ALIEN RESURRECTION: Newborn On Set (ADI BTS)

[iain]

[D88M]

They did a fantastic job with the practical effects in Resurrection, the movie looks great in a lot of ways

[OmegaZilla]

The shot at 4:16 you see partially in the film but damn, the beginning of it is incredible wish they kept it.

[OpenMaw]

From a technical stand point it is amazing work, some of the best ADI has ever done.

From a creative stand point I hate it.

[whiterabbit]

haha

It's the most beautiful ugliest f**king thing ever created in the galaxy sort of deal.

[Elmazalman]

I like the shot at the 5:45 mark. The creature turning with the klaxon lights flashing across it, looks like something that could have been filmed for ALIEN, had the material involving  the Alien in the airlock been filmed.

The shot at 4:16 does look nice.

[PsyKore]

Yeah, amazing engineering. The work that probably goes into bringing that to life is just on a whole other level.

[Biomechanoid]

Very impressive practical effects. Hard to believe it's the same team that did Harbinger Down. That was terrible. But in all fairness to them, they were on a Kickstarter budget for HD.

[SiL]

And they let themselves down by directing it. The effects would've held up much better with more competent handling.

[Biomechanoid]

The project was supposed to be a showpiece for studios to see that practical effects are not dead. I believe a model project could be made that meets that goal regardless of story and direction. Harbinger Down fell well short of that. ILM could make a showpiece effectively considering they blend high tech practical effects with computer effects regularly (i.e. Jurassic World). ADI had the right intent, they just don't have the financial power, and I wonder if they are stuck in 90's era practical effects technology.

[Corporal Hicks]

The shot at 4:16 you see partially in the film but damn, the beginning of it is incredible wish they kept it.

Yeah, really would have been great seeing more of it through the membrane like that!

There's really no denying ADI's technical skill. I might not like the design JPJ asked them to do but I still love the concept and ADI's work bringing it to life.

[SiL]

The project was supposed to be a showpiece for studios to see that practical effects are not dead.

I know, but practical effects need to be handled properly and they weren't in that film. The way they were lit and filmed and directed did a poor job of showcasing the work and didn't come across believably.

It's like with the Newborn here. Some absolutely fantastic shots in the bts, but also some that really highlight the fact it's a puppet - and I'm not just talking the show where you literally see the puppeteers

[Biomechanoid]

I know, but practical effects need to be handled properly and they weren't in that film. The way they were lit and filmed and directed did a poor job of showcasing the work and didn't come across believably.

Agreed, as I mentioned I think an effects house like ILM could successfully make the project ADI intended (besides their technical role, they have the financial clout to also hire professional film crew, director, writer).

But I don't know if practical effects really is on its death bed. While practical effects may likely never dominate computer effects moving forward and has scaled down over the years, some directors prefer practical effects for certain scenes...... that director quote seen occasionally on DVD extras.

Test audiences seem to warm up to CGI, turning their nose up at practical effects. That's what happen with The Thing 2011, the test audience thought the practical effects (ADI's) looked unrealistic, so they covered them up with CGI.

I realize your point still applies here - weak director, but they did have an experienced professional film crew - cinematography, production, art direction, etc. - some of them with award winners in their filmography, plus a 40 million dollar budget as opposed to Harbinger's half million(?) dollar kickstarter budget, and the practical effects were still unconvincing. So this is where I question if the problem lies more with ADI's skills and less with the practical effects industry.