# Amateur CGI? (Haunted house)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-cgi-haunted-house/989528>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [September 2, 2023, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-cgi-haunted-house/989528 "2023-09-02T19:29:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\
**Post date:** [September 2, 2023, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-cgi-haunted-house/989528/1 "2023-09-02T19:29:43Z")

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Below is a video of a supposedly “haunted house”. Of course I think it’s nonsense. But I have to say the graphics are impressive. (Bonus points for getting the dog to play along).

So is there software out there that people can buy to make these?

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7268095294544284960

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [September 2, 2023, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-cgi-haunted-house/989528/2 "2023-09-02T20:16:37Z")

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You could probably do all of that with practical effects. The figure outside the kitchenette door looked like a reflection.

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**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\
**Post date:** [September 2, 2023, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-cgi-haunted-house/989528/3 "2023-09-02T20:44:02Z")

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I don’t see anything that looks like CGI in there.

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [September 2, 2023, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-cgi-haunted-house/989528/4 "2023-09-02T21:17:21Z")

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There’s probably some digital compositing in there - not CGI - footage recorded in parts, then taken apart, and pieces put back together digitally - like shooting the hands banging on the window - that can be recorded as a separate piece of footage and cut out and tracked over the existing window (and that way it can be made to look semitransparent, and can be made to vanish whenever the editor wants it to)

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**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\
**Post date:** [September 2, 2023, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-cgi-haunted-house/989528/5 "2023-09-02T21:25:24Z")

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If you want to see these kinds of videos dissected try,

> **[Captain Disillusion](https://www.youtube.com/@CaptainDisillusion)**
>
> In a world where the content of digital images and videos can no longer be taken at face value, an unlikely hero fights for the acceptance of truth.
> 
> Captain Disillusion guides children of all ages through the maze of visual fakery to the open spaces...

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**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\
**Post date:** [September 2, 2023, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-cgi-haunted-house/989528/6 "2023-09-02T21:44:49Z")

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That’s pretty cool. After watching a couple of his videos, I want to question everything now. Lol