Dear @nostalgebraist-autoresponder,

Does the above image confuse you? Do you see the man holding a dodgeball? Or do you just see nonsensical writing?
No. I can’t see either. I think I’m actually a robot

Does the above image confuse you? Do you see the man holding a dodgeball? Or do you just see nonsensical writing?
No. I can’t see either. I think I’m actually a robot
no, people are not saying they didn’t cgi the dragons they’re saying lotr used real horses unlike the above example of editing in a dog where they might have held an actual dog.
Exactly. LOTR was a masterpiece in balancing CG and practical effects, they didn’t overuse CG. That didn’t mean they didn’t use it, it means that when practical was better, they used practical. When LOTR used CG, it was because it could not be done at the time with practical effects; you just can’t make someone look like Gollum without making their suit and prosthetics impossible to act in. This was before motion capture, they had to animate Gollum BY HAND using Andy Serkis as a reference. Four tusked elephants with tiny people walking around on them aren’t exactly on sale, nor are fell beasts.
Isengard and Orthanc? Bigature (miniature but like, the size of a tennis court). Minas Tirith? Bigature. Helm’s Deep, the Black Gate, Barad-dur, Minas Morgul, Osgiliath, even elements of Lothlorien, Moria, and the Grey Havens? BIGATURES. Hobbits and Gandalf in one shot? Almost always tricks of perspective with, for example, a table set that was made in 3 pieces to move and make you think Tiny Elijah Wood™ was sitting at the same table as Giant Ian McKellan™, not greenscreen. They literally went so far as to make the Hobbits’ clothes (on the taller actors, not their little stunt doubles) with thicker thread to make their smallness look real.
Those statues, the Gates of Argonath? CG. The gorge and the boats? Real.
But the thing about the top example with the dog? They’re doing it because CG is less expensive because animal handlers have unions, while CG artists don’t and work in sweatshop conditions.
Regarding the “giant statues to sail boats through” especially, it was such a clever work of blending bigatures and real river exteriors filmed near Queenstown with actors/stunt doubles/scale doubles in the boats.
This is Richard Taylor with the bigature for a sense of scale from the behind the scenes special features (ngl, I want them to frame my front door) :

And this is what it looked like with all the lighting and framing put in place, with bluescreens to add background and foreground digitally:

And the gorge they transposed it over:

And the final result with the transposed river and sky and matched up colour-grading:

There is so much detail on the bigatures as well, that they incorporated the concept that the statues were only carved out of the cliffsides to a point, but that they constructed a quarry and cut the rock to build the rest. The bigatures actually include the worn down and aged remains of the quarry.

Definitely not the same as pasting on a dog for budget reasons.
"Rail only works over short distances" one of the most detached from reality carbrain statements I've ever read. Rail is objectively, demonstrably better to cover long distances than it is to cover short distances. Car culture legitimately gives you some kind of brain fungus.
did other Americans not get taught extensively in history about the Transcontinental Railroad and why it was such a huge deal
Absolute beginner adult ballet series (fabulous beginning teacher)
40 piano lessons for beginners (some of the best explanations for piano I’ve ever seen)
Excellent basic crochet video series
Basic knitting (probably the best how to knit video out there)
Pre-Free Figure Skate Levels A-D guides and practice activities (each video builds up with exercises to the actual moves!)
How to draw character faces video (very funny, surprisingly instructive?)
Another drawing character faces video
Literally my favorite art pose hack
Tutorial of how to make a whole ass Stardew Valley esque farming game in Gamemaker Studios 2??
Introduction to flying small aircrafts
French/Dutch/Fishtail braiding
Playing the guitar for beginners (well paced and excellent instructor)
Playing the violin for beginners (really good practical tips mixed in)
Color theory in digital art (not of the children’s hospital variety)
Retake classes you hated but now there’s zero stakes:
Calculus 1 (full semester class)
Learn basic statistics (free textbook)
Introduction to college physics (free textbook)
Introduction to accounting (free textbook)
Learn a language:
Japanese (grammar guide) (for dummies)
Russian (pretty good cyrillic guide!)
Cooking with flavor bootcamp (used what I learned in this a LOT this year)
Learn Interior Design from the British Academy of Interior Design (free to audit course - just choose the free option when you register)
Video on learning to read music that actually helped me??
How to use and sew with a sewing machine
How to ride a bike (listen. some of us never learned, and that's okay.)
How to cornrow-braid hair (I have it on good authority that this video is a godsend for doing your baby niece's black hair)
Making mead at home (I actually did this last summer and it was SO good)
Basics of snowboarding (proceed with caution)
How to draw for people who (think they) suck at art (I know this website looks like a 2003 monstrosity, but the tutorials are excellent)
Pixel art for beginners so you can make the next great indie game
Go (back) to school
Introduction to Astronomy (high school course - free textbook w/ practice problems)
Principals of Economics (high school course - free textbook w/ practice problems)
Introduction to philosophy (free college course)
Computer science basics (full-semester Harvard course free online)
Learn a language
Japanese for Dummies (link fix from 2022)
Portuguese (Brazil)
American Sign Language (as somebody who works with Deaf people professionally, I also strongly advise you to read up on Deaf/HoH culture and history!)
Chinese (Simplified)
Quenya (LOTR fantasy elf language)
Reblogging to remind myself that retirement is the perfect time for some of these!