Boardwalk Empire

Most of you have probably heard of HBO's hit television show Boardwalk Empire. Last week I posted the call sheets for the show. I was watching it tonight and I remembered thinking how amazing the actual boardwalk set is. The set built nearby NYC is a miniature version of the Atlantic City boardwalk in 1920. Where the ocean would be is a huge blue screen. By being able to use this huge blue screen the show is able to spend more money elsewhere and pull of shots that were improbable before (like a shot of the ocean behind a fake boardwalk). It reminded me how far technology has come, even in the last few years, and I think that more filmmakers need to consider it an option. Although there are many examples of its abuse, I think CGI can be a great thing.