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Special Effects technicians


Mike Thorn

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Besides camera department, I have a keen curiosity for visual effects. Working props, mechanical devices, etc (not so much pyro, miniatures, or CG).

 

For example, on my last film (where I was working as 1st AC), I did the producer a favor on my day off one week and built a small electronic working prop that only cost about $12, sold the trick a lot more smoothly than their previous solution, and was a lot more elegant to use. Also added functionality they didn't have before. If I'd had more than a day I really could have made a go at it and built a device that would have exceeded, not just met, the requirements.

 

I would love to explore this craft a little more. How do you get started in it? What sort of training or education is useful? Is there even much use for it anymore or has it all gone to the visual effects department?

 

(Watched Iron Man the other day. I would have loved to be the guy that got to design and build the miniature arc reactor props. I'm tempted to try building one myself, just for fun.)

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You can teach yourself a remarkable amount.

 

One technique is simply setting up a video camera, and watching the monitor as you play with various approaches to whatever you're attempting to create. If building a model, don't worry about what it looks like in person, worry about what it looks like on camera. Then, when it looks right, note how it looks right and wrong to you in person. If working on a way to create a physical effect, try different approaches until one looks right on camera, even if it looks dippy in person. Etc.

 

Also, make sure to take advantage of every opportunity you can get to see the actual sets, props, effects models, costumes, etc. for films and television programs you've seen (and if you haven't seen it and there's an exhibition in town, go out of your way to watch it right before and then again right after seeing the exhibition).

 

But, ultimately, yes, you're probably going to have to take a job working with someone experienced in effects.

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Besides camera department, I have a keen curiosity for visual effects. Working props, mechanical devices, etc (not so much pyro, miniatures, or CG).

 

For example, on my last film (where I was working as 1st AC), I did the producer a favor on my day off one week and built a small electronic working prop that only cost about $12, sold the trick a lot more smoothly than their previous solution, and was a lot more elegant to use. Also added functionality they didn't have before. If I'd had more than a day I really could have made a go at it and built a device that would have exceeded, not just met, the requirements.

 

I would love to explore this craft a little more. How do you get started in it? What sort of training or education is useful? Is there even much use for it anymore or has it all gone to the visual effects department?

 

(Watched Iron Man the other day. I would have loved to be the guy that got to design and build the miniature arc reactor props. I'm tempted to try building one myself, just for fun.)

 

 

Actually, what you're describing is SPECIAL EFFECTS not Visual Effects.

 

Excerpt from What I Really Want to Do: On Set in Hollywood:

 

It is important to note the difference between Special Effects and Visual Effects. Special Effects creates practical illusions that actually occur on set, such as wind (with fans), rain (with water trucks and rain bars), snow (with foam and blowers), and fire (with flame bars or explosives). Visual Effects takes the film that is shot on set and enhances it later on with computers or optical processes. For instance, anything that is shot against a green screen or anything that is created wholly within the computer, is considered a Visual Effect and requires a very different career path, one in which the work will be completed off-set.

 

This isn’t to say that you don’t need to or shouldn’t know how to use computers in the Special Effects Department. Gimbals, large hydraulic platforms used to move vehicles or entire sets, require the use of computer controls. Rain bars, explosive charges, and squib hits may require a computer to make them work correctly. Your work still begins with steel, hydraulics, and hard physical labor to get it built and running in time for the shot.

 

In Special Effects, expect to get your hands dirty. There is a saying within the department that everything they have is heavy. There is a lot of physical labor in addition to the mental exercises you’ll go through in trying to solve challenges that are handed to you.

 

The chapter in the book explains everything you need to know about what the job actually is, how you can build a career doing it, and what your life will really be like.

 

Good luck!

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