The Future of Suitmation in Toho Godzilla Films

[omgitsgodzilla]

I'd personally rather keep with the suitmation and miniatures style just since it has such a unique look to it. Sadly, it'll probably go the way of the Do-do sooner or later.

This. That is all. Practical effects are dying. Even in low-budget, direct-to-video productions (the Asylum's films, for instance), more and more is being done with CGI. I think it's sad.

[Mini-Godzilla]

The time has come to retire the suits. They were only used in the first place because they were the most practical option. How about some nice stop motion instead? Or elaborate puppeteering, a la Alien 3?

[zilla103192]

i don't see why motion capture can't be a nice substitute for suits.

[Killswitch]

If the genre is to grow, it needs to have modern effects. Today's generation of kids & teens have been brought up on films like Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Jurassic Park, King Kong, etc.

[Tyler]

Guess I must be jaded.

So you didn't think that was cool? At all?

[EleKaiju]

If Godzilla ever returns to screen, I think they should stick with the suits, but not be afraid to use CGI when necessary. Ultraman Mebius was a great example of how suits and CG can blend together very well to create convincing battles and destruction sequences. (Even if some monsters really do look like... a guy in a suit, the monster and its actions still look very convincing.)

[Gojira-Fan]

The time has come to retire the suits. They were only used in the first place because they were the most practical option. How about some nice stop motion instead? Or elaborate puppeteering, a la Alien 3?

Stop motion used as special effects is deader than suitmation...

[Kameba90]

I'm a bit of a stickler for tradition and authenticity, so I hope more than anything else for the series that suitmation remains key. What I want to see is suitmation and miniature work done as extensively as possible, but with CG filling in the special cracks. I wouldn't mind, for example, if Godzilla's face was CG in long shots for facial movements or his lower tail for more natural, muscular tail motion. I also wouldn't mind a redesigned, more dinosaurian stance for the suit, like the velociraptor harnesses used in JP3. Basically, as long as something tangible remains onscreen, I'll be happy.

[omgitsgodzilla]

i don't see why motion capture can't be a nice substitute for suits.

Actually, I don't either. It has the simple visual realism of CGI, but keeps the organic nature of human movements. And it's easier to move.

[Gojira-Fan]

What would you guys think if the suit more robotic? Like if they had the Godzilla suit moved and blinked his eyes, you could see his nostrils intaking oxygen and see his stomach inhale and exhale to indicate that he is breathing. I think they should experiment with that, and see how more realistic it makes Godzilla look.

[Gojira-Fan]

What would you guys think if the suit more robotic? Like if they had the Godzilla suit moved and blinked his eyes, you could see his nostrils intaking oxygen and see his stomach inhale and exhale to indicate that he is breathing. I think they should experiment with that, and see how more realistic it makes Godzilla look.

[King Caesar]

What would you guys think if the suit more robotic? Like if they had the Godzilla suit moved and blinked his eyes, you could see his nostrils intaking oxygen and see his stomach inhale and exhale to indicate that he is breathing. I think they should experiment with that, and see how more realistic it makes Godzilla look.

"This just in! Toho gone bankrupt from new project".

I'm not disagreeing with the idea at all, it's just a hell of a lot of money to spend on a single suit and if they ever tried to make a monster movie with more than 3 Kaiju, then they'd be deeper in debt than the US is with China. ._.

[Killswitch]

Godzilla 85 used a robot. Too bad it moved like a robot!

[Gojira-Fan]

Well, i'm not saying making Godzilla a robot, but have the suit have some features that would involve robotics, such as having the eyes moves and showing is stomach breathing ect.

[tommyv]

Why not a compromise?
Look at what Del Toro has been doing in his Films HellBoy, Pan Labyrinth etc.
Old Skool special effects, rubber suits, latex, Body Paint and than Post production CGI to "enhance" the over effect in my opinion is the way to do it. That way you get the "weight" of the Creature whether it's a Godzilla or a Dwarf plus the ability to push the obvious limitations of the traditional effects with CGI.
I agree there is just something better about suitmation and miniature sets and also it's becoming a Lost Art form which is very sad

out,
t

[hammysammy59]

It's a tradition.

The "tradition" was started against the filmmakers will. They were forced into suitmation due to time and budgetary constraints... they wanted to make Gojira with stop-motion animation, but had to scrap that plan. I think they said they would have needed like 7 years to complete the movie they way they originally wanted to make it.

...And? They stuck with it for decades, hence it became tradition. Derp.

You really, REALLY think that if Toho had the money to do anything besides suits they would have stuck with suits? Hilarious. They would have jumped ship for stop-motion in a heartbeat. Unless they just wanted to use the extra FX money to line their pockets.

Hell, maybe that was the case. I'd like to think it wasn't, but you know how CEOs are, gotta buy that third yacht.

[Chris55]

Godzilla 85 used a robot. Too bad it moved like a robot!

And didn't even look like the suit model.

[Killswitch]

Godzilla 85 used a robot. Too bad it moved like a robot!

And didn't even look like the suit model.

That's one of the things that bothered me about the film, Godzilla had too many different looks.

[Mini-Godzilla]

Stop motion used as special effects is deader than suitmation...

You think?

Sarcasm is so often lost on the members of this board.

[SG-17]

Suitmation has a certain charm that lost with CGI, a human touch. However that touch can be retained if they kept the miniatures and had a guy in a mo-cap green suit doing the acting and then superimpose a CGI monster over him. This would not only server to modernize the films but also put less strain on the suit actor.