You People’s surprising CGI kiss scene is broken down by visual effects artists. You People is a romantic comedy directed by Black-ish creator Kenya Barris. It is co-written by Barrie and Jonah Hill, who also plays the lead character Ezra. You People follows the story of a white, Jewish man, Ezra looking to marry his Black girlfriend Amira (Lauren London) and exploring their families' after they get engaged.
VFX artists dissect the wedding kiss scene in You People between Amira and Ezra, which was created with CGI.
The Corridor Crew sat down to look at the You People scene, initially reacting “oh no” upon the scene playing. The team could tell that the You People scene used CGI from the unnatural way in which Hill’s beard hits London's face. The Corridor Crew went on to analyze how the scene was done, which they said was likely achieved by a mannequin and a digital manipulation of the angle of Hill’s body movement. To hear their full recap, check out the section at 10:55 in the video.
You People’s CGI Kiss Explained
After both Ezra and Amira have gone through the wringer dealing with the prejudices and issues within both of their families, the couple has finally reached their wedding day. Shown as golden confetti falls down in slow motion, the wedding kiss scene is meant as a sweet romantic moment between these leads.
With the Corridor Crew’s analysis, however, the You People romantic scene becomes just as comical as some of the film's more intentional gags. Once they have drawn attention to Hill’s unnatural beard movement against co-star London’s face, it is hard to unsee. These VFX artists make it even more obvious by showing the Zoomed-in version of their lips locking over and over again.
This You People scene breakdown begs the question of what else could have been done to make the scene more realistic. Perhaps You People’s VFX team could have looked more closely at their facial characteristics, making sure that they would match those of a real person. Alternatively, the money-saving method, as the Corridor Crew suggests would have just been to have Hill and London kiss in real life. The CGI in You People’s wedding kiss is an odd element to an otherwise not highly CGI-oriented film, but interesting to dissect nonetheless.
Source: Corridor Crew / YouTube