Unit 17- P1

Special Effects:

Explain how special effects are used to generate audio visual content.

Special Effects are effects that are created to be filmed in production, in front of the camera, rather than added later in post-production. Special effects should be completely believable on camera as they are not edited later. Special effects are used to enhance the experience for the viewer as they are sometimes more realistic than visual effects and they allow the actor to give a more realistic performance. There are five different types of special effects; pyrotechnics, prosthetics and make-up, models, mechanics, and stunt props.

Pyrotechnics are explosions. Pyrotechnics are shown in clip 1 at 4:44 seconds, these enhance the scene as they project power onto the Joker as he is the one to set off this huge explosion. Not only is this explosion dangerous showing the villain as dangerous, but it also creates a thrill within the audience as there is an added threat to the characters.

Prosthetics and make-up are a way of enhancing how a person looks by adding liquid latex and make-up, often fake blood (but that depends on the film). Prosthetics and make-up are shown at 1:54 seconds of clip 1. The prosthetics enhance film watching experience for the audience as they can see in great detail the pain that Harvey Dent has gone through and they can clearly see the type of damage that the Joker can inflict upon people which increases the intensity and drama within the film.

Stunt props are props that are specifically designed to perform an action in a safe way. For example, a chair made out of balsa wood. Stunt Props are shown in clip two at 0:52 when the bank robber shoots at the ceiling. This stunt prop is used to show the realistic events of a bank robbery, and to create a sense of danger within the scene in a safe way as the gun does not shoot real bullets, but it looks like it does. Stunt props are also shown in the scene at 2:01 seconds of clip two, when the window in the bank is shot with a shot gun. The glass would have been made of sugar glass, which is a stunt “glass” that is made from sugar when it is heated to 300 degrees and then cooled down. The sugar glass acts just like glass would when it’s smashed, but it crumbles into safe shards of edible sugar glass. The sugar glass allows for more dangerous stunts to be completed realistically which enhances the audio visual content as what is happening is more exciting for the audience to watch as there is an added threat.

Clip 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsS8Rp_rcUA

Clip 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQTKVFfsgxo