Technology at the Oscars

Last nights Oscars definitely felt like a reflection of the times. The glitz and glamour seemed to be downsized but what remained spectacular are the advanced technology and engineering that that many of these films used.

What disappointed me was the fact that this art form was breezed over at the ceremony and awards for Scientific and Technical Achievements were honored at a dinner almost a week earlier.

The team of Christophe Hery, Ken McGaugh and Joe Letteri were honored for their groundbreaking implemention of skin rendering techniques using something called a subsurface scattering. These techniques are used to create realistic-looking skin on digitally created characters. It makes me wonder if this was a technique used The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to make a hansom Brad Pitt look like a wretched tree gnome and a walnut looking baby.

It seems as though advancements like this has come to a point where it blurs the boundaries of reality. Technical achievements made by such people as this trios make it virtually impossible to distinguish between a digitally synthesized character and the actual actor.

Personally I wonder what these types of advancements mean for film making as an art form.