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Filmmaking Camera, lighting, sound, editing and the crew roles behind every shot.

Computer-Generated Imagery: Meaning & Definition in Film

Digital visual content created or manipulated using computer software.

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Computer-Generated Imagery: Technological Evolution

CGI emerged in the 1970s with simple wireframe animations, advancing to photorealistic effects in Jurassic Park (1993). Modern CGI integrates modeling, texturing, rigging and rendering pipelines.

Computer-Generated Imagery: Applications

Beyond character animation, CGI enables realistic environments, simulations (water, fire), crowd replication and digital doubles. It underpins blockbuster visual effects across genres.

Computer-Generated Imagery: Industry Impact

CGI revolutionized filmmaking economics and aesthetics, making once-impractical sequences feasible. However, overreliance can lead to criticisms of visual homogenization.

Computer-Generated Imagery: Exemplary Works

Influential CGI films include Toy Story, Avatar, The Matrix and Gravity. Each pushed boundaries of realism and narrative immersion through digital artistry.

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More Filmmaking Terms

Entries filed on the same shelf as Computer-Generated Imagery, each with the one-line answer first. They are the words that usually come up in the same conversation.

All 913 terms

  • Finishing

    Finishing is the final stage of post-production where the color grade, sound mix, and visual effects are brought together with the high-resolution picture to create the final master copy.

  • ND Gel

    An ND gel is a gray-colored, optically neutral filter that reduces the intensity of a light source or bright window without altering its color or quality.

  • Original Camera Negative (OCN)

    The Original Camera Negative (OCN) is the master, first-generation film that was physically exposed in the camera during principal photography.

  • Lock It

    'Lock It' or 'Lock It Up' is a command on a film set, given by the Assistant Director, for crew and public to cease all movement and noise in and around the filming area.

  • Motion Capture

    A technique for recording human movement as digital data for animation

  • Two-Pole Boom

    A camera boom system using two counterbalanced poles for extended reach and stability.