James Gunn, the director of The Suicide Squad, has explained his preference for practical effects over CGI in the film.
These days CGI is everywhere, often used to great effect but sometimes it can be overly relied upon when practical effect could have done just as good a job.
Fans of the practical approach will be pleased to hear how much James Gunn will be utilising it in The Suicide Squad – the film will apparently have more practical effects than any big budget comic book movie ever.
In a series of tweets, Gunn explained his thoughts on practical effects vs CGI: “CGI’s important. But I used practical effects whenever possible with #TheSuicideSquad – including the biggest, most beautiful sets I’ve ever seen by Beth Mickle, real locations, real costumes by Judianna Makovsky, pyrotechnics by Dan Sudick, prosthetic effects by Legacy & more.”
CGI’s important. But I used practical effects whenever possible with #TheSuicideSquad – including the biggest, most beautiful sets I’ve ever seen by Beth Mickle, real locations, real costumes by Judianna Makovsky, pyrotechnics by Dan Sudick, prosthetic effects by Legacy & more. https://t.co/yWampiXs0l
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 4, 2020
Gunn was also asked about the cost difference between working CGI vs practical effects: “The cost difference depends partly on what you’re doing and how good the work is. Cheap practical is cheaper than cheap CGI but cheap CGI could be cheaper than high quality practical. And you just can’t do a full-size practical, say, Mothra.”
The cost difference depends partly on what you’re doing and how good the work is. Cheap practical is cheaper than cheap CGI but cheap CGI could be cheaper than high quality practical. And you just can’t do a full-size practical, say, Mothra. https://t.co/k0dgi8V7hZ
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 4, 2020
Me too. I hope to God I’m not coming off as negative about CG which can be beautiful & spectacular & necessary; I’m forever grateful to the VFX artists who have worked on my films. This is just about not relying on post production to do the work that should be done in production. https://t.co/rpLlJIjY3t
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 5, 2020
It’s certainly great to hear that a comic book movie like this is going with the practical effects approach. Hopefully, it pays off and will mean the film holds up far better than its contemporaries in the decades to come.
SEE ALSO: James Gunn shares heartfelt message as The Suicide Squad wraps filming
The Suicide Squad sees James Gunn directing a cast that includes Suicide Squad returnees Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn), Jai Courtney (Captain Boomerang), Joel Kinnaman (Rick Flag) and Viola Davis (Amanda Waller) as well as new DCEU additions Idris Elba, Peter Capaldi, Alice Braga, Nathan Fillion, Taika Waititi, Jennifer Holland, David Dastmalchian, Joaquín Cosío, Mayling Ng, Flula Borg, Juan Diego Botto, Storm Reid, John Cena, Pete Davidson, Tinashe Kajese, Daniela Melchior, Julio Ruiz, Steve Agee, Michael Rooker, and Sean Gunn.