Lecture 7 - Realism

In this lecture we learnt all about Realism. What this means is, how close the article (whether it’s an image, video or game etc.) is to the thing it represents.

In realism photo graphics is referred to as "photorealism" as it isn't fully realism; as it is what it represents. What I mean is that photographs are just a way to freeze time and store an experience. However it is still a form of realism as photographs can be manipulated (edited, parts of the photo repositioned, images distorted and changed).

As an example, using an image i created in Photoshop in my 4th or 5th lesson of pixel image and sound. I can show you how photographs can be manipulated. In this example i took an image of an apple and an eye:

Created by Toby James Cooper

Mario

In video games you get different stages of prospection:

- Gods Eye

- Wrap around

- Unrolling World

- Portal Navigation

The first one (gods eye) is when you see the whole world on the screen. An example of this could be space invaders or Tetris. The second one (wrap around) is where you only see part of the world but there is still more of a world out there and you see objects and can explore a bit more (like asteroids or Gameboy Pokémon). The third one (unrolling world) this is basically a side scrolling game (best example i can give is super Mario or sonic).

The first three prospective are all mainly in 2D prospective. Portal Navigation is more realistic. You can explore the map in first person point of view and you navigate as if you were a person; almost like a virtual simulation (Halo, Call of Duty etc.).

The earlier games aren’t very realistic however more modern games for example on the XBOX 360 the graphics are almost life like for example gears of war graphics are amazing and it almost feels like your interacting with a film.

Gears of War

This now brings me on to CGI in realism. CGI is used allot in films as well as games. It is a great example of realism. It isn't real like art it has been created and doesn't exist. However it looks so real that when you see special effects in films you’re watching, it can seem real. Some effects which could never happen such as Superman flying and using heat vision, that would never happen. This is sort of realism is a bit more confusing as it is trying to portray something that can't happen (Sci-Fi).

Superman flying CGI - Brandon Routh

Art/illustration (paintings, sculptures etc.) is another good example of realism and the oldest example of realism. Art again is created and does not existed, so paintings of famous people back before photography could have been manipulated.

Wax sculptures are brilliant examples for realism. Some people when shown a photo can sometimes find it hard to tell from the person it represents. 

Wax and Normal John McClain (Bruce Willis - Die Hard 4.0)