disagree, especially on that first count.

Why did the compositing come out like it did on disc then if so? I have only heard of a single report of that with a film print, over half a decade ago, not sure of the ultimate veracity.

The CGI on the Alien and the Neomorph in Alien Covenant varies wildly in quality. Compare it to Prometheus and it is no contest even the abandoned "unfinished Fifield" looks better.

As for blaming the craftsmen, every artist occasionally suffers under a medium or a subject they are not the best in, unreasonable requests, tight deadlines.

[CANNON]

In my personal opinion I feel alien films in general have always received good to great fx which are usually complimentary to the franchise throughout especially in comparison to the Predator franchise.

Again imo, overall Predator has not received that same level of attention and detail, though not for lack of trying. I think for many reasons but overall I believe it can be attributed to the lesser skill level of craftsman and misunderstanding of the source. Either way, without repeating myself and getting into specifics each Predator film to me has been a far cry from the original design in terms of realism, practicality and function. (I've named some specific examples in previous posts here)

[SiL]

Why did the compositing come out like it did on disc then if so?

I'm guessing the way the elements were scanned and digitised for home release. The 35MM prints are much more contrasty, with more crushed blacks, which do wonders for putting the Alien into the scene better.

I'm not saying it's perfect, but it's a hell of a lot better than what we got in the home releases.

[David]

I saw Alien romulus yesterday. I am going to watch Prey one more time to give my vote

[Neila]

Well, I originally mentioned the processing of the faces.
I can't change my mind about this.

I don't think Scar or any of the later predators look as good as JH and CH.
and I find that the facial movements in A4 often seem much more rubbery than in the first two films and also A3.
There are big differences between the queens.
I was of the opinion that it should actually get better and better because the material today certainly offers more options.
If I'm the only one who sees it that way, then so be it.

[SiL]

The lips of the warriors in Aliens are the worst in the series.

[BigDaddyJohn]

I always found the Burke one a bit jarring.

[SiL]

And for that matter:

You can see the gap between the mask and Kevin Peter Hall's eyes in Predator.

The closeup face is goofy and the mandibles are stiff in Predator 2 (look at it in the warehouse after the mask is taken off and it smashes the gun)

Technically, Scar is much better. The overstretched mandible skin and lack of slime are issues with direction. Design preference is subjective.

Same goes for the Aliens. The AR Aliens are a lot better made than the latex glued to spandex we got in Aliens.

[SM]

I found the AvP quivery lips the worst.  Decent technically, but never looked right to me.

[SiL]

I found the AvP quivery lips the worst.

Performance wise, yes. But the Aliens mouths just feel cheap and janky.

[CANNON]

Well, I originally mentioned the processing of the faces.
I can't change my mind about this.

I don't think Scar or any of the later predators look as good as JH and CH.
and I find that the facial movements in A4 often seem much more rubbery than in the first two films and also A3.
There are big differences between the queens.
I was of the opinion that it should actually get better and better because the material today certainly offers more options.
If I'm the only one who sees it that way, then so be it.

I agree and feel this way as well.