Chapter 8 The Production Process 311Visual eff ects are all of the alterations to the moving images made during
post-production, but they typically involve preparation and oversight during
all stages of the production process. Th e visual eff ects supervisor oversees the
implementation of all artifi cially created images and additions and subtractions
to live-action footage, most oft en through the use of digital processes.
Visual eff ects are used in a vast array of contemporary moving images,
from commercials to television programs to feature fi lms. Uses range from
small additions and subtractions of visual elements in primarily live-action
shooting, such as adding color or leaves to plants in Juno or the removal of
stunt wires from many action movies (or logos or a bald spot on an actor’s
head), to completely computer-generated backgrounds and characters. In
some projects, the production revolves around the work of the visual eff ects
supervisor, such as in Van Helsing, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow,
and many fi lms of Robert Zemeckis.Acrobatics of Light and Bodies
Th e worlds created by production design teams along with visual eff ects
collaborators are meant to be inhabited by characters. Th us, they must be
designed so that what needs to occur inside of them can be done through
action or through believable fakery. Th is is the domain of special eff ects
and stunt personnel. Again, the traditions in this area reach back to the
early years of the cinema, whether in the westerns that featured gunfi ghts,
cavalry raids, and daring rescues, the adventures of such stars as Douglas
Fairbanks, or the stunt-fi lled comedies of Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd.
Keaton worked with his crew to devise sets that allowed for acrobatic feats of
precise choreography, such as in his fi lms Steamboat Bill, Jr., Our Hospitality,
and Th e General.Figure 8-29 Zhang Ziyi and
Michelle Yeoh in Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon
directed by Ang Lee. Some
actors specialize in stunt
work or they may train for
many years to develop
skills necessary for action
sequences. Alongside natural
techniques of actors and stunt
doubles, stunt coordinators
rig harnesses and other
devices to enhance the
acrobatics seen in fi ght and
chase choreography. (Courtesy
Sony Pictures Classics/Photofest)Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).