PeterW.Allen:VictorianCollegeoftheArtsSchoolofFilm&TelevisionUniversityofMelbourne

1

PracticalEffectsfortheDigitalWorld.

PreparedbyPeterW.Allen

ABriefHistoryOfSpecialEffects.

Intheearliestdaysoffilmmakingtherewereonly‘specialeffects’.Thetermwas

carriedoverfromtheworldoftheatricalproductionandwasacatch-allusedto

describeanyunusualrequirementsaproductionmightdemand.Forexampleifa

costumewererequiredtodosomethingoutoftheordinary,suchasexplodewith

aspatterofblood,orallowmechanicalwingstounfurl,itbecomesnecessaryto

rigsomething‘special’.Thesameapproachappliedforallareasofaproduction,

anythingoutsidethescopeofnormalday-to-dayrequirementsbecamethe

purviewofspecialeffectstechnicians,whetherlighting,costume,soundorany

otherdiscipline.

Inthelate19thandearly20thcentury,thenascentfilmindustrycloselyfollowed

theestablishedprocessesoftheatricalproduction.Howeverasmallgroupof

pioneersbegantorecognisethespecificidiosyncrasiesoffilmasamediumand

quicklytookcreativeadvantage.AlfredClarkworkingintheUnitedStatesand

GeorgeMélièsinFranceeachindependentlydiscoveredthe‘stoptrick’.In1896

Mélièshadbeenfilmingstreetsceneswhenhiscamerajammed,afterfixingthe

problemandresumingfilmingthetrafficmovedon,quitebyaccidentahearse

nowappearedinthesamepositionthathadpreviouslybeenfilledbyanomnibus

whenthecamerajammed.Onevehicleappearedtomagicallytransformintothe

other.Méliès,whohadworkedasastagemagician,begantousethisandother

techniquestomakewhathereferredtoas‘trickfilms’.UnbeknownsttoMéliès,

AlfredClark,afilmmakerworkingforThomasEdisonhadalreadyemployedthe

sametechniqueintheproductionofhisshort‘TheExecutionofMaryStuart’

(1895)whichisgenerallyregardedasbeingthefirsteveruseofamotionpicture

specialeffect1.InClark’sfilmthedecapitationofMaryisdepictedbystoppingthe

cameraandreplacingtheactorwithamannequinwhichisthenbeheaded.‘In

camera’specialeffectstechniquessuchasthesewererevolutionary,filmmakers

1“History of Special Effects” Assoc. Prof. Helen Roulston. Accessed January 20, 2015. http://helenroulston.com/historyof.html

PeterW.Allen:VictorianCollegeoftheArtsSchoolofFilm&TelevisionUniversityofMelbourne

2

continuedtousetheatricaleffectsbutanewindustryofeffectstailored

specificallytotakeadvantageoffilmtechnologyrapidlyemerged.

EdgarRogersisthefirstknownfilmmakertouseatechniqueknownastheglass

shotinamotionpicture2.Theprocessinvolvedpaintinganimageontoapaneof

glass,whenthescenewasfilmedthroughtheglassthepaintedimagewould

appeartobepartofthescenicbackground.

Theglassshottechniqueallowedfilmmakerstocreateseeminglyepicand/or

exoticvistasquicklyandcheaply.Howevertheglasspaintingshadtobe

completedonlocationtomatchlightingandweatherconditionswhichcould

changewithoutnotice.

Hangingminiatures,3Dmodelsofsceneryorpropsthatweresuspendedinfront

ofthecamera,createdasimilareffecttotheglassshotbutrespondedinrealtime

tochangesinlightingconditions.Miniaturesprovidedsomeothersignificant

advantagessuchastheabilitytointroducemovement,however2Dpaintings

remainedcheaperandfastertoproducethandetailedmodelssofilmmakers

continuedtousethem.

GlasspainterTedWithersatwork3

2"British-vfx."British-vfx.AccessedJanuary20,2015.http://www.galeon.com/matteart/britishVFXmatte.html.3"MatteShot-aTributetoGoldenEraSpecialFx.":LibertyLadyShinesHerTorch.AccessedJanuary23,2015.

PeterW.Allen:VictorianCollegeoftheArtsSchoolofFilm&TelevisionUniversityofMelbourne

3

Inparticularlycomplexshotsminiaturesandglasspaintingscouldbecombined

withsmallprojectedimagesofpreviouslyshotfilm,allowingforvery

sophisticatedresults.

Glassshotshadoneveryobviouslimitation,sincethepaintingwasplacedcloseto

thecameraitwascriticalthatperformersneverwalkedintothesamespaceor

theywouldappeartobecutinhalfbythepaintedelement.Thiswasnotanissue

ifthepainteddetailwassupposedtobepartofaforegroundelement,howeverif

thepaintingwasofacastleonasupposedlydistanthillitcouldcreateproblems.

Inordertoplacetheperformerinfrontofanotherwiseimpossiblebackdropa

differenttechniquewasneeded.

Theprocessshot4,morecommonlyreferredtoasrearprojection,placedanactor

infrontofamotionpicturescreenwhichdisplayedapreviouslyphotographed

pieceoffilm.Thescenecouldthenberephotographedtocreatetheillusionthat

theactorwasonlocationwhereverthebackgroundfilmwasshot.Rearprojection

wasusedextensivelytocreatetheillusionthatperformerswereinexotic

locationsorextremelydangeroussituations.Twovariationsofthetechnique

existed,rearprojectionandfrontprojection.Bothtechniquesattemptedtoavoid

projectingtheimagedirectlyontotheactorwhowaspositionedinfrontofthe

screen.Rearprojectionusedatranslucentscreenwhichhadanimageprojected

frombehind,thiseliminatedtheproblemcompletelybutresultedinawashedout,

lowcontrastbackgroundimage.Frontprojectionmadeuseofamirrortoreflect

lightfromtheprojectorata45degreeangle,aslongasthemirrorwasobscured

bytheperformertheeffectworked,howeverthesetuprequiredenoughdepthof

spacetoexisttopositionthemirrorandthrowthelighttoalargescreen.Both

versionsoftheprocessshotrequiredsynchronisationofcameraandprojectorto

ensurethecameraonlyeverphotographedthescreenwhenanimagewasbeing

projected.Reliablesynchronisationtechnologyonlybecameavailableinthe

http://nzpetesmatteshot.blogspot.com.au/2010/11/liberty-lady-shines-her-torch-columbia.html.4Malkiewicz,Kris,andM.DavidMullen.CinematographyThirdEdition.NewYork:Touchstone,2014.256.

PeterW.Allen:VictorianCollegeoftheArtsSchoolofFilm&TelevisionUniversityofMelbourne

4

1930s,althoughprocessshotshadbeenattemptedwithvariouslevelsofsuccess

muchearlier.

Specialeffectswerenowbeingdividedintotwodistinctcategories,thosethat

couldbecapturedincamerabyfilmingtheeffectasithappenedwereknown

variouslyaspractical,physicalormechanicaleffects.Effectsthatrequiredworkto

bedoneinpostproduction,throughsophisticatededitingorcompositing

processes,wereknownasopticalorphotographiceffects.

Theuseofopticaleffectsallowedelementsthathadbeenfilmedseparatelytobe

combinedintoasingleframe.Thisprocessallowedfilmmakerstoplaywiththe

scaleofthevariouselements.Asmallmodelcouldbemadetoappearhugeif

actorswereprintedintothesamestripoffilmatamuchsmallersize.Willis

O’Brien,oneofthepioneeringmastersofanimatedeffects,developedmanyofthe

processesthatwouldbecomestandardfilmmakingprocedurefordecadesto

come.Intheeffectscreatedforthefilmversionof‘TheLostWorld’(HoytH.1925)

O’Briencombinedstopmotionanimatedmodeldinosaurswithliveactionfootage

ofactors.ArthurConanDoyle,theauthorofthenovel,famouslyscreenedearly

rushesofthefilmtodinnerpartyguestsandclaimeditasrealfootageof

dinosaurscapturedduringanexpeditiontotheAmazon.Audiencesunusedto

suchtechnicallycomplexproductionswereeasilyconvinced.O’Brienwentonto

perfecthistechniqueswhenhecreatedtheopticaleffectsfor‘KingKong’(Cooper,

MerianC.1933),theopticaleffectstechniquesappliedtothatproductionwould

remainmoreorlessstandardpracticeforanothersixtyyears.5

Whiledigitalvisualeffectshadbeenattemptedonandoffformanyyears,the

watershedmomentforthefilmindustrycamewiththereleaseof‘JurassicPark’

(SpielbergS.1993).Forthefirsttimetrulybelievablecomputergenerated

creaturesexistedonscreenwithliveactionperformers.JurassicParkcontained

onlytwoandahalfminutesofcomputergenerateddinosaurs,butwithinafew

shortyearstheindustryhadchangedtothepointwheremanyfilmsbecame

animated/live-actionhybridswhereeveryframeismanipulatedinsomeway,

‘StarWars:ThePhantomMenace’(LucasG.1999)beinganearlyexample.

5"KingKong(1933)."TheFilmSpectrum.AccessedJanuary19,2015.http://thefilmspectrum.com/?p=5407.

PeterW.Allen:VictorianCollegeoftheArtsSchoolofFilm&TelevisionUniversityofMelbourne

5

Althoughdigitaleffectsarenowubiquitous,theyremaincomplicatedand

expensive.Ifyoustaytoviewthecreditsofanybigbudgetsuperherofilmyouwill

seelistsofmanyhundredsofnamesfromvisualeffectscompaniesscattered

acrosstheglobe.ThisishowmanypeopleittakestomakeIronmanflyorThe

Hulktransform.Sohowcanalowbudgetfilmmakerwithoutaccesstohundred

milliondollarbudgetsorseveralhundredvisualeffectstechniciansrealisetheir

vision?

TheResearchProject:

Digitalimagingtechnologyhasbroughtgreatimprovementstotheeffects

industry.Howeveritisnolesstechnicallycomplexthanthedaysofopticaleffects,

quitethecontrary,witheachnewtechnologyhascomenewspecialisationsinto

evernarrowerfields.

Largescaleproductionshavetheluxuryofemployingspecialistvisualeffects

supervisorstoadvisethecrewonsetorlocation,butlowbudgetproductions

oftencannotaffordthisluxuryandasaresultfrequentlymakeerrorswhen

filmingeffectselements.Thiscancauseunexpectedcostandtimeoverrunsin

postproductionastheeffectsartistsattempttosalvagewhattheycanfrom

poorlypreparedmaterial.Sincethecauseoftheproblemwasalackofresources

topayforappropriateguidancetherewilllikelybenopossibilityofreshooting

thematerialorpayingforthemanyextrahoursofworkrequiredtofixtheerrors.

Theresultislikelytobedisappointingforallinvolvedfromthedirectortothe

effectsartist.

Ihavesetouttoinvestigatewhethersomeofthelosttechniquesfromtheearliest

daysoffilmmakingcouldstillbeappliedtoacontemporarydigitalproduction.

Theintentionistoapplyincameraeffectstechniquessimilartothoseusedinthe

earliestfewdecadesofthefilmindustrytotheproductionofashortfilmand

assesstheresultsontwolevels;

• Arethechosentechniqueseffectiveincommunicatingthenecessarystory

elementsinanunderstandableandaccessiblemanner?

• Arethereanycostand/ortimesavingsfortheproductionwhenpurely

practicaleffectsareutilised?

PeterW.Allen:VictorianCollegeoftheArtsSchoolofFilm&TelevisionUniversityofMelbourne

6

Somebriefpreliminarytestshaveyieldedresultsthatallowforcautious

optimism.Theprincipleshaveheldupwellsofar,butthereismoretobedone.

Forthefirsttestsoeimagesweretakenwithacompactstillcameratotestthe

basicprinciplesofworkingwithminiatures.

Thefirstimagefeaturesatoymotorcycleandatoycow,botharoundaround12

cmlong.Thesecondtwophotographsshowthetoymotorcycleandafullsized

car,oneimageindeepfocusandtheotherinshallowfocuswiththefocalpointset

roughlyhalfwaybetweenthetwosubjectstocreatetheillusionofasimilardepth

offieldeffectoneachvehicle.

Toymotorcycleinforegroundwithtoycowinbackground.6

Toyandfullsizedvehicleindeepfocus.7

6Imagecopyrighttheauthor.7ibid

PeterW.Allen:VictorianCollegeoftheArtsSchoolofFilm&TelevisionUniversityofMelbourne

7

Toyandfullsizedvehicleinshallowfocus.8

Obviouslythelargerandmoredetailedthemodelthebettertheoutcome,but

evenwithasmall,offtheshelftoytheresultsareencouraging.

Thesecondtestinvolvedavariationofthefrontprojectiontechniqueusingdigital

HDprojection.Afterfilmingashortsequenceofgreeneryfromagardenonthe

schoolgrounds,theclipwasloadedtoalaptopandprojectedwithaclassroom

digitalprojectorontoastandardprojectionscreen.

Asmallpieceofgreenery,someeucalyptusleaves,wereheldclosetothecamera

andlitseparatelywithasmallLEDpanel.

8ibid

PeterW.Allen:VictorianCollegeoftheArtsSchoolofFilm&TelevisionUniversityofMelbourne

8

Theclipcanbeviewedhere:https://vimeo.com/133716919

Theonlylightsourcesintheroomweretheprojectorandthesmallhandheld

lightsource,beingcarefulnottoallowlighttospillontothescreenthescenewas

shotwithafocuspulltoachievesomedepthoffield.Againtheresultsareinitially

veryencouraging,thereissomelossofdetailandcolourinformationinthe

projectedimage,butmuchofitcanberecoveredwithgrading.

Withdigitaltoolssoeasilyavailable,whybother?Ibelievethatformany

filmmakersthereisagreatadvantageinbeingabletopeerthroughalensandsee

theshotasitwilllookwithouthavingtoimaginevfxelementsthatdon’tyetexist.

Italsoforcesdecisionsinlightingandcompositiontobemadeonset,removing

theoftenfalseimpressionthatanythingcanbealteredlateroninpost.

Itishopedthatthecombinationofenforceddecisionmakingandrealtimevisual

feedbackwillbeanassettofilmmakers,especiallythosestillfindingtheirfeeton

setforwhomthemysteriesofdigitalpostproductionaresodauntingtheyseem

bestignored.Butmoreimportantly,itputscontrolintothehandsofthe

filmmakerandmakestheprocessfun.

Minerva Access is the Institutional Repository of The University of Melbourne

Author/s:

ALLEN, PW

Title:

Practical Effects for the Digital World

Date:

2015-07-15

Citation:

ALLEN, P. W. (2015). Practical Effects for the Digital World

Persistent Link:

http://hdl.handle.net/11343/91528

File Description:

Accepted version