The Great Gatsby

I remember the first time that I saw The Great Gatsby. It was actually in 3D at a movie theatre in California. I remember sitting in those red recliner seats in complete awe of the images that seemed to fly towards my face. I remember not even talking for a single moment as the movie played. There were so many scenes in which I was in complete awe.  See I had read the novel during high school, and although as i read the pages of that book i imagined the scenes in my mind. But none of the scenes I imagined were as extraordinary and brilliant as they were on that big screen. That night after leaving the theatre my friend, a film student at the time in California, and I looked at each other. We both could not believe what we had just witnessed. The Great Gatsby is not only one of my favorite films but it is also one of the most beautifully made movies I have ever seen. Each scene was brilliant on its own.

After reading the chapter and watching the video presented in this week’s module it opened a new world for me in regards to this spectacular film. See when I saw the film at that theatre in California I was in awe of the finished product. But not even for a second, had I thought about all the work that went into creating those beautiful scenes. I didn’t think of the use of the large amount of composite images or sequences, which were created separately and then combined together, in order to create the over the top Gatsby parties or the scenes of buzzy, 1920’s New York City.   The clip shows us that most of the scenes were shot in front of green screen and then edited into the films lavish and extravagant backdrops.

With the advancement of technology we now get to use CGI (computer-generated imagery) that is usually used to create backgrounds and fill in the blanks in certain scenes. In this case it seems at the editors of The Great Gatsby used a great deal of CGI to create the finish product. An example of this was the scene in which we see Daisy Buchanan staring out the window at a landscape. First we see a blank unedited scene and then we see the beautiful landscape that she was looking out to or the scene of the car race driving through the city.  The Great Gatsby is just one of the many films on the long list of films that have relied heavily on special effect features to help tell its story.  It is this component in film that has allowed film makers to create some of the most popular films and worlds of imagination for viewers to enjoy.  It is this ability to create startling and pleasurable illusions, along with a great story that has made some of the most memorable films.