Hello Filmsters!
Today I am going to talk about special effects in movies before the days of CGI. CGI stands for computer-generated imagery and it has completely changed the filmmaking process. There was a time where special effects teams couldn’t rely on CGI to make things look realistic. So how did special effects work before the use of CG imagery?
The History of Hollywood Special Effects
In 1895, director Alfred Clark created the first-ever motion picture special effect while filming a reenactment of the beheading of Mary, Queen of Scots. He achieved this by stopping the camera and having all of the actors freeze in place. He then swapped out the actress playing Mary for a dummy and lowered the ax on the dummy’s head. It was techniques like this that would dominate the production of special effects in movies for a century.
During the 1920s and 30s, special effects techniques improved in the film industry. Many of these were a modification of techniques used in theater and still photography. Many film studios created their own in-house special effects teams. The teams were responsible for almost all of the mechanical aspects of the filmmaking process.
The science-fiction boom in Hollywood brought about new changes for special effects in movies. Stanley Kubrick, director of “2001: A Space Odyssey” brought in his own special effects team to work on the mechanical aspects of the film. His team used a series of camera tricks, model building, and cinematography to create an immeasurable amount of realism for its time.
Many of these science-fiction films would go on to spark the creation of independent effects artists and teams. Also, further refinement of existing techniques and eventually, the creation of CGI.
Examples of Special Effects in Movies Before CGI
Techniques such as makeup, prosthetics, camera tricks, and miniature models were some of the ways movies pulled off special effects before CGI. The following movies use these techniques to create special effects with using a computer.
The Transformation in “American Werewolf in London”
This scene has become one of the most iconic scenes in film history. To achieve this, they used a series of prosthetics and robotics. They also used camera tricks such as reversing the shot so it looked as if the hair was growing out of actor David Naughton’s body.
Parting the Red Sea in “The Ten Commandments”
This was considered one of the most difficult special effects ever at the time. To pull off this scene, the filmmakers shot part of the scene in the Red Sea and part of the scene at Paramount in Los Angeles, CA. In Los Angeles, they filled two big dump tanks with water, then reversed the shots so it looked as if the water was parting. This scene took about six months total to shoot.
The Chestburster in “Alien”
This scene is one of the most shocking scenes in movie history. It even shocked the cast as they were unaware of the alien bursting out of their co-star’s chest. Director Ridley Scott achieved this scene by using a prosthetic body and the actor’s head coming out of the table. The body was filled with real organs acquired from a local butcher shop. Also, two crew members who had a compressed blood machine. During filming, the entire set was covered in blood and one of the actors even passed out in shock.
In a time before computers, Hollywood filmmakers had to use creative tactics to achieve their special effects. Even to this day, some of these special effects look impressive. Personally, I don’t prefer one to the other. I like the way technology has advanced, but I also love the old ways of practical effects.
So how do you feel about special effects in movies? Do you prefer practical effects or CGI? Comment below and discuss!
I hope you found this post enlightening. Until next time.
Happy Viewing!
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_effect#Early_development
https://www.ranker.com/list/movies-made-before-cgi/anncasano
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