What's the name of the special effects picture in the movie? Ask for a professional explanation.

It is said that the special effect of Transformers is "ox". Maybe everyone doesn't realize that what we are referring to is actually only a part or a category of film special effects-that is, the "computer generated image" (CGI for short) which is well known by the media.

Interestingly, the word "special effects" is so confusing in both Chinese and English contexts. Even in the foreign professional film reviews we have seen, there are many unclear references. In fact, in film production, "special effects" (SFX or FX, SPFX) and "visual effects" (VFX, CGI) are related, but they are strictly defined and cannot be mixed.

In the context of contemporary movies, the word "special effects" covers a wider and wider range, covering almost all elements except live shooting. Generally speaking, it includes "live special effects" and "visual special effects". The former is expressed in English as mechanical effect S, physical effect or practical effect, while the latter is expressed in English as visual effect or optical effect. The main differences between the two are: first, the former is completed at the same time as the actual shooting of the film, mostly at the shooting site (hence the name "live special effects"), and the latter is mostly completed in the post-production after shooting; Secondly, the former works with real people or things no different from "normal shooting", while the latter produces new pictures by processing existing film pictures or using video processing equipment other than cameras (such as computers).

In addition, "live special effects" should also be distinguished from "gimmicks". Although both involve people, the former mainly focuses on objects, such as various explosions, collapses, craters, smoke, snowfall, floods and other effects. The latter depends on the effect of "people" (commonly known as "body double"), such as chasing a car, falling off a building, catching fire, diving, tumbling and being beaten. In IMDB's classification of film materials, special effects and visual effects are at the same level, which actually refers to the "practical effect" part of "special effects" in the sense of film production.

Computer animation, which is very popular now, is actually only a part of "visual special effects", and then only a small part of the "special effects" of the whole movie. Before the invention of computer, "visual effect" was mainly realized by manipulating film and broadcasting facilities, including "original technology" such as painting directly on the film or editing the film again. Fans are familiar with the Tathagata's Palm and Mei's Journey to the Moon, and many techniques are still applicable today, such as "freeze animation" and "back projection". As a pioneer of visual effects, the rise of computers began as early as 1970s, and the earliest application was 2D. Later, due to the rapid development of computer processing power, CGI has become the backbone of dealing with 3D still pictures or animations.

It should be pointed out that although "visual special effects" dominated Hollywood blockbusters in recent years, compared with some traditional "live special effects", "special effects" still play an indispensable role, especially in large-scale action scenes, with irreplaceable advantages of pure computer special effects. .....

This article is taken from the special effects in Sina blog: Transformers of Beijing Digital Film and Television Academy.