"How do they do that !". This is the big question in the minds of shocked movie audiences worldwide watching a well-made Special Effects movie.

"How do they do that !". This is the big question in the minds of shocked movie audiences worldwide watching a well-made Special Effects movie. Prehistoric dinosaurs come back to life, aliens invade the earth, humans fly, volcanoes erupt inside cities... We have been capable of reaching worlds we would never of thought we would see. Is there a limit to what the effects people can achieve on screen ?!!

There are many special effects out there on the big screen but I will just name a few and show some examples of them.

Special Effects is both an art and a science. The "science" part involves the complete understanding of how the audio-visual sensory parts of our body and brain perceive the world around us, while the "art" part involves the strategic use of this information to fool the sensory system.

History:

The history of special effects begins even before the invention of the camera itself. During the 1700s, magicians utilized many techniques to perform optical illusions and astound their audiences. These techniques formed the foundations of special effects.

The ancestor to the film projector, magic lanterns became very popular to illusionists during the 1790s.

Draw picture person in front of picture

In 1895, the first paid motion picture show was staged.

The invention of limelight around 1820 provided a way to project much brighter images from greater distances.

The greatest changes in the revolution of Special Effects happened in the 20th century, with computers. Computers helped revolutionized the world of Special Effects in movies. Now with computers we are able to create sceneries we would never think possible. With the help of computers we can create people, buildings, animals, monsters, aliens, and many other creations. Our creations in the computers can come out to life with a touch of a button. Special Effects have gone to the extreme with the use of computers. We could even build and resink the "Titanic" with the use of computers.

Types:

Blue screen

The foreground and background shots are shot seperately and later superimposed one on the other. Certain areas of the foreground have to be transparent for the background detail to show through. (If the foreground detail fills the entire frame, the background detail will not be visible)! For this purpose, the foreground object is usually shot against a plain blue screen Chroma blue

Computer animation

Animation has historically been produced in two ways. The first is by artists creating a succession of cartoon frames, which are then combined into a film. A second ...

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Types:

Computer animation

Animation has historically been produced in two ways. The first is by artists creating a succession of cartoon frames, which are then combined into a film. A second method is by using physical models, e.g. King Kong, which are positioned, the image recorded, then the model is moved, the next image is recorded, and this process is continued.

Composite shot

Compositing is a technique by which one shot is super-imposed on another, resulting in a composite shot. A common example is our everyday weather forecast on TV. The weather map is a seperate computer generated shot onto which the announcer is super-imposed, making it look as if he/she is standing in front of a giant TV screen flashing different weather images.

Lion king stampede

Latex for Masks

The use of latex has revolutionized the world of creating "real" monsters out of humans. Not only can we get monsters out of latex, but also we can add scars to faces, add extra eyes to a monster, make young people old and vice versa. The late movie "How the Grinche Stole Christmas" has a very good example of the use of latex.

Jim Carry mask- hair.

Weather:

Rain- hose with holes in it.

Ssnow- snowmaker

Wind- big fans that are blown at high speeds.

Slow Motion

In the movie "The Matrix," the filmmakers use an extremely sophisticated technique to accomplish much more advanced effects. Not only does the rotation occur, but the actor is also moving in slow motion during the rotation (see the first link below for three extremely nice full-motion demos). At least five different special-effect techniques are combined to create the final image:

A large number of still cameras capture the scene, but they fire sequentially around the actor rather than all at once.
The cameras shoot the actor on a green-screen background (see for details on this technique).
The actor is wearing a wire suspended from the ceiling so that he can fall only part-way or appear to float in mid-air.
Once the scene is shot, software similar to morphing software interpolates between the images to allow the slow-motion feel. The filmmaker can therefore slow down or speed up the action at will.

Computer-generated backgrounds are then superimposed onto the film.

Blood bags/ bullet hits

There is a variety of movies out there with scenes that show a person getting hit by numerous bullets, and when they impact the body blood bursts out from the body, through the shirt, and gushes everywhere. How does this work?

Well here is how this technique works, a small explosive charge is triggered by a battery causing a blood-filled bag to burst outwards.

A squib, which is a small explosive charge triggered by a 9V battery, is taped to the plate and a blood pack placed over the charge and secured in place with gaffer tape. Blood packs can be anything that can be filled and sealed, but most people use condoms.

Placing the blood pack over the charge reduces the flash given off by the squib detonating. The rigged plate is taped or strapped to the actor and concealed under clothing. White clothes show the effect off best and should be pre-scored with a knife to weaken the fabric. Ideally the squib should blow through the shirt and it helps here if the shirt is tucked in. Cable is run from the squib down the actor's leg to a control box or nail board. A bit of simple wiring allowed us to trigger the charges in turn by running a nail across a nail board (a piece of wood with a series of nails in a line). Before firing everyone stays well clear of the charges, the actor avoids looking down at his chest, and the camera is at a safe distance away. A simple countdown helps the actor be aware of when to expect the hit.

An explosion can be triggered by Pyrotechnic machines that can either put out a beautiful fireworks show, lightning for a grand opening of a store, explosions in movies, and mainly anything else that involves fire and colorful lights. These machines are relatively safe to handle, they can set off an "explosion" and in a matter of minutes be put out with the touch of a button. Some explosions like the ones that occur in the movies that blow up buildings are also related to the pyrotechnic machines

Why should we use Special Effects? Why should we reenact the sinking of the Titanic? The answer is clear, because society has fallen in love with entertainment! Special Effects spices up movies; makes them very entertaining. The impossible becomes possible with Special Effects. If we did not use Special Effects the revolution of movies would be really slow and boring and movies would be really basic. With Special Effects in movies we can create a endless possibilities and bring dreams, illusions, and fantasies to life. We have brought aliens back to life, monsters have rampaged through out cities, the reenactment of the "Titanic" sinking made it look as if we were there. Try and picture our society with just the basics of Special Effects, it would be really boring. Sing-A-Longs, silent movies, black and white movies would be at the highest of special effects. The society of today has grown with the Special Effects used in movies. We are no longer amazed by the Mary Poppins "Sing Alongs" not even children. Society needs some kind of Special Effects in the movies they watch, which could be from making people appear older to making the Titanic the sink again. Not too many movies without special effects attract us.

In Conclusion, Special Effects have brought other worlds to our eyes, things that we would never imagined we would catch a glimpse at, and Volcanoes have erupted and destructed the city of Los Angeles. Special Effects have revolutionized the way we are entertained, they have made movies almost seem so real. Special Effects are not biased against age, they come in all shapes and sizes, and for the kind of movie anyone would like to watch.