The world of movies has never been the same since the introduction of computer generated imagery. Although it has meant that specific movies could be made not possible without them it also has meant that practical effects are used less. The simple reason often is that it is cheaper to create something in the computer instead of building (for example) minitures. Personally I am a big fan of practical effects. I don’t think Alien or The Thing would have been as effective if they had used CG monsters. They look different, just compare the first Star Wars (original) with Phantom Menace and you know what I mean. As a viewer a practical effect like that has a much bigger impact on you. Although practical effects are still used (for example, Pacific Rim did still use it in various shots) in general they are much rarer nowadays. So this week’s question:

Should movies start using more practical effects again?