Visual effects in the context of Ray tracing (graphics)

Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animation has been recognized as an artistic medium, specifically within the entertainment industry. Many animations are either traditional animations or computer animations made with computer-generated imagery (CGI). Stop motion animation, in particular claymation, is also prominent alongside these other forms, albeit to a lesser degree.

Animation is contrasted with live action, although the two do not exist in isolation. Many filmmakers have produced films that are a hybrid of the two. As CGI increasingly approximates photographic imagery, filmmakers can relatively easily composite 3D animated visual effects (VFX) into their film, rather than using practical effects.

Special effects (often abbreviated as F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theater, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the fictional events in a story or virtual world. It is sometimes abbreviated as SFX, but this may also refer to sound effects.

Special effects are traditionally divided into the categories of mechanical effects and optical effects. With the emergence of digital filmmaking a distinction between special effects and visual effects has grown, with the latter referring to digital post-production and optical effects, while "special effects" refers to mechanical effects.

Blackmagic Design Pty Ltd is an Australian company that develops digital cinema technology and manufactures professional video production hardware and software. Headquartered in South Melbourne, it is known for producing high-end digital movie cameras and a range of broadcast and post-production equipment. The company also develops software applications, including the DaVinci Resolve application for non-linear video editing, color correction, color grading, visual effects, and audio post-production.

This is a list of models and meshes commonly used in 3D computer graphics for testing and demonstrating rendering algorithms and visual effects. Their use is important for comparing results, similar to the way standard test images are used in image processing.

Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is a specific-technology or application of computer graphics for creating or improving images in art, printed media, simulators, videos and video games. These images are either static (i.e. still images) or dynamic (i.e. moving images). CGI both refers to 2D computer graphics and (more frequently) 3D computer graphics with the purpose of designing characters, virtual worlds, or scenes and special effects (in films, television programs, commercials, etc.). The application of CGI for creating/improving animations is called computer animation (or CGI animation).

In filmmaking, a practical effect is a special effect produced physically, without computer-generated imagery or other post-production techniques. In some contexts, "special effect" is used as a synonym of "practical effect", in contrast to "visual effects" which are created in post-production through photographic manipulation or computer generation.

Practical effects often use principles from magic tricks, exploiting the camera's single viewpoint to create convincing illusions that may work only from certain angles, or using specially created props designed to achieve the desired effect. These effects require an interdisciplinary skill set, combining artistic craftsmanship with technical expertise in mechanics and engineering to achieve the desired result.

Jason and the Argonauts (working title: Jason and the Golden Fleece) is a 1963 epic fantasy adventure film loosely based on the 3rd century BC Greek epic poem The Argonautica by Apollonius Rhodius. Distributed by Columbia Pictures, it was produced by Charles H. Schneer, directed by Don Chaffey, and stars Todd Armstrong, Nancy Kovack, Gary Raymond, and Laurence Naismith.

Shot in Eastman Color, the film was made in collaboration with stop-motion animation visual effects artist Ray Harryhausen and is known for its various legendary creatures, notably the iconic fight scene featuring seven skeleton warriors. Although it was a box office disappointment during its initial release, the film was critically acclaimed and later considered a classic.

Gravity is a 2013 science fiction thriller film directed by Alfonso Cuarón, who also co-wrote, co-edited, and produced the film. It stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as American astronauts who attempt to return to Earth after the destruction of their Space Shuttle in orbit.

Cuarón wrote the screenplay with his son Jonás and attempted to develop the film at Universal Pictures. Later, the distribution rights were acquired by Warner Bros. Pictures. David Heyman, who previously worked with Cuarón on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), produced the film with him. Gravity was produced entirely in the United Kingdom, where British visual effects company Framestore spent more than three years creating most of the film's visual effects, which involve over 80 of its 91 minutes.

The Genesis is a discontinued high-end digital movie camera developed by Panavision, and was available solely by rental. It is based on a proprietary Super 35 1.78:1 (16:9) aspect ratio, 12.4-megapixel, RGB filtered CCD sensor. It was first used by a feature crew to shoot Bryan Singer's Superman Returns, and was shortly followed up thereafter by the World War I film Flyboys. However, the computer effect-heavy nature of these two movies meant that ultimately the comedy Scary Movie 4 was the first theatrically released feature primarily shot with the Genesis. It was discontinued in 2012 and succeeded by the Millennium DXL line developed with Red Digital Cinema.

DaVinci Resolve is a proprietary application for non-linear video editing, color correction, color grading, visual effects, and audio post-production. It is developed by the Australian company Blackmagic Design for macOS, Windows, iPadOS and Linux. The software was originally created by the American company da Vinci Systems and released as da Vinci Resolve. In 2009, da Vinci Systems was acquired by Blackmagic Design, which has since continued the software's development.

DaVinci Resolve is available in two editions: a free version, and a paid version known as DaVinci Resolve Studio. The Studio edition includes support for resolutions beyond 4K (up to 32K) and frame rates up to 120 frames per second, as well as 10-bit video processing, multiple GPU acceleration, stereoscopic 3D, HDR grading, collaborative workflows, additional plug-ins and AI-driven features.

A front projection effect is an in-camera visual effects process in film production for combining foreground performance with pre-filmed background footage. In contrast to rear projection, which projects footage onto a screen from behind the performers, front projection projects the pre-filmed material over the performers and onto a highly reflective background surface.

Robert Lee Zemeckis (born May 14, 1952), sometimes referred to as Bob Zemeckis, is an American filmmaker known for directing and producing a range of successful and influential films that often blend cutting-edge visual effects with storytelling. He has received accolades such as two Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for five British Academy Film Awards and a Daytime Emmy Award.

Zemeckis gained some recognition for his short film A Field of Honor (1973), which awarded him a Student Academy Award for Special Jury Prize at USC. He started his career directing the comedy films I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978), Used Cars (1980), and Romancing the Stone (1984). He gained prominence directing the sci-fi comedy Back to the Future trilogy (1985–1990), the fantasy comedy Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), and the comedy-drama Forrest Gump (1994), the latter of which earned him the Academy Award for Best Director. He is one of only a few people to win Academy Awards for both student and competitive work.

The Academy Award for Best Visual Effects is presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for the best achievement in visual effects. It has been handed to four members of the team directly responsible for creating the film's visual effects since 1980.

Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a visual-effects and post-production technique for compositing (layering) two or more images or video streams together based on colour hues (chroma range). The technique has been used in many fields to remove a background from the subject of a photo or video — particularly the newscasting, motion picture, and video game industries. A colour range in the foreground footage is made transparent, allowing separately filmed background footage or a static image to be inserted into the scene. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production. This technique is also referred to as colour keying, colour separation overlay (CSO; primarily by the BBC), or by various terms for specific colour-related variants such as green screen or blue screen; chroma keying can be done with backgrounds of any colour that are uniform and distinct, but green and blue backgrounds are more commonly used because they differ most distinctly in hue from any human skin colour. No part of the subject being filmed or photographed may duplicate the colour used as the backing, or the part may be erroneously identified as part of the backing.

It is commonly used for live weather forecast broadcasts in which a news presenter is seen standing in front of a CGI map instead of a large blue or green background. Chroma keying is also common in the entertainment industry for visual effects in movies and video games. Rotoscopy may instead be carried out on subjects that are not in front of a green (or blue) screen. Motion tracking can also be used in conjunction with chroma keying, such as to move the background as the subject moves.