Computers Effects
- Blue Screen/Matte
- Computer Animation
- Compositing
Humananized Effects
- Use of Latex
- Rain/Snow/Wind/Fire
- Blood Bags/Bullet hits
- Explosions
There are thousands kinds of Special Effects, we put only the most used ones by the Special Effects giants.
Blue Screen/Matte
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. A particular shade of blue called Chroma Blue is used for this purpose. (Human skin does not contain this shade of blue). The blue area is later erased from the frame making the area transparent. The background detail can now show through this blank area.
1.
The original scene - actors on a plain on a nice day. Not very spooky. 2.
The sky is matted out with black paper placed over the sky on the camera's lens.The sky portion of the film is not exposed in the first shot
3.
The film is rewound and a dark, cloudy sky is filmed with a matte placed over the previously exposed portion of the film. 4.
When the film is developed, the two shots appear as one.
Very spooky!
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.
Computer animation is not only for kids anymore, it is now everywhere, it is one of the most original ways to tell a story or an idea. In most animation companies, there is an animation director, who is in charge of most of the creative work. He or she often comes up with the idea, designs the scene, and like a film director, "directs" the action, and the expressions and appearance of the characters. A storyboard artist breaks the script down into a comic-strip sequence so that the animator can follow each "shot," like a rough map of the action. Animators then draw the characters, or other moving objects, and assistant animators clean up the drawings and do minor work.
Compositing :
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.
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There are many uses for this technique. A very good example that was used by Disney was in the movie "The Lion King". This technique was used to create the stampede that was rumbling down the cliff to kill Simba. The stampede was actually only a few sketches of the animals, but with the help of composition they were able to create the whole stampede. Another use for this technique would be the weather man on the news. The weather man is actually standing in front of a "bluescreen" and the image of the weather map is added by another computer.
Use of Latex
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. Here in this movie the Grinch is Jim Carrey who is covered with layers of latex to make him look like the Grinch from the cartoon. Latex is a very good product to use when trying to create monsters or just actually anything out of people. The movie "The Nutty Professor", Professor Klump's whole body including the face and arms is covered with latex, and with the use of a "Gelatin like substance" under the latex, it makes him look fat. The uses of latex are innumerable, you can create aliens, or even put latex covering robotics to make them just like dinosaurs. One of the best things about latex, is that with it you can custom design any kind of mask, defect on the body, and face defects.
Rain/Snow/Wind/Fire
Many movies have settings where it is raining, do you think they wait till the day when it rains to record? What if they are filming in a city like El Paso, Texas, where you see more cougars from the mountains than rainy days. Special Effects comes into effect. The production crews sets up long plastic tubes with tiny holes in the bottom, attached to a water hose in the top of the setting. What do you get out of this? RAIN! With Special Effects you can make rain possible in any setting even in cities where it only rains once a day. Christmas movies are the most popular at having snow in their settings, but what if it is not snowing on the day of the shoot and the day will be ruined if you do not have snow on the set. What do you do? Get a snow machine to make it for you, if the snow cannot come to you, make it come to you with this device. Shooting a part of the movie where it involves highwinds? Movie makers use the same technique as the one for the snow, they get ahold of large fans and turn them on at high speeds, or the desired wind, and let them take their tolls on the setting. Movies that contain big fire scenes, do not actually go out into the set and actually turn out massive fires. Independent companies are called to create job, and they do so with machines that very easily turn on a massive fire scene, but can also be turned off in a matter of pressing a button. These machines can be really dangerous with with normal use they can be extremely safe.
Rain
Wind
Snow
Fire
Blood bags /Bullet hits
There is a variety of movies out there with scenes that show a person getting hit by numberous bullets, and when they impact the body blood burstst 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.
Explosions
Explosions on the silver screeens can be computer generated, which will not look that good, or made with the invention of machines created by humans. 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. The operator of the machine is has everything under control if the surroundings are not too crowded.
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