Re: Re: Re: Re: Hacking actors

["Ann Li" <annzl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

So there will be Cyborgs with SAG cards...

Not having yet seen A.I., I suspect it's Shindler's PDA spreadsheet.

As the econ geography literature makes clear, the problem is not with
displacement of celebrity cinematic talent, but with an analysis of the
entire analog/digital cinematic apparatus. Anyway, the NYT piece used "Tron"
as an example which is misleading because the issue is less one of saving
money on talent ( not in the Tron case where the characters were real ones
in digitally enhanced suits), but perhaps in the subsequent "Last
Starfighter" where millions were saved on set/production design using a Cray
computer. Tron actually wasted quite a bit of money on its subcontracted
digital production for its time, which is now miniscule compared to more
recent budgets. Much more interesting will be the rising market in digitally
simulated adult entertainment which uses the same infrastructure as
mainstream cinema and more corrupt labor practices. Meat Puppets!



----- Original Message -----
From: "Ian Murray" <seamus2001@xxxxxxxx>
To: <pen-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, July 09, 2001 4:51 PM
>Subject: [PEN-L:14865] Re: Re: Re: Hacking actors


>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <enilsson@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: <pen-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Monday, July 09, 2001 2:42 AM
> Subject: [PEN-L:14844] Re: Re: Hacking actors
>
>
> > Doyle wrote
> > > What it exploits is an appearance of a fear of job loss by
> > > actors to computer images, but is that what is going on?
> >
> > Yes. It is already happening.
> >
> > But "stars" are not those being affected right now.
> >
> > Rather, those not being hired right now are certain types of
> "extras," in
> > particular those in groups in the deep background of a scene. It is
> true,
> > however, that some scenes with lots of extras wouldn't be made if
> not for the
> > ability to replace real extras with computer amimated people because
> of the
> > high cost of using real people. But, still, come real people have
> not been
> > hired in some movied because computer-generated people have been
> used instead.
> >
> > As 3-D modelling of people gets better and better over the years I
> would bet
> > that more actors will be replaced by computer generated images.
> >
> > Of course, for many decades film-makers have used various methods to
> use a few
> > real people to appear to be a large crowd. But the new powers of 3-D
> modelling
> > open up new avenues that have not existed before.
> >
> > ERic
> ==========
> Thus forcing actors/actresses [those master's of the plasticity of
> self] to deal with self-ownership in a commodity saturated world in a
> way they never have before...Anybody seen AI yet? There's nothing
> about artificial persons as slaves. I don't know how Kubrick could've
> missed that chance to raise tough questions.
>
> Ian
>
>