Criteria B

To create CGI, the main component needed is a computer and in a computer, the main component is a Central Processing Unit (CPU). A CPU works by basically translating electric signals into a visual demonstration that we can understand on our monitors. This is done by four steps called fetch, decode, execute, and writeback. Fetch is receiving a program or a software application from the memory then decode it into a language we can understand, it is changed from on and off electric signals which show up as 0s and 1s in a visual form. Then it executes the instructions of the program and what its supposed to do on the screen. After the program has been used, the CPU writes the program back into the memory (hard drive).
The trend that has enabled the creation of CGI and the display of pictures and vibrant colors on a screen is the number of pixels on a screen and the improvement of graphic cards. Pixels are what a screen is made out of and you can think of them as a grid with tiny squares and each square can be colored differently to create images on the screen. The first graphic card was called Monochrome Display Adapter and was made by IBM, it provided text-only displays that were green and white in color, but now graphic cards are able to display millions of colors on a resolution (resolution is the number of pixels arranged from Length x Width) up to 2040 x 1536. Graphic cards work by receiving information of images from the CPU and then decide how to use every pixel on the monitor to display the image then it sends that information to the monitor. Then creating CGI requires an image processing application that can create images with X and Y axis for 2-D images and for 3-D images, Z axis is added.

Art, Entertainment and Leisure Criteria A

Computer Generated-Imagery (CGI) is being seen in today’s world more often that it was before. It is being seen in movie and video game industries. But since CGI is becoming more complex and so detailed that characters look almost life-like (Johnson , 2009). This issue makes the business, especially for video games, risky because games take an average of two years to create, with a large investment of money to create complex and highly detailed games. The demand for perfect games is also needed as they cost a lot (average of $50) and as that price is very high, people would look at websites and listen to recommendations before buying a game and if that game was bad, the company could lose its reputation and over time become bankrupt. So the problem is that video games and CGI overall take too much time to develop as they are required to be drawn and be very detailed. An ethical issue with CGI the physiological effect of video games on children. Since CGI looks quite realistic, children would think that it is real and affect their lives in one way or another and one of them is increased aggression (George, 2008)