History of Special Effects

If you have not viewed this you need to - it is essential for background understanding of your genre study.
Notes to accompany the film -
1895 - Execution scene in "Mary Queen of Scots" - uses a dummy but many viewers were convinced the actress had made the 'ultimate sacrifice'!! Viewers today are not so gullible.
"A Trip to the Moon" Mellier - used split screen technique (First sci-fi film)
early 1900s Movies lost popularity. Captured popular imagination by giving them a narrative.
"Great Train Robbery" match shots with background shot separate to foreground, resulting film was a composite.
1912 - Strategically placed miniatures used to add portions of a set in "The Walls of Babylon" - glass shotsand cut outs used to increase size and detail
1920s - Ben Hur - miniatures used hanging between the camera and full scale sets to create massive scenes
Fritz Lang - Metropolis (futuristic fantasy) blended every tool available to special effects teams
Advent of sound - sound stages
1933 - King Kong - Large scale mechanical effects, stop motion animation, compelling sense of reality; background painted on glass; astonishing realism. Many techniques developed for this film still used today.
Special effects - departments start to have their own studios within major studios. When studios closed independent effects studios opened - all various departments under one roof allows for cross-pollination of ideas ends in the creation of seemingly 'impossible' images. ("Think tank" approach where designers share ideas)
Set designs done to make story more entertaining, dramatic and more believable to a large audience.
Take a basic conceptual idea and make it work in all the various details.
Models/miniatures are used e.g. Fox Plaza building in "Die Hard" (couldn't damage real building)
"Ghostbusters" sculpted miniature and full size puppets - both used for stop motion process. Series of still images in rapid succession to give illusion of moving image. One technique for bringing characters to life.
1989 - "The Abyss" create illusion of futurist adventure 2000ft below ocean surface
(required all visual effects tricks known).
Dream Quest effects studio - came up with new techniques to create effects - foam core mockups of sets to recreate underwater realism. Used air to create underwater environment.
CGI innovations