Matt Mullins - Special Effects Technician

Ray Harryhausen (1920) is one of the most successful special effects technicians in movie history. He worked with Willis OBrien on Mighty Joe Young (1949) and later created effects for movies like The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) and Jason and the Argonauts (1963). These films include famous effects such as sword fights between men and skeletons. The last film he worked on was Clash of the Titans (1981).

John Knoll (1962) created the popular Adobe Photoshop photoediting software with his brother, Thomas. He later worked as visual effects supervisor on the Star Wars prequels, all three Pirates of the Caribbean films, and Avatar. He won an Academy Award for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest (2006).

Dennis Muren (1946) has won eight Academy Awards for his effects work in movies such as The Abyss (1989), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), and Jurassic Park (1993). He has also worked on some of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies.

Willis OBrien (18861962) was a cartoonist and sculptor before he began working on movies. He created the giant gorilla and dinosaur effects of the 1933 classic King Kong. It was one of the most famous early movies to use special effects.

Douglas Trumbull (1942) worked on special photographic effects for many science fiction films. He worked with director Stanley Kubrick on 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). The film is widely considered one of the best ever made. Audiences were struck by its realistic scenes of space travel. The movie used cameras and projectors in new ways during filming.

animation (an-uh-MAY-shuhn) drawings or computer graphics that move, like a cartoon character

charge (CHARJ) an amount of explosive material

computer graphics (kuhm-PYOO-tuhr GRAFF-iks) images created with a computer rather than with a pen, paint, or other materials

dailies (DAY-leez) portions of a film shown on the same day they were shot

data (DAY-tuh) information

footage (FOO-tij) recorded film

motion capture (MOH-shuhn CAP-chur) using recorded movements to animate characters

prosthetics (pross-THET-iks) fake body parts

scene (SEEN) a small part of a larger story that takes place in a single location

set (SET) the location where a show or movie is filmed

special mechanical effect (SPESH-uhl muh-KAN-ik-uhl eff-EKT) an effect on film that actually happens

special visual effects (SPESH-uhl VIZH-oo-uhl eff-EKTS) effects that are added into a filmed scene

BOOKS

Grabham, Tim. Movie Maker. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2010.

OBrien, Lisa. Lights, Camera, Action! Making Movies and TV from the Inside Out. Toronto: Maple Tree Press, 2007.

Robins, Deri. Special Effects. London: QED, 2005.

WEB SITES

fxguide

www.fxguide.com

Check out behind-the-scenes interviews with special effects technicians.

How Stuff WorksSpecial Effects

entertainment.howstuffworks.com/special-effects-technology-channel.htm

Discover how special effects have been used in many different movies.

NOVA OnlineSpecial Effects

www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/specialfx/fxguide/

Enjoy some fun special effects activities.

animation,

Berton, John Andrew, Jr.,

blue screens,

Cameron, James,

computers,

creature effects,

dailies,

education,

Emberly, Jennifer,

explosions,

facial expressions,

four-dimensional (4-D) effects,

green screens,

gunshots,

Harryhausen, Ray,

image alterations,

Knoll, John,

makeup effects,

McKellen, Ian,

Mlis, Georges,

miniature effects,

motion capture,

Muren, Dennis,

OBrien, Willis,

Pepper, John Henry,

Peppers Ghost effect,

prosthetics,

puppets,

robotics,

special mechanical effects,

special visual effects,

Spielberg, Steven,

teamwork,

three-dimensional (3-D) effects,

Trumbull, Douglas,

weather effects,

Matt Mullins lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with his son and writes about engineering, business strategy, design, and other topics. Formerly a journalist, Matt has written more than 20 childrens books, and has written and directed three short films.

The film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince features a scene in which ghostly shapes attack as people cross a bridge in London. The bridge twists, turns, and crashes into the water below.

Filmmakers did not really destroy the bridge. Instead, they used computer graphics to make the bridge look like it was falling apart. This is one example of special effects. Special effects make impossible things happen on screen. They can involve big things like destroying bridges or small things like changing an actors eye color. These effects are created by workers called special effects technicians.

There are many kinds of special effects. Some actually happen during filming. One example might be a small explosion that a technician sets off. A camera operator shoots the explosion on film. This kind of effect is sometimes called a special mechanical effect.

Explosions are a common special effect in action movies. Special effects technicians plan the explosions carefully. They make the object they are blowing up extra weak in some spots. This helps them make sure the pieces will fly in the right directions. They also make sure that actors standing near the explosion will not be hurt.

Special visual effects happen off camera. This means they are added to the film after a scene is shot. In the movie Gladiator, the main character fights in a giant stadium. The crowd roars when one of the fighters is hurt. Most of the crowd and the stadium were added using computer graphics after the action was shot.

Gunshots in movies are also special effects. Imagine a movie hero running through a door as bullets smash into the doorway. A special effects technician sets up this shot by cutting away a piece of the door. He puts in a tiny charge that is controlled electronically. Then he places the cut wood back in its spot. Paint and fillers are used to make the doorway look untouched. The technician makes the charge explode at the right moment. It looks like a bullet has hit the door and chipped a piece off. But it exploded inside the door.

Makeup and creature effects are also created by special effects technicians. Big monsters like the ones in