III.

Visual Effects

The term “visual effects” is used to describe any form of additional manipulation that is made to the image after it has been photographed. It can also be used to describe the creation and filming of scenery, characters, and action using special techniques that can only be achieved separately from the main live-action filming. This could include the building and filming of models, and the creation and animation of fantasy characters.

The possibilities of visual effects were once constrained by the optical and photochemical limitations of the analogue medium of film. Such techniques, relied upon until the mid-1990s, were known as optical visual effects.

However, the rapid development of computing and digital imaging technology has made the production of previously unthinkable imagery available to even modest productions. Such techniques have now entirely replaced traditional optical processes, and are known as digital visual effects.