MovieChat Forums > Glass (2019) Discussion > The CGI water tank

The CGI water tank


As soon as they first showed the water tank, to illustrate how the system would shut down David Dunn if he tried to escape, you could see the tarpaulin on the top was CGI and presumably the whole water tank had been inserted digitally.

It was very odd to see, in a film so devoid of the usual superhero CGI battles why would they use CGI to create a water tank. Could they not have just brought in a real water tank? Sure when they burst out of the tank they would likely need to CGI that but just for an establishing shot of a water tank in front of a building. Seemed odd.

reply

lets nitpick even more. the eyebrows of sam l jackson was also cgi

reply

guess with the budget being so low maybe it was too cost prohibitive to do for real and was a lot less $ to do CG?

reply

Valid point. It did look real, but it was very odd. I think everybody felt that way. I'm just glad you didn't start yelling Plot Hole, lol.

reply

Firstly, I should look closer next time. ;) Secondly, if that is indeed the case, then it was probably less time consuming and, naturally, a more money saving way to instead use digital effects for this.

But dozens of movies today, including those that you’d think would have no need for CGI (e.g. Oscar-ish character driven films, period pieces, etcetera) have a good amount of CGI in them. They use CGI for everything from background shots, buildings to even everyday objects. A lot of the time it’s not noticeable, therefore from a production standpoint it can pay off to save time and $$.

As far as Glass is concerned, if the end result looked convincing enough (I say it did), then not using a real water tank is fine by me. Some, mainly CGI detractors, would say it’s nothing more than convenience, albeit if at the end of the day it was cheaper+easier for Shyamalan to use CGI for a single shot that doesn’t last long on screen (keep in mind, Glass was made for a cool $20 million), I think it made sense to go CGI.

This kind of thing is commonplace now, and it’s not a big issue for me.

reply

I didn't know if the whole tank was CG? If it was I didn't notice. I do remember the water spill looking abit CG though.

reply

It was more the tarpaulin on the top of the water tank that was obviously CGI.

I get that hiring in a water tank to sit there will cost money and logistics, but really, on a big budget movie they are going to scrimp on that?

Just strikes me as dumb to waste time CGI-modelling something you can rent from a hardware store.

I don't know how long it takes to render something like that though, I guess if they are paying a flat fee to a CGI agency you will work them as much as you can.

Wonder how many other props and background items are CGI that go unnoticed?

reply