Visual effects have been used in cinema since it's origin, and the term refers to various processes and techniques that are used to manipulate (or completely create) imagery seen in film. Many different methods and technology has been created over the years, with the aim of making visual effects more realistic and aweinspiring! allowing an audience to further escape into a films world and story. "hen talking about the history of visual effects, most people will think of #eorge Melies! whom is seen as the father of special effects. Melies started his career as a film maker in the $%&'s and discovered a way to manipulate film imagery in $%& when his film accidentally ammed and caused a shot to change quickly, making the scene suddenly change. *his inspired him to e+periment, leading to the creation of many early visual effects techniques. or e+ample, his film -a /averne Maudite0 ($%&%), used double e+posure when two images images are superimposed superimposed together in order to create cre ate one manipulated image to make ghosts and spirits appear in the cavern of demons. 1nother one of Melies' films (-2n 3omme de tete0 $%&%) was also the first to use split screen, which is a technique including filming the same shot twice, and then putting the images together. *his allowed an actor to perform alongsid alongsidee himself, himself, and and was used for many many years after (or e+ample e+ample in in 4isney 4isney's 's -*he parent trap0 of $&$). Melies was also known for using stop motion in his films, for e+ample in his adaptation of -/inderella0 ($%&&), which was a popular technique used often in early cinema. From From George Melies "A trip to the moon" (1902), (1902), which used special special effects to create a stor of man!s first enture into space#
5top motion is a technique as old as film itself, and was used in most films that required visual effects before the development of /#6. amous e+amples include -7ing 7ong0 ($&88), -9ason and the 1rgonauts0 1rgonauts0 ($&8) ( $&8) and -*he empire strikes back0 ($&%). 6n most cases, c ases, it was miniatures miniatures that were used for stop motion (which were used in Melies film's also). 3owever miniatures had other uses too they could create whole cities, such as in -Metropolis0 ($&:;) and are still used in modern cinema for that reason. *he -ord of the
From From "$he %i&ard %i&ard of '&" (199) an eample eample of a matte painting used as a *ac+ground# *ac+ground#
*hese techniques are still used in some forms in modern cinema, however, after the dawn of /#6, the world of visual effects began to change dramatically. /#6 (or computer generated imagery) was developed alongside the development of computer technology! but it's start in film began with the first fully /#6 character in ->oung 5herlock 3olmes0 ($&%?). *his was created by ucasfilm@s visual effects division 6M (6ndustrial light magic) which was formed to create the already ground breaking breaking effects effects in the -5tar wars0 film films. s. Aven before before this /#6 creation, the group had already already been been innovating in the special effects business. or instance, 6M created the -4ykstrafle+0, a motion controlled camera that is controlled digitally. *his allowed for more comple+ shots and movements that could be recorded and therefore repeated! it was used in -5tar "ars episode 6VB 1 new hope0($&;;). *his breakthrough in computer animated imagery encouraged more companies to e+periment with
this technology, and led to a range of new techniques that improved visual effects' realism and impact. 4espite this, old methods where still used alongside the new computer technology. -9urassic Cark0 ($&&8) used /#6 to create some of the film's film's dinosaurs, dinosaurs, however animatronics animatronics where used for a maority of them as the digitally created creatures did not seem realistic enough. A dinosaur animatronic animatronic *eing *uilt for "urassic -ar+"#
.llustration 1/ And er+is in a motioncapture suit whilst whilst filming the "ord of the 3ings"# Dne technology that that could add more realism to computer generated characters characte rs is motion capture. *his process includes having actors wearing a special suit covered in sensors being filmed, and then being being accurately recreated digitally digitally using using the recorded data. 5ome forms forms of this occurred before /#6! such as rotosc r otoscopin oping, g, which was a techni t echnique que where actors acto rs were filmed, filmed, and then drawn over
frame by frame therefore capturing their motion. *his occurred as early as -5now "hite and the seven dwarfs0 ($&8;). Motion capture is used in most films that require a nonhuman character, and the most popular e+ample is probably #ollum from the -ord of the rings0 trilogy. #ollum was acted out by 1ndy 5erkis, who was filmed by $8 different cameras, each focusing on certain sensors. *his was transferred online online into a 84 model, that could then be fleshed fleshed out to t o create crea te the character. characte r. *he first first film to use this method for all it's characters was -*he Colar A+press0 (:E), which allowed *om 3anks to play a range of characters. characters . 6t was directed by
