What is the most visually stunning Science fiction show/film ever made.

film wise terminator 2 will always stick in my mind. i couldnt believe how awesome those effects were back then and it doesnt look so bad even by todays standards

tv wise as some people have mentioned the new BSG is in a league of its own for me in terms of effects and just the show itself is excellent.

hadnt really thought about DS9's SFX though. i thought it was an extremely underated show and i enjoyed it a lot. might have to go back and rewatch some of those later dominion episodes and look a bit more closely at the effects :D
 
eXSBass said:
The opening scene to Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith! :cool:

Two, small snub fighters. Pan this huge star destroyer, only, it's a small fragment in a LARGER battle!
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Yep, that gets my vote as well! However some of the scenes in Starship Troopers were pretty awesome as well.
 
Northwind said:
The new Battlestar Galactica... Well, I wouldn't call it visually stunning. It's got a very real feel inside, but the outside cgi work just isn't up to much, even when it's not jerking around or zoomed right in. I reckon that was covering up for a lack of capability tbh.
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teheheheheheheAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.... the galactica itself currently holds the world record for the most polygons used in a CGI model something daft like over 3 million :D it took 2 years to create the BSG fleet CGI models and the shakey documentary style exterior shots have not only Never been done but are immensely difficult to do as they add a ton of work to the rendered sequence.
 
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locutus12 said:
teheheheheheheAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.... the galactica itself currently holds the world record for the most polygons used in a CGI model something daft like over 3 million :D it took 2 years to create the BSG fleet CGI models and the shakey documentary style exterior shots have not only Never been done but are immensely difficult to do as they add a ton of work to the rendered sequence.
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Yeah? Proof of the pudding's in the eating. I've not seen the second series of the new version, but through the first there was very little in the external visuals that impressed me in the slightest. No sense of scale... I've been more impressed by shots from EVE. If they really did throw that sort of of resources at it, they made a pig's ear of it IMO.
 
locutus12 said:
teheheheheheheAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.... the galactica itself currently holds the world record for the most polygons used in a CGI model something daft like over 3 million :D it took 2 years to create the BSG fleet CGI models and the shakey documentary style exterior shots have not only Never been done but are immensely difficult to do as they add a ton of work to the rendered sequence.
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Firefly used the documentary style shots first :)

BSG's effects are good, but none of them really stand out as spectacular.
 
OneWingedAngel said:
Firefly used the documentary style shots first :)
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If you're talking about the technique i think you are, i doubt very much that Firefly used it first! You mean crash zooms? (Quick shaky zooms into the action, makes it look like the cameraman almost missed the action?). It's a pretty standard technique, but yeah Firefly did use it to great effect. :)
 
OneWingedAngel said:
Firefly used the documentary style shots first :)

BSG's effects are good, but none of them really stand out as spectacular.
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im not talking about internal shots on board ship / terrestrial planet, im talking CGI based, firefly didnt use the documentary style for external shots, BSG makes it look like every viper pilot has a cameraman on board :D . and neither firefly nor BSG were the first ones to use the documentary style of shooting for internal / terrestrial shots.


to actually CGI footage in a documentary style is a very difficult and complex thing to do as anyone who has used lightwave (like i have) will tell you. CGI creation software isnt geared for free range camera movement, by its very nature it cant be as its pre programmed, it isnt real life, and on that basis a lot of effort has to go into making the documentary style CGI footage look real.
 
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Northwind said:
Yes. A rubbish cameraman :)
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look if your going to thread trash, your not wanted here, so quit being a troll, i was appreciative and respectful of your choice as i have been of everyone's here, even SciFi that was way before my time i can appreciate its greatness. so either grow up or go play else where.
 
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Um, OK then. But I'm not thread trashing here, just trying to have a conversation. The crash zooms etc are an impressive technique, but they're using a load of technology to replicate bad camerawork. Would you not rather not have them use that FX budget to actually show what they've done instead of obscuring it? If that's the most impressive cgi model ever made, it seems an awful shame to have it wobble past then to zoom right in on the name badge. It just makes me think of going on holiday to the Taj Mahal and waving your video camera around.

It makes me think of HDR lighting. We've got a cool effect, let's turn it up to max and use it constantly without really thinking of where it would be most appropriate. Or, if you prefer, like 24 but with the entire show in multiple screens instead of just the plot crossovers.

It also makes me think back to modelwork. It's good that they're not just using CGI to replicate modelwork as it's often been used in the past, but if the crash zooms and what I think of as documentary camerawork had been used extensively in the original series, people would have criticised the cameraman. These days, you get the same and everyone's blown away by the technology needed to replicate bad camerawork.

Then, I get annoyed by the whole shakycam thing in live action filming. Your average documantary maker would kill to get a quality steady shot, while your hollywood filmmaker goes to great lengths to degrade the quality and wobble the camera.
 
Fair point, but the sole aim of the film isn't to show a slideshow of fantastic models is it? It's to make you feel like you are there, like you're part of the action, and at risk from every shot fired etc.. That technique does that wonderfully well in my opinion. It's a bit of a mixed bag in live action and can sometimes stand out as very obvious. But when done well - it's awesome and really suck you in. A bit like playing a computer game, maybe?
 
Oh, I agree with that- it works well when done right, it's a good effect. But sometimes it'd be nice for Starbuck to look out a window and see some pretty spaceships :) That's why I'd assumed the actual CGI models were pretty basic, though I stand corrected on that- I can't remember ever getting a nice full-screen eye-candy shot.

Doesn't detract from the show in the slightest of course, it's just me nitpicking :)
 
As someone who prefers phantasy to science-fiction, I get annoyed when booksellers lump the former in with the latter, but on this occasion I'll take advantage of the status quo. Purely in terms of the initial impact, the metaphorical smack in the face by visual effects, and I'm sure it was partly to do with my impressionable age at the time: The Neverending Story. Hot on the heels of that one, but more for an overall audio-visual combination, are Legend and Labyrinth.

Science-fiction...I think I'd have to agree with the afore-mentioned Bladerunner, for a purely "visually stunning" effort. But it's far outstripped by Total Recall for overall wow factor.
 
You might want to get that fixed then... It's very good. For people who don't like sci-fi it can be a thriller or a political series, for people who don't like the West Wing it's got spaceships in, and if all else fails some pretty ladies :D
 
While there were certainly some definitive sci-fi visual moments in Bladerunner and 2001, someone inevitably has to mention Star Wars. So it might as well be me...

As a kid watching that first scene in A New Hope where the Blockade Runner appears as it is pursued by the Star Destroyer - that was something completely new to me (and I guess most people) and immensively impressive. Other notable moments from the initial trilogy include the duel between Luke and Darth Vader at the end of The Empire Strikes Back - just stunning set design and use of matte paintings.

I have to admit that one of my fave all time scenes is Duel of the Fates from The Phantom Menace. Again the set design, coupled with choreography and soundtrack make that one of the best sci-fi scenes of all time for me.

cheers
v.f.
 
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