MovieChat Forums > Game of Thrones (2011) Discussion > CGI-Nudity?

CGI-Nudity?

posted 2 years ago by Cherubino1 (101)
11 replies | jump to latest

One of the things Game of Thrones is known for is its many, often very revealing, nude scenes. What I’d like to know is: Are the scenes that show nudity below the waist really real, or was it done with a computer?

That computer-generated or edited nudity is nothing unusual is shown, for example, by a scene from some movie in which J. Alba can be seen naked in the shower. Behind-the-scenes images, however, show that she was actually wearing green panties, which were digitally removed in post-production.

The IMDb trivia for Fifty Shades of Grey states:

“Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey revealed that he and his team digitally added in shots of visible pubic hair and that it was not real. Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan both wore sheer modesty patches, often used in sex scenes, to cover themselves while shooting.”

And in Game of Thrones, as is known, the head of the Cersei actress was montaged onto the naked(?) body of another actress for a nude scene. For these reasons, I think it’s entirely possible that the other nude scenes were not real or edited either, and would find it funny if the so infamous nude scenes were actually from the computer.

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

Since paying actors a few extra bucks to appear naked is far cheaper than CGI, i assume that they just paid regular people to pose naked! And maybe threw in a couple of extra bucks for public wigs, if needed, because the show's budget wasn't unlimited.

I heard they hired porn stars for some scenes, people who considered appearing naked to be light work.

[–] Cherubino1 (101) 2 years ago

Hard to say. There are also comparatively cheaper productions in which nudity was simulated by CGI.
I just find it funny how many people think all nude scenes are real on principle.

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

Why take the time and money for CGI, when porn stars will be glad to work as extras, because they want to break into legit entertainment?

Seriously, lots of actors are willing to do nudity, why the hell not just hire people who are willing to appear nude? And yes, I know there was at least one instance of CGI nudity, Cersei's Walk Of Shame. The actress had just had a baby and the character hadn't, so that was one time they spent the bucks on CGI.

[–] agentalbert (3090) 2 years ago

Seriously, lots of actors are willing to do nudity, why the hell not just hire people who are willing to appear nude? And yes, I know there was at least one instance of CGI nudity, Cersei's Walk Of Shame. The actress had just had a baby and the character hadn't, so that was one time they spent the bucks on CGI.

That really annoyed me. For one thing, it looks horrible. Very fake and unnatural. It wasn't convincing. Also, they could have picked someone with a body more like Lena Headey who was what, 44 at the time? Instead they go with some 20 something model. Was it really so important that Cersei the Queen Mother have a smooth stomach and perfect breasts? The scene wasn't about Cersei looking hot or desirable. I would have preferred to see the real Lena Headey, even with a bit of a tummy. They could have CGI smoothed that down a bit I guess if necessary (it wouldn't be), and it probably would have looked better than that alien stretched out hybrid thing we saw doing the walk. Even before details of it emerged, it was obvious when watching it that it was digitally altered.

[–] Cherubino1 (101) 2 years ago

I think that this scene is good evidence that the use of CGI is likely in terms of nudity. To save money, they could have left it at a shot of the head and bare shoulder. Every viewer knows that she is naked, even without seeing it in detail. Instead, they really wanted to show the whole body and even went to the trouble of montaging a head onto another body to do so.

[–] Cherubino1 (101) 2 years ago

In the case of the nameless extras who can be seen naked, I also think it is likely that some models/erotic actors/etc. were used.
With the better-known actors in films and series, however, I believe in the fewest cases that it is real nudity.

A concrete example from GoT: In the scene where Daenerys approaches the bathtub with the too-hot water, you see the whole body first from the side, then from behind. However, I believe that the area below the waistline is not real, or that the actress was probably wearing some green garment that was later digitally removed. (Like here: https://static.onecms.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2010/10/jessica-alba-machete-nude_240.jpg)

I also believe that the same technique was used, for example, in the “nude scene” of M. Robbie in The Wolf of Wall Street, to give just one example as well.

It’s not so much Game of Thrones that I’m concerned with, but rather the fact that I generally suspect the use of CGI in nude scenes in today’s films and series; GoT is just one particularly well-known example of frequent nudity.

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

Well, many of the actors were told upfront that their jobs would require a hell of a lot of nudity, and they signed the contract under those terms. Emilia Clarke actually got sick of being naked so much and started refusing to do gratuitous nudity after the show had been running for years, she was almost constantly nude in the first 2-3 seasons but for the last few she only appeared naked when she was doing important things like frying all the Khals of the Dothrak or nailing Jon.

I don't think they CGI'd in someone else's body for those scenes, I think that if they'd used CGI they would have CGI'd in the body of a fashionably slight woman, like they did for Lena Heady. Clarke had a few more curves than was fashionable at that time, so I'd guess it really was her.

[–] Cherubino1 (101) 2 years ago

Well, many of the actors were told upfront that their jobs would require a hell of a lot of nudity, and they signed the contract under those terms.

In my opinion, that doesn’t argue against the use of CGI, because we don’t know exactly what was in each contract.
One contract might have said that she only had to be topless. In another, that she only had to be topless on set and anything below the waistline would come out of the computer. Or that they had to be nude on set, but the footage would be digitally post-edited.
It’s also questionable whether the actors agreed to actually be nude, or whether they agreed to appear in the finished episode as if they were nude.

Emilia Clarke actually got sick of being naked so much

However, we don’t know how this is meant. It could also be that she was actually topless in these scenes, but everything below the waistline was done with the computer, and the actress was annoyed by both the real topless shots and the computer-generated bare skin that made her look like she was actually shooting a nude scene.

In another scene, she is seen from the front, also completely nude, with a dragon covering the lower area. If this area is covered here (in this case quite obviously) by CGI, what’s the argument against it being the same for the bathtub scene?

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

If I doubt your proposition that lots of nudity is CGI'd, it's because I know damn well that Hollywood is as cost-conscious. Why pay for CGI, when they can always find some actor who will not accept a job that requires nudity, but who will pay for their own plastic surgery?

Seriously, if a movie studio has the choice between paying money and waiting ages to get the final CGI naked person, or hiring an actor who's willing to appear nude and who has paid for their own boob job or six-pack implants, well! Why the hell wouldn't any cost-conscious fimmaker choose the actor who'll appear nude, AND pay for their own enhancements.

[–] Cherubino1 (101) 2 years ago

Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you’re wrong and I’m right.

There are some examples of this technique being used in Hollywood, but also in less expensive productions.
In the above-mentioned movie Fifty Shades Of Grey, the main actress had artificial pubic hair “painted” on her by CGI, while in reality the actress was wearing something.
In the movie Irreversible a CGI penis was created.
And I like to link again this image comparison of a “nude scene” of J. Alba: https://static.onecms.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2010/10/jessica-alba-machete-nude_240.jpg
And we’re not talking about huge, very expensive and elaborate productions like GoT.

I can understand your argument better with extras. I also don’t believe that people spend money on digital post-production. However, I’m not so sure about the (well-known) main actors.

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

I can believe that CGI nudity does happen, but I would imagine it's mostly done in productions where name actors don't want to do certain things, and the producers decide it's worth spending a few extra bucks on CGI to get the name actor on board. But in GOT, most of the cast didn't gave that kind of clout when they were hired, and Emilia Clarke certainly didn't, this was like her first job. I think she just took a job that required spending a lot of time naked.

As for CGI-ing in pubes in that stupid "50 shades" movie, that must have been a late decision. There is such a thing as a pubic wig ("merkin"), which costs next to nothing, so if they CGI'd in pubes after the fact, then it was probably because they'd changed their minds about what the character would like have done about about her body hair. It would have been cheaper and easier to just slap on a merkin.