Special effects can be practical or visual. Practical effects are actual objects or elements that filmmakers manipulate or that actors interact with in real time while filming. Many practical effects have been used since the beginning of motion pictures. They include props, models, puppets, makeup, prostheses (artificial features that temporarily change a face or body part), animatronics (lifelike robots), and pyrotechnics (fireworks or explosions).
Practical effects can enhance films in a variety of ways. Early horror films made use of prostheses to bring monsters to life. Puppets have been used to portray aliens and animals. Using stop-motion animation, a director can build a scene by making tiny adjustments to a puppet between shots. Once the film is sped up, the inanimate object looks like it is alive and moving.
King Kong (1933) is a perfect example of this type of filmmaking. The giant ape in the film actually was an 18-inch flexible model covered with fur. The film crew built a miniature jungle set and posed the model in it. The stop-motion process for shooting those scenes was very time consuming. But when the resulting film was projected at 24 frames per second, it gave the appearance of a 100-ton gorilla on the loose!
Set building is another practical effect. In 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), director Stanley Kubrick had a large centrifuge built. It created an authentic, movable set in which to capture travel in a space station.
Another type of practical effects is the use of scale models. Director George Lucas broke the mold for this process in Star Wars: A New Hope (1977). He had detailed models of spaceships built. With creative camera work and helpful sound effects, the small models look like massive ships speeding through the galaxy in the movie.
Questions 2-3Multiple Choice: Stanley Kubrik's centrifuge…A. changed the way films used special effects.B. was very difficult for filmmakers to work with.C. challenged filmmakers to find new camera angles.D. made it seem like his film really took place in space.Multiple Choice: Which quotation from the text best supports your answer to question 2?A. "The stop-motion process for shooting those scenes was very time consuming." (Paragraph 4)B. "the resulting film was projected at 24 frames per second" (Paragraph 4)C. "It created an authentic, movable set in which to capture travel in a space station." (Paragraph 5)D. "With creative camera work and helpful sound effects, the small models look like massive ships speeding through the galaxy in the movie." (Paragraph 6)
1 answer
Question 2: Stanley Kubrick's centrifuge…
Answer: D. made it seem like his film really took place in space.
Question 3: Which quotation from the text best supports your answer to question 2?
Answer: C. "It created an authentic, movable set in which to capture travel in a space station." (Paragraph 5)
