P1

Understanding special effects techniques

Film: Jason and the Argonauts
Focus	Notes
Fitness for Purpose	Because Jason and the Argonauts was released in 1963 there was not much that they could have done better because technology was not advanced back then. The SFX is suitable for the scenes that were shown in the film, these scenes include things like the hydra, skeletons and the giant metal man and the noises they used like for the metal man were thing like creaking joints and metallic sounds.
Role of SFX coordinator	The person who was the SFX co-ordinator is called Ray Harryhausen and what he did was the movements of all the figures that the actors would have to fight as their characters and they were the skeletons, the hydra and Talos the giant metal man.
Function of SFX	The impact it is meant to have in the sequence is that it would make it look better and sound like the figures were actually real and not just any small figure that was being moved by a person.
Its aesthetic appeal to the audience	At the time of release the audience would have enjoyed the film and thought the effects that were used was really good and the best thing that the creators of the sequences could have done.
The realisation of SFX including the materials, processes & techniques used in its construction	The SFX was done by Ray Harryhausen who would have to stay in overnight on the film sight and think what he could do for the sequences and he would create small little figures of the characters in the film looked like and would have to record moving them in certain ways to get the best shots for the film. This was done because if they just had people do it then the size would not be right and it would be harder to do even though Ray did spend a long time on the skeleton sequence.

https://youtu.be/pF_Fi7x93PY - Jason and the Argonauts Skeleton Fight

Film: Star Wars
Focus	Notes
Fitness for purpose	The SFX was suitable for this sequence especially the explosion of the death star toward the end of the film where a model that was much smaller was exploded in real life and then implemented into the film. The ships that were also effective were models as well.
Role of SFX coordinator	The SFX co-ordinator for this film is Bruce Logan and he had the visual effects unit and he would do things like the pyrotechnics on the film.
Function of SFX	The function of the SFX was to get the audience to think that these explosions were real and the tense and climax music was used as well to help make the explosions and battle scenes more effective. The spectators view on the whole scene would have been that the good guys have defeated the villains and that they done it in an awesome way.
Its aesthetic appeal to the audience	The SFX helped the audience to believe it was more real because of the real life models that were used to film the scenes.
The realisation of SFX including the materials, processes & techniques used in its construction	The SFX was designed by having smaller models of the things in the film like the death star and the x wings and tie fighters on sticks and they would have people hold them and move them around as if they were flying and the purpose was to create a battle scene that looked realistic.

https://youtu.be/2WBG2rJZGW8 - Death Star  Assault - A new hope

Film: American Werewolf in London
Focus	Notes
Fitness for purpose	The SFX that was used in this scene was convincing so it was suitable for the scene. I do not think that it could have been done any better way because it would have been fairly convincing and scary to the audience back when it was made and even if it was to be done now the scene would look even more scarier and real.
Role of SFX coordinator	The SFX coordinator was Rick Baker and he was the one who made everything look convincing to the audience and he was the one who did all the makeup and body work to make the werewolf look real.
Function of SFX	The Function of the SFX in this specific scene was to show a man transforming into a werewolf, the spectators would probably be amazed because something like this has been pulled off by the SFX crew.
Its aesthetic appeal to the audience	The SFX helps create horror for the audience as it makes it look so much more real and the effect that was used had not been used before so the audience would be even more horrified.
The realisation of SFX including the materials, processes & techniques used in its construction	The purpose of the SFX in this scene was to show a convincing transformation of a man into a werewolf. Make up was used during the scene being filmed and fitted onto the actor who was playing the werewolf. They also had to create a mould of the werewolf’s head for the actor to wear and add lots of chest hair.

https://youtu.be/UFLQS12z8K4 - American Werewolf in London - Complete Transformation