Introduction

     Movies use special effects to create really cool fantasy worlds. They can also take you back in time to visualize amazing events in history. Effects are a necessary part of the filmmaking. 

The Early History Of Special effects

     SFX means special effects.

     Silent movies that were made more than 100 years ago used special effects and tricks. For example, to make it look like a man was hanging off a clock right above a city, the filmmakers built a fake wall and clock on a roof to make it look like the actor was going to fall. 

     Visual special effects have been around for an extremely long time since the very first moving pictures were made.  Sometimes animation or special props or trick photography was used.

     One of the most important inventors of special effects was the French filmmaker George Méliès. 

Creating a Different World

      One way SFX can add to the film's story and setting is by creating the illusion that something is real or life-like or by adding another perspective in a story by creating a different world. SFX can also be used to create an illusion that looks real. 

      You can become part of an amazing different world, like being in a world with dinosaurs or dragons or aliens that looks and feels real.

Imagination and Emotion

     Visual effects give the filmmakers a useful way to have the freedom to make movies that can show whatever wild and imaginative ideas are in their mind. Special effects have the ability to improve the film's story and make the viewer feel like they are a part of the movie by influencing their emotions.

     For example, one of the most famous movies is E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. In this movie, an alien gets left behind on Earth and makes friends with a boy named Elliott. Special effects are used to create emotional moments, such as when E.T.'s heart light comes back on after everyone thought he was dead.

     Many people think that special effects are just about big explosions and incredible worlds. But the best movies use special effects to create emotional moments.

George Lucas and Star Wars

     Star Wars takes place in a galaxy far, far away. George Lucas created Star Wars in 1977 before computer-generated special effects existed. He wanted to make a movie about outer space that looked realistic. So he used and created many different special effects techniques.

     To make the world of Star Wars come alive, George Lucas used puppets, models, animation, computer-controlled photography, and amazingly detailed miniature sets. The character of Yoda was an animatronic puppet. George Lucas and his SFX team created models of spaceships and the Death Star, and they invented robots like C-3PO and R2-D2 that looked and acted realistic.

     George Lucas also went to places like the deserts of Tunisia, Africa to film his movie, because those places looked like they could be from another planet. 

     When Luke Skywalker was flying and gliding above the sand, George Lucas tricked the viewers by using wheels that were covered by mirrors to reflect the sand and make it look like Luke's spaceship was flying and gliding above the sand.

Author’s Note

     I was inspired to make this website because I love movies and I have always been curious about how movies can make the impossible look real. 

     Some of my favorite movies and shows that use SFX are How To Train Your Dragon, Jurassic World, Star Wars, Avatar, and Doctor Who. 

     Before I did my research, I thought they just used a computer to make all the SFX. Now I realize that they use lots of other creative ways to make the impossible look possible.