20100308 Making Movie Magic (1)

Making Movie Magic

Go behind the scenes and see how things are really done

SC: What does a visual effects supervisor do?
JH: I work with a team of visual effects artists to create things that aren't real for the movie or television screen. We use a combination of artistic techniques, from the classic skills of drawing and painting to modern techniques of computer animation and 3D.

SC: What is a favorite visual effect scene that you personally worked on? How did it work?
JH: My favorite scene would have to be from my most recent project, the movie 2012.

It features the White House getting wiped out by a giant wave and crushed by an aircraft carrier. The first thing we did was to work with the director to creatively meet his vision so we knew what he was expecting to see. We had to establish a general timing and composition of the shot. Where should the camera be? How big should the White House be? How quickly should the wave approach? We also tried to establish the mood. Is it really dark and gloomy, or should it feel lighter and less foreboding?



visual effect 視覺效果
eg: Special visual effects made the images of the movie very colorful.

sound effect 音效
eg: Many sound effects are created with simple tools.

wipe out 消滅/徹底毀滅
eg: The military base was totally wiped out by continual bombing.
eg: The police announced that they had successfully wiped out mob power in the city.

compose v. 構成/組成
composition n. 構成/構圖/成分
eg: The composition(構圖) of the painting is well-balanced.
eg: The lab technicians are examining the composition(成分) of the unknown substance.


gloomy adj. 陰暗的/陰沈的

artistic adj. 藝術的/美術的/唯美(主義)的
animation n. 動畫


//== Chat room ==//

behind the scenes 在幕後
behind the scenes 不公開的/秘密的/暗地裡進行的
eg: behind-the-scenes negotiations 幕後的協商

working behind the scenes 在幕後工作
=> work away from the public view

make a scene 在公共場合引起別人的注意即當眾大鬧
=> draw attention to yourself by making a exciting emotional display in public
eg: Don't make a scene. 不要丟人現眼


//== More Information ==//

There is actually a big difference between special effects and visual effects. Special effects are done live on stage when filming a scene. They could be anything from explosions to glass breaking. Visual effects, however, are done after a scene is filmed, mainly through computer graphics. Visual effects could also mean filming different elements of explosions and fire separately and then putting them back together later.