To put it simply, special effects are carried out on set
during production, and visual effects are done in post-production. That isn’t
to say that the visual effects team isn’t involved in production and the
special effects team isn’t involved in post, but the creative decisions made by
each team generally pertains to their respective phases in the film-making
process.
Special effects can be broken down into two categories:
optical, and mechanical. Optical effects are done by manipulating the camera
and lighting which in turn will make your scene look different than what it
looks like to the naked eye. This could involve working with camera lenses,
types of lighting, or camera movements that give a certain look to the shot.
The special effects supervisor is in charge of making the creative decisions
and works directly with the director on set to achieve what he/she wants.
Mechanical effects involve working during a live-action shot
and usually pertains to making things look/seem like something they aren’t. For
example manipulating weather conditions like wind and snow is a huge part of
mechanical effects. Pyrotechnics and working with scale models is another
aspect of mechanical effects.
Visual effects has emerged as a paramount part of modern-day
film making. You will rarely ever see a film without visual effects. This could
be filling in a green screen, creating
computer generated imagery (CGI), 3D rendering or animation. The visual effects
supervisor (not to be confused with the visual effects producer or coordinator)
makes all the creative decisions and works directly with the director off and
on set to make sure he/she gets the
visual image desired. The visual effects coordinator works for the visual
effects supervisor in post-production, and the visual effects producer works
like a line producer and manages the cost of the visual effects which can get
outrageously high (sometimes over half of a film’s budget).
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