Originally posted by: Gaffer Tape
Geez, I didn't think the CG Yoda looked anything like the puppet Yoda, and, like I've said before, it was because of the eyes. And I find it really weird because I've seen the documentaries when they were recreating Yoda scenes in ESB to test the technology, and the CG Yoda I saw on the screen there actually looked like Yoda! But the one they actually used in the movies looks nothing like him. He doesn't have that Freeborn/Einstein eye area that is so instantly recognizable. Even the puppet from TPM did a better job of getting those eyes than the CG Yoda. And in case you didn't know, most of our emotions and recognizability are in that space of our face, and ILM just totally messed it up, even though I've seen them get it right!
I noticed something else about his eyes in the prequel trilogy. They move! The original puppet was so limited that his eyes were able to move in maybe 3 or 4 shots of ESB. Maybe this was improved for ROTJm but for the most part, he just looks like he's staring off into space with his eyes fixed to one point.Geez, I didn't think the CG Yoda looked anything like the puppet Yoda, and, like I've said before, it was because of the eyes. And I find it really weird because I've seen the documentaries when they were recreating Yoda scenes in ESB to test the technology, and the CG Yoda I saw on the screen there actually looked like Yoda! But the one they actually used in the movies looks nothing like him. He doesn't have that Freeborn/Einstein eye area that is so instantly recognizable. Even the puppet from TPM did a better job of getting those eyes than the CG Yoda. And in case you didn't know, most of our emotions and recognizability are in that space of our face, and ILM just totally messed it up, even though I've seen them get it right!
On another note, I agree that the CG Yoda doesn't look quite right. He's better than the stoned Yoda puppet from Episode I, but there is still something rather off about his appearance. I'll give props to the animation department though. He just doesn't look like he's really there.
And maybe they should have motion captured Frank Oz's puppet for the animation, if they really wanted authenticity. Though I'm sure Oz was happy not to do Yoda again. The guy was probably thinking during TPM, "What they hell am I doing here? I don't need to crouch under the floor tiles. I'm a successful director now!"