FUTURE NOIR AND CGI How Tech Has Changed Trends

I think what I’m about to say will be about as predictable as (insert

If I told you that there was a genre of film that blended traditional noir films from the 50’s, with dystopian science fiction predictable thing here). Basically, CGI has both enabled and greatly
worlds of the future, you might be surprised. Then again, you might not. This genre, (aptly named “Future or Tech Noir”) harmed the genre of Future Noir. What made Blade Runner’s dense-
has a number of famous titles under its belt. The most notable- and indeed the genesis of Future Noir - was “Blade Runner”,
ly detailed look so authentic was how grounded in reality it was.
Ridley Scott’s science fiction masterpiece from 1982. The great attraction –at least for a few of us- of this genre is the mix of
an exciting and disturbing futuristic world with the classically dark and atmospheric look and themes of a Noir. Films in this
Now although this suited the tone and setting of the film, it wasn’t
genre can often take a closer look at how we may evolve or react as a species or society to the possible social and techno- done purely for design reasons, however much Ridley might say
logical changes of the future, sometimes with unnervingly prophetic results. otherwise! They simply had to use what they had, and for Scott and
co. in 1981 that was a lot of old sets and locations. They certainly
did a fantastic job of spicing it up, but one cannot deny that the
Philip K. Dick and the Origins of Future Noir film’s unique and famous look is lent to it by its fusion of new and

Blade Runner’s story was adapted from a very memorably named short novel, “Do Androids CGI, The Bane and Saviour of Sci-Fi
Dream of Electric Sheep”, written by visionary Science fiction Author Philip K. Dick. Dick Is
in fact responsible for a great many science fiction classics aside from Blade Runner, such as CGI, (Computer Generated Imagery) Is the creation of still or animat-
Minority Report, A scanner Darkly, Total Recall and the Adjustment Bureau. His stories often
featured themes of altered consciousness, the dangers of technology and an overall perva-
ed visual content with digital software. It’s probably best to know
sive ambiguity. Despite what you might think, what with so many of his stories ending up something about it before we get into its pros and cons. What it
with film or tv adaptations, he actually had a visceral dislike of Hollywood. In an Interview allows one to do is create pretty much anything you might want in
with Author Paul Sammon, he said “You would have to kill me and prop me up in a digital environment, and then through the use of a method called
the seat of my car with a smile painted on my face to get me to go near compositing, insert that thing into live action footage. If you’re
Hollywood.”
thinking that that sounds epic, then you’re 100% right. We can truly
He Tragically died at only 54, in 1982, not long after seeing about 30 minutes of Ridley do anything in film, and it’s nowhere near as hard as it used to be.
Scott’s then unfinished adaptation of his book. Whether or not these two events are linked The nerds making Claymation models and animatronics from the 60’s
is a mystery to this day, but it’s said he was pleasantly surprised by what he saw, and one can through to the 80’s have turned into the nerds creating worlds and
be reassured that had he lived he may have loved many of his stories screen adaptations. characters digitally in the 90’s and onwards.
The 90’s and Animation
The 2000’s and Onwards When you think about the earliest CGI you probably think of TRON or
perhaps even Jurassic Park springs to mind. Wrong! No, you are sadly
After the Iconic Sci-Fi Anime Film
My poor Future Noir loving soul has wrong. Technically the first use of “Computer Generated Imagery”
Akira was released in 1988, it been painfully starved of new and orig- was in fact in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 Psychological thriller Vertigo,
opened the metaphorical flood- inal films for much of the two decades Why Is This Relevant?
gates to a huge increase in animated that followed that wonderfully techy,
features of a cyber noir and punk na- cyber noir era of the mid to late 90’s. Yes, I do realise that was the biggest and most seemingly pointless detour since Finn and Rose’s adventure on Canto
ture throughout the 90’s and 2000’s. While there have been some, many Bight, but bear with me, I’m no Rian Johnson. Basically, CGI has entirely changed the trends for the Science Fiction
Not satisfied with merely drawn were simply reboots or continuations genre as a whole, and while you can argue whether or not future noir has more than just a toe dipped in those
masterpieces like the Ghost in the of older franchises; The Matrix sequels waters, the implications of the broader umbrella genre are inevitably going to impact the comparatively baby genre
Shell films, enthusiasts of the genre and Animatrix, Blade Runner 2049 and that Future Noir is.
began utilising CG animation to the live action Ghost in the Shell to To put it bluntly, people want to see the most extravagant, the loudest and most visually explosive things
make films such as Renaissance, or name a few. Even 2002’s Equilibrium that they can, and if you’re a studio executive (or in any way a part of Marvel) then that means vomiting all
was panned by some as merely a Ma- the CGI you possibly can onto the screen. While there’s nothing wrong with this in itself, it certainly shrinks
even to enhance and maybe make
trix rip off, but while there are definite
characters, like in Enki Bilal’s unusual the market for potentially nuanced or thought-provoking Future Noir.
similarities that’s a little unfair of an
2004 film Immortal. accusation.
The Fate of Future Noir
The nineties saw a fusion of tech It seems the tendency in this modern
Yes, perhaps this is all a desperate S.O.S, a cry to save the genre I love from
noir, future noir and cyberpunk. age of over saturating our films with
sad fate of neglect or even from being forgotten altogether. The past two
Films like The Matrix, Dark City, copious amounts of CGI has led to
decades truly have not been kind to it, and most films that echo its style
Strange Days, Brazil, The City of Lost more of what we’d call “hard sci fi”.
do so in a spirit of homage or just blatantly rip it off. There is a place to find
Children and Twelve Monkeys. I real- No longer held back by the technical
hope however, and that is in Indie film. With the advancements in digital
ise I said a lot of films just then, but limitations of the 80’s, (and to an extent
and visual technologies it has become easier to make such films for less,
that’s just it, there were a lot of these the 90’s), it’s much easier to create a far
and as a result indie directors have begun to bring worlds to the screen that
more futuristic looking film, set in an
sorts of films in the 90’s! In fact, there would previously have only been possible through the backing a studio.
unrecognizable world or even in space
were more mainstream future-noir or another planet. If there was one
and cyberpunk films in the 90’s than Hopefully these films continue to be created and one day break more into the main-
thing you could safely say about the stream, maybe even starting a resurgence of its popularity close to how it was in the
there have been through both the vast majority of Future noir and some 90’s. My fingers will be well and truly crossed, but I eagerly await a time when I can
2000’s and 2010’s combined. cyberpunk, it was always set in an un- be adequately impressed and challenged by a film in that genre of genres: Furure
comfortably familiar world. Noir.