KET_UNIT 9_LESSON 5_PAGE 112

How were special effects different in the past? Special effects in film. Have you ever watched a film and thought, how did the hero fly? Or, how did they film that action on a burning ship? Filmmakers make these scenes by using special effects. These are artificial images that look like they are real, but are created by artists and technical experts. Quite often, the action is filmed on a green screen, and then special effects are added on a computer. Sometimes, the effects are so good that the experts win awards for their work. Special effects in the past. Before the use of CGI, computer-generated images, in cinema, it was difficult to make exciting special effects that look real. Special effects artists used optical illusions and visual effects like painted sets, complicated makeup, or models. The great and powerful Oz has lots of amazing special effects. But there is an older version of the film called The Wizard of Oz, which was made in 1939. There is a famous scene when a tornado, a dangerous windstorm, hits a farm in Kansas, USA. The filmmakers created the tornado by using a very long sock made of thin material, which they filled with sand. Then they blew it round and round with a powerful electric fan. There are lots of other basic special effects in the film, which at the time were very exciting. Make your own special effects. You can make your own special effects using your mobile phone or object at home. Try putting a pencil into a clear glass full of water, and then look at the pencil through the glass. How does it look? There are lots of apps that you can use, which put special effects on photos. You can be an animal or take photos and change the way they look. We can even have videos changed on our phones. Why not try it?