Special Effects: The History and Technique

by Richard Rickitt, Ray Harryhausen (Introduction)

Illustrating that the history of special effects is a long and varied one—and much more than images of sleek starfighters or CG raptors—this fascinating account documents the incredible advances made in creating realistic special effects for film over the decades. From the barely concealed wires on Douglas Fairbanks’ flying carpet in The Thief of Baghdad , to groundbreaking effects for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, this incisive guide showcases how the industry has been manufacturing new and cutting edge ways to fuel viewers’ imaginations. Beautifully designed with a pictorial history of the special effects industry, with in-depth analyses of the varied techniques of audio and visual effects, and packed with more than 500 color illustrations taken from iconic movies and personal portfolios of the experts in the field, this remarkable manual is an essential resource for fans of filmmaking, and anyone looking to build a career in this fast-paced and revolutionary industry.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Art, History

384 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2000

Reviews

[Lorena Da Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot from this book. I think every person that is interested in film, animation and vfx should read it. The only history book I enjoyed reading :)

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant book - for many reasons - but I can say that if you enjoy films and special effects fascinate you then this is well worth the money and time to read. Many books of this type focus on a film or a studio or even a technique. Not this book it has chapters on various aspects of special effects from modelling to make up - it has bios of some of the most influential people and films in the special effect world and it is very modern and up to date. It is easy to follow and yet goes in to surprising details on many aspects from how cameras work and what considerations are needed to details on how simple some special effects are. This is a marvellous book which I suspect i will need to read several times over to totally absorb all it has to impart.

[Hal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was absolutely incredible! As an amateur filmmaker, I found it to be a fascinating and engrossing read. I spent hours upon hours poring over each and every page, searching every nook and cranny of the book for some little morsel of information that I may have missed. If you are a filmmaker or simply enjoy going to the movies, this book will be a treat.

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a very thorough book, sometimes too much so, and got a bit of a plod to be honest, but I still picked out quite a lot from it, and I suppose it was bound to get technical by it's very nature.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A HUGE history book of movie special effects. Not so useful for learning the how too's.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential but doesn't always explain certain techniques adequately.

[D. Carson Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

T's definitely a text book, but pretty much anything you want to know on the history side is covered.