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Introduction to Visual Effects. What is Visual Effects? How far back should we go?. Illusion & Magic. What makes a magic trick work? Are visual effects magic?. Early History. 1879 Altamira Spain 8 legged animals were drawn to show movement - Animation
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Introduction to Visual Effects What is Visual Effects? How far back should we go?
Illusion & Magic What makes a magic trick work? Are visual effects magic?
Early History 1879 Altamira Spain 8 legged animals were drawn to show movement - Animation We’ve always been interested in capturing our real world.
First Illusions Ancient Egypt: Wooden statues were used for prayer.Some were mechanical, using a series of pullies activated by a nearby water source.
First Illusions Pyrotechnics Moving stages during the Renaissance Automatons - What the heck are these? P.11
Theatre Importance of Technology. 1800’s - Theatres thrived. They were huge and used advanced gas lighting systems. Importance of story and its appeal.
Theatre What are the elements of theatre today?
Theatre We still use projections?
Las Vegas What are the best uses of effects here in Las Vegas?
Innovation 1826 - Thaumatrope (Paris)
Innovation 1832 - Zoetrope (William Horner)
Innovation 1860 - Celluloid / Film 1888 - Kinetescope (Edison)
Innovation George Milies - The Father of Visual Effects The first edit. “Journey to the Moon” 1902. The first science fiction piece.
What’s the difference between Visual Effects and Special Effects? • Special Effects modify the real world • Visual Effects modify the virtual world
Special Effectsmodify the real world Action background foreground
Visual Effectsmodify the virtual world Camera Post-Production Lens Sensor Processing Image
Why create visual effects? • In normal photography we try to reproduce reality • In VFX we want to create something that doesn’t exist at all • …and also, fool people into believing it is real
Three scenarios for VFX • What we want to see doesn’t exist • What we want to see is too difficult or dangerous to photograph live • We need to “fix” something we have photographed • What about Story?
Format? • Whether VFX are shot on film or video depends on what the effects will be used for • Often effects shots require much higher resolution than the viewing format • The ability to shoot at a variety of speeds is also a determining factor
Film Formats • 65/70mm • When used horizontally, it’s called IMAX • 35mm • 16mm (used for television) • 8mm
Aspect Ratios • Full Aperture = 1.33:1 (Silent) • Academy = 1.37:1 • WideScreen = 1.85:1 • VistaVision = 1.5:1 (Silent) • Cinemascope = 2.35:1 • Television widescreen = 1.78:1 (16x9)
Normal ActionFilm Speeds • 12 fps (Silent movies) • 24 fps (all Hollywood movies) • 25 fps (all European movies) • 30 fps (video)