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Articles on Special effects

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Elisabeth Moss stars in the latest adaptation of H.G. Wells’ novel. Universal Pictures

A brief history of invisibility on screen

Invisibility has been used to indulge fantasies of good and evil, level social critiques or warn of the dangers of power in the wrong hands.
Many classically trained actors are drawn to motion capture roles, which are increasingly complex and theatrical. Youtube

Why motion capture performances deserve an Oscar

Motion capture actors help bring superheroes and fantastical creatures to life on screen. Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in The Hobbit trilogy, is campaigning for these actors to be eligible for Oscars – and it’s time the Academy heeded his call.
Seventy real horses mixed with the fake to create the chaos of battle. Iloura

How Game of Thrones’ Emmy-award-winning battle scene was made

An Australian VFX company has won an Emmy for its work on season six of Game of Thrones. Over eight months a team of 120 pulled out every trick in the book to create the visceral ‘Battle of the Bastards’.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been praised for avoiding computer generated effects, but why does CGI deserve such a bad name? Image courtesy of Lucasfilm.

Friday essay: Star Wars, Mad Max and the ‘real’ vs digital effects furphy

A growing vocal minority blame poor computer generated images for ‘ruining’ the movies. But digital effects can co-exist with real sets and stunts - and films have always been fake.
The cast of the film ‘Spotlight’ reacts after they won the Oscar for Best Picture at the 88th Academy Awards. Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

Oscars 2016: expert reaction

From Chris Rock’s opening monologue to red carpet hits (and misses), our experts analyze key moments from this year’s Academy Awards.
George and Sandra were relieved to hear they wouldn’t actually be filming in space. Warner Brothers

How Harry Potter magic turned Gravity into Oscar gold

The huge success of Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity at this year’s Oscars is a genuine cause for celebration for much of the UK film industry – not least for the many visual effects artists involved in its creation…
Is it a plane? No, it’s Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics. William West/AFP

Superman returns – but who’s looking after his water?

Watching films such as Superman Returns or The Day after Tomorrow, you would have seen dramatic sequences of surging water and crumbling buildings. While doing so, mathematics was probably the last thing…

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