Masters of FX

by Ian Failes

It would be rare these days to find a film that did not in some way depend on the magic of special and visual effects - from the raging computer-generated dinosaurs in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park, to the fantasical worlds of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, and the photoreal tiger and ocean in Ang Lee's Life of Pi. Through interviews with 16 of the leading FX pioneers from around the world, author Ian Failes explores the making of some of the most memorable film sequences ever produced, showcasing the shift from practical to digital magic with original behind-the-scenes imagery, shot breakdowns, and detailed explanations of some of the secrets behind the making of cinema's most extraordinary creations.

193 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 20, 2015

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmm time to start again, when you write a review and nothing reads as you had hoped for. Well this is another one of those titles that has distracted me from my reading pile (all too easily)

Anyway here you have a fascinating book on the the leading special effects artists of modern cinema. The book itself was printed in 2015 so you have films from star wars to the world of Marvel. The book takes each artist and examines some of their most famous and ground breaking work. Now this reads as part biography and part behind the scenes especially when you jump from something from the 90s in to something from last year and back again.

Now I will take a second to moan about probably my only issue with this book. You have 16 chapters which represent 16 artists and to distinguish between them you have a different page colour. Most of them its just the edge but each chapter starts with full colour and some are not the easiest to read (black text on maroon paper anyone).

Now as explained there are 16 chapters and one of the good things (see how I balanced it out) is that each one focuses on a different aspect of FX from creature shops to miniatures to beauty work (raging and de-aging characters) which just happens to be the specialty area of the person they are covering in that chapter.

So if ever you wanted to see what variety and creativity FX has in modern cinema this book is a gold mine.

[Art of the Film · Rating 5 out of 5]

When combined with a great story and compelling performances, directors can utilize visual effects to take their films to a level of immersion that was once impossible. Audiences are becoming more and more familiar with visual effects in movies (almost every one of the top grossing films of the last decade have relied on extensive visual effects work); but they are not necessarily familiar with those who are actually responsible for this work.

The new book "Masters of FX" from Focal Press highlights 16 of the visual effects professionals who are among the best in their craft. Each featured person gets about 10-12 pages which discusses 4-5 of their most well known movies. In reading through the book, which highlights the various VFX milestones that these individuals were a part of, it's fascinating to see just how many of these guys were involved in some way with the "Star Wars" movies - Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, Richard Edlund, etc.

Photo Gallery of book available at my blog: http://www.movieartbook.com/2015/09/masters-of-fx-behind-scenes-with.html

Here are some others you may (or should) know:
- Chris Corbould: special effects supervisor on the James Bond franchise and the Dark Knight trilogy.
- John Knoll: CCO of Industrial Light & Magic, co-creator of Photoshop, and VFX supervisor of the Star Wars prequels and the Pirates of the Caribbean films.
- Joe Letteri: director of Weta Digital and 4-time Oscar winner for his work on Avatar, King Kong (2005), and Lord of the Rings.

A wide variety of movies are discussed, so there's something here for everyone. Naturally, there are a lot of science fiction and fantasy films given that they are more reliant on effects than other genres. The book went to press in 2015, and there's no shortage of recent films mentioned (World War Z, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Interstellar). But all the classics are here too - Blade Runner, Back to the Future, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The topics discussed are just as diverse as the people and films featured. When people hear visual effects they tend to think of CGI and digital effects. But the text serves as a reminder that artists were creating unique characters and environments using practical effects long before the days of computer assistance. The book discusses models and miniatures, forced perspective, and good old-fashioned stunt work.

I should also mention that the book includes two forewords - one by director James Cameron and the other by producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura. Cameron states it best when he says "VFX is a love affair with the impossible". There is also a handy glossary with 30+ terms that are relevant to visual effects (rotoscoping, matchmaking, rendering, etc).

A book about visual effects no doubt will rely heavily on imagery, and there is plenty of it to be found in the pages of "Masters of FX". I actually found myself wanting to see even more imagery to support the text - each film gets only 1-2 pictures. The good news is that where there are pictures, they are all printed large and at a high resolution. I should also mention that in general, the layout of the book is very appealing.

Through its profiles of these VFX pioneers and their films, "Masters of FX" is a successful exploration into a complex and fascinating art form.