Visual effects are created using software and editing equipment . These would be done using a green screen. Some other ways to make special effects are Chroma keying (e.g Keying in a background over a green/blue screen or keying in different lighting) , CGI (like the apes in the adventures of a lifetime video by Coldplay) and rotoscoping(for example, used frame by frame on the lightsabers in Star Wars).Visual effects would be computer generated effects. These would be done using a green screen. Some other ways to make special effects are Chroma keying (e.g Keying in a background over a green/blue screen or keying in different lighting) , CGI (like the apes in the adventures of a lifetime video by Coldplay) and rotoscoping(for example, used frame by frame on the lightsabers in Star Wars).
Why does the film industry use special effects?
Well special effects enhance a films entertainment value, often increasing and evoking excitement and feeling of danger and elation in the audience. For example “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas included many prosthetics on both the Grinch and the Who’s without which wouldn’t make the film so recognisable and iconic. Also, they used Pyrotechnics in the Grinch, and whilst they probably could have created a convincing visual effect fire, it was simpler to use real fire and it drew a convincing and effective performance from the actors, which is harder to do with visual effects.
Why use visual effects?
The film industry uses special effects because it can create a natural or supernatural look with out having to a lot of money on silicone, rubber, safety, ect. This make Films better as the possibilities are endless to what they can do, with the aid of special effects characters like Voldemort, fantasy creatures like dragons and pixies are brought to life, creating a whole other world to capture the audiences imagination!
Identifying visual effects
Digital Compositing
Digital compositing is the process of layering and combining images into one final image digitally. This is ustaslised mainly in the film and photographic industy and commonly used in sci fi and fantacy genre.
Blue Screen-
Blue screen in film is used in media to key images and backgrounds into footage and images. This is usesful as it allows filmakers to be more creative with their locations and props, For example they can use blue screen to key in the backgroung of the moon or space as they can't afford to take an actor to space or when it isn't possible to have a deep space location. The color blue used to be the most common color screen to use as it was the furthest away for the red,pink and brown skin tone colors, meaning there was no chance of keying out the actors in the process of using a blue screen. For example in this image :
This image is an image from the film Harry Potter and the half blood prince. In this image Harry is flying around the quidditch stadium of Hogwarts. This shot was filmed against a blue screen in the warner brothers studio in Leevston, In the image they keyed in the background of forest scenery and hills, this is because the film is set in mountains towards the north of great Britain. They used a blue screen because the shots they had to film for the scene were very fast and often moving and the to make sure they captured the motion of the actors they couldn't shoot on location and incorporate all the stunts and movements without it costing a lot to shoot and reshoot on location. Also flying on a broom isn't possible (yet ) so they had to key out hernesses and carefully plan stunts, which is easier done in a studio. They used the colour blue because it did.t clash with the costume department and wasn't going to pick up any colour the film makers wanted key out such as reds, browns and greens on the quidditch uniforms.
Green Screen Chroma Key
Much like blue screen green screen is also used in media to key images and backgrounds into footage and images. However, more recently green screen has become more popular than blue since the use of digital cameras. As when you use a digital camera you yield a better result utilising a green screen because of the cleanness and luminescence of the green, reacts better with the camera then blue. For example :
This is a shot form the live action Alice in Wonderland (2010). This scene had been shot against a green screen as everything in this shot (apart from actress and stairs) was keyed into the shot in post. Since it was a modern film it was shot using digital cameras, so green screen was the most effective choice for this reason but also because if you look at the wardrobe for the character in the shot, Alice is dressed in blue which may have caused issues if they had to key out a blue screen. It was exceptionally benificial to have the option of using these visual effects when producing a film such as Alice in Wonderland as it is a film built around fantasy and imagination and the green screen allowed film makers to explore this in a way that simply wouldn't have been possible with just special effects or without the advancement in technology.
CGI
CGI (computer-generated imagery) is the creation of still or animated visual content utalising computer graphics software. CGI is a growing part of the media world, as it allows scope to be more creative with character appearences and props. It is used all ove r the media industry, from film, to advertising to archetecture as it allows us to develop creative characters but also allows us to continue modelling and develop the idea further and edit the image once created in a way that things such as moled prothetics in film don't. For Example:
This is an Image of the CGI character Gollum form the Lord of the Rings Films. Gollum is a CGI character.To create Gollum, actor Andy Serkis had to wear an grey unitard and small little sensors all over his body and face. The sensors would capture his body movements and facial expressions and this allows the computer to translate and emulate this into a 3D model of the movements and the creating of the physical appearance can begin. After this they worked with the models physical appearence and tweaked the movements created the extremely detailed and lifelike features of Gollum such as the swollun eyes and sunken bony face. The use of CGI was particulary importnt for the creation of Gollum as it allowed the film character to mimik the the imagination of the author when he created Gollum in the books and allowed the fans to see the character trulu ce to life as he was in the books, instead of having to create the look using make up and prosetetics which wouldnt have emulated the creative image of the character as well as CGI did.
Mattes- Matters are a photo-realistic interior and exterior environments that could not have been otherwise created or visited, this used to be done by hand however, in todays day and age most matte paintings are done digitally, to create a more detailed image. Often they ustalise a green screen and use a digital matte painter to digitally paint in the background in post production. For example,
This is an image taken from the film the Hobbit. In this Shot the the Character Bilbo baggins is walking though picturesque mountains and a magical looking village. When during filming the actor was standing infront of a green screen and the background and surroudings were digitally painted in post production. This is useful as it allows filmmakers to capture the essense of the book and to create an entire world for the viewer to becomne absorbed in, rather then using ready known real locations.
Morphing is a special effect that takes one image and uses a transition to seamlessly blend one image into another. The most popular use of morphing is the use of morphing one persons image into another person. An example of this is in Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrects.
The morphing in this clip is an effective use of morphing as it looks realistic but in a phantasy way, which is idealistic for this kind of Film because the concept behind around magic in these films is that magic exists within reality. Also it is effective because as soon as the audience watches the clip they understand the purpose of the potion and the effect it has on the characters without the need to explain the spell/potion, which makes the audience feel more involved and understanding of the concepts of magic in the film and means they feel more involved and part of the world of Harry Potter.
Rotoscoping
Rotoscoping is used to digitally frame by frame draw on the clip of footage to enhance it. It is commonly used to add an element of fantasy to the clip. For example,
In this image from Star Wars. The rotoscoping effect in this clip is added to the lightsabers to add colour and make them glow different colours. This is an effective use of rotoscoping as it helps the audience identify good from evil and it means that the actors can produce better performances in fight sequences as it means they have actual props like lightsabers would be in real life to act with and they have a full understanding of where everything would be whilst acting to make the sequence look more realistic, instead of having to imagine where the lightsabers would be.
3D graphics
3 dimensional graphics are a growing part of the film industry with the advancement of technology. There are films made completely out of 3D animation, which take completely computer generated images and put them in computer generated scenes. For example,
This is an image taken from pixars Finding Dory. It is a 3D animation and this style is particularly effective as it allows there to be funny looking, colourful and easily recognisable characters, which is important as Disney Pixar films are often targeted at young children so this style of animation is interesting ad colourful enough to capture their attention.
SPECIAL EFFECT TECHNIQUES
There are plenty of examples utilising visual and special effect in film. However, in modern day film we tend to use more visual effect more so then special effects due to the lower expense and modern advances in technology.
What are Special Effects Special effect are in real life Some examples would be prosthetics- like the grinch mask ,pyrotechnics- like in harry potter and the deathly hallows part 2 end battle scene , pyrotechnics and animatronics- such as the T-rex in Jurassic park.
Why does the film industry use special effects? Well special effects enhance a films entertainment value, often increasing and evoking excitement and feeling of danger and elation in the audience. For example “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas included many prosthetics on both the Grinch and the Who’s without which wouldn’t make the film so recognisable and iconic. Also, they used Pyrotechnics in the Grinch, and whilst they probably could have created a convincing visual effect fire, it was simpler to use real fire and it drew a convincing and effective performance from the actors, which is harder to do with visual effects.
Identifying Special Effects
Make up/ Prosthetics- Use prosthetic sculpting, moulding and casting techniques to create advanced make up techniques and change physical features. This is commonly used in fantasy and sky fi films to create fantasy creatures and characters such as goblins, zombies and werwolves. For example,
This is an exapmle of prosthetics being used in Dr who. This is particullary effective because the character is an alien and prosthetics allow the the make up artists and designers to be creative and not have as many limitations when creating characters and create a character that believably looks other worldly whist allowing the actor to do their job convinsingly and properly to make convinsing facial expressions and movement Animatronics/ mechanised props- Is where they make a model character or prop that is animated in real life through electronics and engineering to perform specific actions and be controlled on screen to interact in a a scene. One of the most famous examples of this is in Jurassic Park:
For example, this is an iconic image of one of two full size animatronic T-rexs used in making of the Film Jurassic Park. Just One of the full sized animatronic weighed 9 tons, was 40 ft long, and could raise itself 24 ft into the air. The animatronic dinosaur had fifty-seven functions and movements on the character which were all impressively hydraulic based, accept for the eyes which were radio controlled. The use of special effect rather then visual effect was particularly effective in this case because it gave the actors a realistic model to work with, which meant it was useful for gaining realistic reactions and choreographing a really visual and complex scene in terms of direction and placement such as the scene in the picture.
Stunts props, guns and sugar glass
Stunt Props- Stunt props are props that are used in a action sequence. An example of this is sugar glass, it is a type of glass that breaks easily and is used in films, so as not to hurt actors or actresses. It is usually made out of syrup and corn starch/syrup .For example,
This is a clip from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt 1. In this clip a shop is destroyed and to create this all the windows of the shop were from glass replaced with sugar glass to create the look of the windows exploding safely, without actual glass flying about on set . This was effective as it created a real looking explosion and emulated how glass really moves.