Monster Alert! The Big Business of Special Effects

To give it the energy it needs to keep going forward, the movie industry has to take in people with ideas. It also needs people with the relevant training and practical skills to make things happen, especially as advances in technology and computer animation broadens the boundaries of what's possible on screen.

Special Effects Essentials

Special effects are a key part of the movie industry's ability to come up with new and different ways of entertaining us. It's not just computer animation and digital imaging that have taken the industry forward - though the use of computer technology has certainly allowed cinematic possibilities to take a great leap forward. Other elements such as model making, pyrotechnics, and mechanics are also being continually improved with new ideas and technical advances.

The job of the special effects department is to find ways to simulate real events that would be too costly, too dangerous, or otherwise impossible to re-create. This can either be physically or by using computer imaging and animation. Special effects people also create backdrops such as scenery, weather, and pyrotechnics (explosions) on the movie set. Mechanical structures, hydraulic systems, and cables are also used to create some effects, often alongside computer animation effects.

Special Effects Skills

If you want to work in special effects, here are some of the skills and abilities usually found within the special effects department:

• Modeling
• Painting
• Make-up
• Hydraulics
• Pneumatics
• Electronics
• System assembly
• Mechanical design
• Chemistry
• Physics
• Pyrotechnics
• Mathematics
• Computer aided design
• Computer animation

Of course, it isn't likely that all of these attributes will be found in one individual. People working in special effects often have a number of strings to their bow but they have a specialist area. You'll need to have training and experience in at least one relevant subject if you're going to get a foot in the door in a special effects job. A good balance of common sense, abstract reasoning and creative imagination will also be important.