Special effects are the special ingredients that make movies magical. They create scenes that otherwise would be impossible to capture. Consider any of the 31 (and counting) Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. The Avengers transform from civilians into superheroes. They leap from and into moving spaceships. They engage in epic battles against alien armies. Thanks to special effects, those fictional scenes look real.

Question

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.

Another form of special effects is visual effects. These effects are not filmed during live-action shooting. Rather, they are digital or computer effects that are added in after filming. Visual effects include green screens, computer-generated imagery (CGI), motion-control cameras, and digital compositing. Visual effects often are used to create dramatic realistic scenes. They also bring spectacular imaginary worlds to life.

Star Wars: A New Hope was groundbreaking in the ways it combined practical effects with visual effects. In fact, in 1975, Lucas founded a visual effects company — Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) — to help him bring his vision for Star Wars to life. Earlier science-fiction movies showed slow-moving spacecraft that didn’t turn. Lucas’s film crew shot scenes of model spaceships against blue or green screens. They then combined those scenes with the visual effects of motion-control cameras and digital compositing. The result was dynamic and believable spaceship movements.

Although CGI was introduced in the 1980s, director Steven Spielberg was the first to use this visual effect on a large scale in Jurassic Park (1993). Originally, the plan was to film the dinosaur sequences with huge models and stop-motion photography. But ILM designers thought that they could make better prehistoric creatures with a computer — and they did.

Jurassic Park successfully combined animatronics with CGI-created models to make dinosaurs come to life. Since then, advancements in technology have meant that visual effects can easily be blended with live-action scenes. Or they can be used to create a completely fictional but authentic-looking world, as in Avatar (2009) and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022).

Today, CGI characters stand in for live actors. Toy Story (1995) was the first feature-length movie to be created completely by computer. Creepy Gollum from The Lord of the Rings movies (2001–2003) was a CGI character based on the movements of actor Andy Serkis and a technique called motion capture. Of course, great movies must have a solid story. But thanks to the magic of special effects, filmmakers today are limited only by their imaginations.

assessment: According to the article, special effects methods include: prostheses, building sets, scale models, puppets, green screens, and CGI. If you were to create your own movie, which method would you want to use for special effects? Explain how this special effect process has been used in movies before and how it would make your movie more magical or realistic.Press Esc + Tab to exit the text editing field

Answer 1

If I were to create my own movie, I would choose to use CGI (computer-generated imagery) as my primary method for special effects. CGI has become an essential tool in modern filmmaking, allowing for the creation of visually stunning and imaginative worlds that would be nearly impossible to achieve with practical effects alone.

CGI has been used effectively in numerous films to create lifelike characters, stunning environments, and jaw-dropping action sequences. A prime example is Jurassic Park (1993), where director Steven Spielberg utilized CGI to bring dinosaurs to life alongside practical animatronics. This innovative combination created a more immersive experience for the audience, blending the realism of physical models with the dynamic capabilities of CGI. The success of CGI in this film set a precedent for the future of visual storytelling, proving that digital effects could achieve a level of detail and realism that resonated with viewers.

Additionally, films like Avatar (2009) and its sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), took CGI to a new level, crafting entire alien worlds filled with bioluminescent flora and fauna. The intricate details and aesthetics achieved through CGI allowed audiences to suspend disbelief and immerse themselves in a completely foreign universe, enhancing the magical quality of the film.

Using CGI in my movie would allow me to create imaginative and fantastical elements, such as mythical creatures or expansive landscapes, that would otherwise be too costly or logistically complex to produce with practical effects. This could also enable dynamic action sequences with breathtaking visuals, giving audiences a sense of wonder and excitement.

Moreover, CGI offers flexibility in post-production, allowing for adjustments and enhancements that can refine the final product, ensuring that every frame is visually striking. With this technology at my disposal, I could push the boundaries of creativity and bring the story to life in a way that resonates deeply with audiences.

In conclusion, CGI represents a powerful method for creating special effects that can add both realism and magic to my movie. By drawing inspiration from successful past films and leveraging the advancements in technology, I would aim to captivate viewers and transport them to a vibrant and imaginative world.