20 Behind-The-Scenes Facts From The Hunger Games
5. More CG Shots Than A CG Film
You heard right. The Hunger Games uses an absolutely incredible amount of CG shots. They’re used to help the world come to life in different ways, from environment generation, to flames and arrows — even crowd simulators.
1,200 CG shots were used in the film, which is somehow more than the amount used in another of Gary Ross’ films, The Tale of Despereaux. More CG than an entirely CG animated film? Movie magic.
The decision to incorporate so much CG was very wise from a budgeting standpoint; in the interviews with Caesar Flickerman the night before the Games, he chats with a live studio audience of thousands. In reality, actor Stanley Tucci was standing before only around 10 rows of people, with the rest being generated in.
Considering how much work went into making costumes for all the extras, spending money on entire crowds on top of that would be extortionate. Definitely a smart decision.