1. Special Effects The Complete Guide to Film & Digital Production:
The People & The Process
Lorene M. Wales, Ph.D.
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2. Kinds of Special Effects
Physical effects and mechanical effects.
May be individuals who do special effects or a company that specializes in these effects.
Kinds of effects that can be achieved this way are as follows.
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3. Full-Scale Physical Effects
Effects that are created on set by the special-effects team.
Happen in real time and on an actual, life-size scale.
Some examples of full-scale effects follow:
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4. Squibs
Squibs. Squibs are small explosive charges attached to an actor to give the illusion that he has been shot.
Ground Squibs. Ground squibs are used to give the illusion that a bullet has hit the ground, a wall, or some other such surface.
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5. Weather Effects
Floods and Rain. Created by using rain towers or stands that shoot water over the shot.
Wind. Created using fans of various sizes to recreate anything from a gentle breeze to hurricane force winds up to 100 miles/hour
Snow. Created using various methods.
plastic flakes
shaved ice
Salt
shaving cream
foam machines (lasts longer)
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6. Weather Effects
Smoke. Created using various foggers, with liquid nitrogen, oil, kerosene, or dry ice.
It is important when creating smoke effects, especially on a large scale, you inform the local authorities about what you are doing, so as not to create alarm that a real fire may be burning.
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7. Special Effects Coordinator
Breaks down script and cost of each special effect.
Meets with director to discuss how effects should look.
Works with 1st AD to schedule effects, ensuring enough prep time.
May assign a special effects supervisor to supervise different.
May meet with safety manager to discuss safety considerations.
On set, supervises the safety of each effect.
Talk about 19 hour day on cemetery club
People think it’s glamorous, and it is sometimes, but it can also be boring, long days.
Some people work on call, production designer, dp, art director, set decorator, accountant, costume designer, upm, locations, poc, apoc, this also means no overtime.
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8. Set Operations
May arrive on set a day or more before shooting to pre-rig devices.
On day of shooting team continues to prepare the effect for shooting.
The coordinator keeps the 1st AD informed of the preparations so that the 1st AD can judge when to move to the effects shot.
Crews will complete a dry run-through.
Consistency – people will talk
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9. Set Operations
Special effects coordinator walks everyone on set through what will happen, step by step. This dry run is important for safety.
Once the effect is executed, the special effects people notify the 1st AD when the set is clear.
1st AD will then pass this information on to the rest of the crew.
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10. Visual Effects
Can be created completely by the computer or may use footage from the main unit.
Can be used to clean up a shot.
Can be used to create set design.
Can also be used to provide more cast.
Frequently, when shooting large crowds or armies, a minimum number of actual people are placed on set and photographed.
Pittsburgh union story
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11. Visual Effects
Finally, visual effects can even be pre-created and then used on set in combination with live actors to complete a scene.
This is usually done with science fiction or fantasy films where the entire world may be digital.
This way the director can see exactly how the effects will work as the live action goes on in front of it.
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12. Visual Effects Producer
Completes a breakdown of all possible visual effects in the script.
Meets with the director to discuss the look of the effects.
Oversees the budget costs of various projects.
Monitors the visual effects budget.
Makes sure all deadlines for the effects are met.
Works with the special effects house or houses to ensure delivery of the effect on time.
Works with the 1st AD to schedule shots that require a motion control camera.
Sometimes supervises shooting on set to ensure the shot will work well when it goes to the visual effects house.
Some people become incorporated, it’s better for them tax wise. They get taxed only 15% on their business and pay themselves out of their business, rather than being taxed 30+% on personal income.
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13. Visual Effects Team
There is a whole team of people that works under the visual effects producer.
In 2D animation can include a computer graphics supervisor, a compositing supervisor, compositing lead, compositors, an animation supervisor or director, animators, shaders, and 2D animators.
In 3D, there are dozens of personnel involved in the process.
Just look at the credits of the latest big-budget sci-fi or fantasy film and you will see why these credits take so long.
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14. Hiring a SPFX House Contact a few houses and look at their reels.
Send script and preliminary storyboards of the shots that need effects.
Meet with each house and discuss whether it has had experience creating the effects you need, or if the effect has to be created with new technology.
If your effect has to be created with new technology, check to see if the company has done this before.
House will send you a bid for the cost.
Choose the house and sign a contract with it.
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15. Hiring a SPFX House In the contract be sure to specify Cost
Time frame for delivery
Kind of credit the house requires on your project.
You may need to hire more than one special effects house, depending on type of effects you need.
One house may not be able to handle a specific kind of effect you need or produce all the effects all in the time frame you need.
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16. SPFX House-The Process
Once you’ve hired the house, the supervisor assigned to your project meets with director and producer to finalize vision, costs, and time frame.
At this point director should provide more detailed storyboards so that the supervisor has a more specific idea of what is needed.
The supervisor then returns to the house and either waits for footage, if original footage is to be used, or begins creating the effect.
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17. SPFX House-The Process
During the process, the supervisor will send over preliminary looks at the effect for input from the director.
Once the effect is finished, it will go to the director for approval.
Once approval is reached, the effect is either recorded onto film, if film is the final format, or sent over digitally, to be edited into the project.
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18. Conclusion
Special effects and CGI constantly change during projects. While there are some standard physical effects such as pyrotechnics and squibs, writers and directors are frequently coming up with new ideas that require the special effects team to be flexible and creative.
The advent of CGI in the 1980s and its abundant growth in the 1990s has led to more and more traditional effects being created digitally. Entire cities and their populations can now be created digitally using a vast visual effects team.
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