Special Effects for Everyone: The Democratization of CGI Technology

You could say independent filmmaker Gareth Edwards is a surprising champion for CGI technology. After all, his feature film Monsters (2010) wasn’t a big-budget summer blockbuster, nor did it star Tom Cruise, Matt Damon or any other major A-list actor. In fact, he made his film for a mere $800,000—and that’s with CGI technology included. In an interview with film critic Mark Kermode, Edwards said, “You can go in [a] shop now and buy a computer that’s faster than the computers they made Jurassic Park on.”