Quote from: SiL on Aug 15, 2022, 08:01:13 AMLike what, out of interest?
The dinosaurs have reptilian, opaque surfaces and their defects lie mostly in the lack of translucency (eyes, teeth, oral tissue) as well as the primitive muscle and skin sims. So the shots are mostly blocked in to avoid showing that (with a few 'daring' exceptions, such as the tracking shots at the end with the rex crushing the raptors in its jaws), and to that end, there always is a very specific light blocking, because back then they used light passes. To that, add that they were filmed as if the filmmakers were using real animal actors
Spoiler
Compare to the JW movies and see why the FX work fails a lot of the time there...
Later 90s movies had a HELL of a time making translucent or shiny things work. Species clearly couldn't, Dragonheart refused to (literally: they wanted a snake-like scale surface and reverted to a more opaque version because the thing kept looking plastic-y), Alien: Resurrection did a surprisingly good job most of the time (thanks to the use of different CG rigs for close-up shots), Starship Troopers was as clever as Jurassic Park (Tippett magic), Deep Rising did a better job than Species but that ain't much, and Godzilla used pearlescent creatures in difficult environments with mostly great results (with the exception of certain rushed shots of the babies, but again, blitz production)
it wasn't until the mid 00s with movies like The Cave and Underworld 2 that translucency and layers of skin became super-competent (Luma Pictures did an incredible job on both)
Quote from: SiL on Aug 15, 2022, 08:01:13 AMThe models aren't as detailed, the texturing and rendering not as sophisticated. On gross technical standards the AvP Aliens are far ahead - but they aren't integrated into their environments half as well.
Yep, some compositing reminds me of the Runner. With a blitz production like that, it is to be expected
Quote from: SiL on Aug 15, 2022, 08:01:13 AMWhat's spot on about their animations? At what point do they move anything like their suit counterparts?
The motion is very Runner-like, mammal and insect at the same time. When I look at test footage of Tom in the suit trying to run on all fours (with a crane system supporting him) I see a lot of similarities