The Movie 'San Andreas' Is Sort of Hilarious without the Effects

Summer movie season is here, and so are the movies with the biggest budgets trying to up the wow factor against their cinematic competition. "San Andreas" is the latest disaster flick to showcase some of the best effects Hollywood has to offer right now. Sploid/Gizmodo did a few behind-the-scenes videos on how effectively shooting movies (in this case "San Andreas") with huge sets and practical effects can make even the best CGI look more realistic.

I don't know about you, but I sort of get a chuckle any time I see someone try and pretend they are in a disaster such as an earthquake. It sort of reminds me of the old "Star Trek" episodes where they would pretend the starship was being attacked (see below for reference) and they would just shake the camera for effect.

Footage stabilized and shared by Reddit user geoffbutler

I also wrote an article a few weeks ago about "Mad Max: Fury Road" and its beautiful practical (non CGI) effects. As crazy as the post-production appears in these movies, the concepts aren't far from what some of the best composite photographers in the business do (Dave Hill has always been one of my favorites). They build partial sets and use real props, combining them into huge visual productions. Seeing this kind of behind-the-scenes content is really inspiring and gets me charged up to try some new techniques on the photography side of things.

Douglas Sonders's picture

Commercial Photographer (mainly Phase One medium format digital) and filmmaker based out of NYC. Started a site called Notabully.org to spread stories about well-behaved and positive pitbulls. Love cars, 80s movies, dogs, and adventure. Free time is spent traveling, sleeping, adventuring, or working on my baby, a 1969 Mustang Mach 1.

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5 Comments

millions died, 3 saved by the rock

I gonna get you out!

This movie is hilarious anyway, especially with it not being about Grand Theft Auto or CJ. lol

This proves how to turn a great vision into reality. One might not like this movie, but to be able to direct something that is heavily relying on VFX and actually make it look good? That's pretty amazing.

lol creativity