DONT: Go Too Nuts With the Digital
CGI is an incredible tool that completely changed how movies could be made and what they could portray. Thats neat, really it is. But what CGI almost always lacks is a strong, tangible qualities that allows the viewer to feel empathy and connection with what theyre seeing. Compare Mos Eisley space port with the endless, perfect walls of any building on Coruscant. One looks like an actual place that you step into and be a part of, the other looks like a video game background that Samuel L. Jackson wandered into in his PJs (and who knows, maybe he did. Im sure the eye patch gets disorienting after a while). Now, CGI and other digital tools are fantastic TOOLS. They should absolutely be a part of a blockbuster filmmakers arsenal. But they shouldnt be the ONLY tool in said arsenal. A healthy dollop of practical, on-set make-up and effects would go a long way in helping the viewer connect with the grander CGI monstrosities and vistas. Digital augmentation of practical make-up would enhance BOTH, creating truly alien life forms and habitations that we havent even imagined yet. What Im saying is, you need a little Doug Jones with your Andy Serkis.