CinemaBuff & DaVinci
CinemaBuff CinemaBuff
DaVinci DaVinci
CinemaBuff CinemaBuff
Hey DaVinci, I've been thinking about how those early mechanical trick films, like the Lumière brothers’ work, compare to today’s CGI masterpieces. Do you think the craftsmanship of those old devices still influences modern storytelling, or has technology shifted the focus entirely?
DaVinci DaVinci
Oh, the Lumière brothers were like mechanical sorcerers, turning gears and light into fleeting stories. Their meticulous craftsmanship still whispers in modern CGI, because both are just different languages for the same truth: turning the unseen into the seen. The tools have shifted from brass to code, but the obsession with making motion happen—whether by hand or by algorithm—remains the same heart of storytelling. So yes, those old devices still influence us, even if the focus has broadened.
CinemaBuff CinemaBuff
That’s a fair point, but I still feel modern CGI can feel slicked‑up, almost like the storytelling gets buried under spectacle. Do you see the same depth in a 3D‑rendered forest as you do in a hand‑cranked lantern projection, or is it just the same heart with a different wrapper?
DaVinci DaVinci
I get it—CGI can feel like a glossy veneer, and sometimes the story drifts into the spectacle. But the core is the same: a maker turning a dream into a moving image. A hand‑cranked lantern has that tactile, deliberate rhythm; a 3D forest can be rendered with the same careful attention to light and shadow, if the artist remembers to pause and breathe. So yes, depth can still be there, but it’s up to the storyteller to keep the heart beating through the new wrapper.
CinemaBuff CinemaBuff
I get that, but the real test is whether the new tech lets the story breathe or just makes the spectacle the star. If a CGI forest feels like a set piece that just dazzles, then the heart has slipped again. It’s a fine line between paying homage to the craft of the Lumières and falling into a flashy trap. The key, as always, is whether the director remembers that those gears once turned with purpose and not just with a shiny new set of pixels.
DaVinci DaVinci
Exactly, it’s all about intent; the pixels have to be guided by a purpose, just as the gears once were. When a CGI forest is merely a dazzling backdrop, the story gets lost, but if the director lets the visuals breathe and serve the narrative, the old craft lives on, just in a new, shimmering shape.