Explanation of film and television special effects
‘Special Effects’ covers a wide range of disciplines and techniques, and for the beginner wanting to break into the industry it can be daunting to see the many areas of work that special effects encompass. We have broken down the main areas to explain them in simple terms and to illustrate the main points.
Special effects
Special effects (also known as FX, F/X, Special FX, and SFX) have been used in movies since film production began. Today, people generally apply the term to anything seen on screen that isn’t what it would be like in real life, such as animatronics, props, prosthetics, and models, and other artificially generated elements like wind, rain, and snow (when machines are used to produce that). It is also often applied to computer generated imagery (or CGI), although each of these areas has its own terminology that is recognized within the industry to differentiate between them. Here is a brief summary of the elements:
physical effects
Nimba Creations he was hired to build a ‘breakdown car’ for a TV commercial: a car that would break apart, leak oil, and release steam on cue. This comes under the heading of ‘Physical Effects’: an item that is built to carry out specific physical functions. This can be a gray area, as physical effects can often be classified as animatronics or props, but if you envision equipment that will, for example, throw large objects in a controlled manner at just the right time (like the car falling through the tree in Jurassic Park) will generally be classified as physical effects.
Visual Effects / CGI / Digital Effects
Any animation or effect that is created within a computer will be included in these headers. Computers are used to great effect these days to stitch together many ‘effect shot’ elements in movies (such as many of the incredible scenes in The Lord of the Rings trilogy) and are therefore often They deal with accessories and models to complete the final effects. seen on screen, but the digitization and animation of all of these actual elements (and many that are fabricated within the computer itself) are commonly known as CGI, or computer-generated imagery.
interference
This is the name applied to artificial snow, wind, and rain. Atmospheric companies supply specialized machinery to create these natural elements when scripts dictate. Getting a scene in a movie or TV show requires many takes, and applying these elements artificially ensures that the amount and direction of wind, rain, and snow are consistent between takes and different camera angles.
Pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics is perhaps the area of effect that leaves the least room for error, since it deals with fire and explosions. Pyrotechnicians are highly-skilled, licensed professionals who use explosives (and a variety of other items, such as priming cords) to create controlled fires at the right time for movies and television shows. While it’s fine to create your own props or prosthetics, never try to become a pyrotechnician by experimenting in your own home; the consequences could be fatal. The National Film and Television School conducts training courses to learn this and other disciplines.
‘Proper’ special effects and the areas Nimba Creations specializes in.
animatronics
In special effects, an animatronic is any model, prop, or prosthesis that is moved by cables, servos, and piston-actuated mechanisms. The way in which animatronics are created and animated is infinite, and is considered a very high-tech area of the special effects industry, as a good knowledge of pneumatics, hydraulics, electronics, computers, motors, and mechanisms are important elements of the industry. However, they can also be surprisingly low-tech, depending on your budget. Wires connected to manually operated levers can be very versatile and useful for all kinds of creations, such as Nimba Creations Original T-rex head and neck animatronic made for a live show in 1997.
prosthesis
Prosthetics and prosthetic makeup are a very popular area of the special effects industry and require skilled sculptors, mold makers, and artists to create devices that transform people into creatures and characters, as well as produce bruises, scars, and mutilations. on the actors. A vital process in prosthetics is life casting, where molds of the body are taken to produce custom-made appliances to fit a specific actor or even to produce fake limbs, such as severed heads; these limbs can also be classified as accessories. Nimba sells pre-made lifecasts to sculpt directly onto which eliminates the lifecasting process.
Accessories and models
Regular props, such as chairs and books, are not classified as special effects unless they do something out of the ordinary or there is actually no such item, such as futuristic weaponry. A chair that breaks safely and easily on impact is a classic prop used in movie fight scenes and falls under the special effects heading, but of course it covers more exciting elements as well. Props can often intersect with animatronics if the item also needs to perform a certain function, such as Hellraiser’s puzzle box.
thumbnails
Miniature construction involves creating scaled-down versions of objects and buildings to replace full-size items in a shot. This may be because some sort of explosion or damage needs to occur that isn’t viable in real life (or on a large scale), or simply because a location doesn’t exist and building a miniature version is much more cost effective. (and easier to film) on a smaller scale. A recent example of the wonderful use of miniatures is found in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings. Beautiful miniatures like the one in Rivendell are a perfect example of the great skill required to create compelling miniature sets.
Special Costumes
‘Special’ costumes are anything an actor wears that is more than a simple outfit. Tom Lauten (Nimba Project Manager) created many special costumes for Games Workshop. The complex suits had to represent the Space Marine characters from the Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 series, and had to be made of foam, fiberglass and plastic. Prop and animatronic construction items are often part of the production of special costumes.
set of parts
Normal sets are not considered special effects, but many of the sets you create can fall into this category. Styrofoam sculpture is often used to create large pieces, such as the many large stone statues seen in Tomb Raider.
That covers the basics of special effects and the different skills and disciplines it encompasses. On our website (www.nimbacreations.com) you can go Behind the scenes to see us create some of our favorite pieces, including a full-size Tyrannosaurus Rex, and you can also learn how to start a career in special effects by downloading our exclusive guide, ‘Getting into Special Effects’.
