Alex Carson
#1 Twilight Saga: Eclipse
The Twilight movies were extremely popular from 2008 through 2012. Today, these movies remain very popular. There were several scenes in the movie that make this movie amazing but would not have been possible without special effects. This photo shows Bella petting a giant wolf. Since this wouldn’t have been safe for the actress, special effects were used. A man was used in place of the wolf wearing a blue unitard. Later, the wolf was added in using computers.
#2 Guardians of the Galaxy
The Guardians of the Galaxy films would not have been possible without special effects. Take this picture, for example. In this scene, the main character is speaking to a raccoon who speaks and dresses like a human. Since it isn’t possible to get a real raccoon to do these things, special effects were necessary. A man wearing a green unitard was used to shoot the scene and the raccoon and his features were added later. The final result is pretty amazing.
#3 Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones is one of the highest rated shows on television. If you have ever seen the show, you know that there are a lot of special effects involved in making the show. The dragons are a perfect example. Since dragons don’t exist, the show’s producers had to create them with special effects. One of the show’s main characters, Daenerys Targaryen, has dragons. The special effects team turn a stuffed green pillow with a stick on the end into a very realistic dragon using special effects.
#4 Lord of the Rings
Since hobbits don’t exist in the real world, the creators of Lord of the Rings had to use special effects to create one of the film’s main characters, Gollum. A man was used for the scenes and he wore a blue unitard with markers on the suit and his face so that the special effects team could create the character later. Since the man was of average height, he had to do his scenes in a crouching position to make the scene look as natural as possible.
#5 Alice in Wonderland
The cartoon version of Alice in Wonderland was easy to make since it was all drawings. The real-life version of the movie was much more difficult to make because you will never see that type of scenery anywhere in the world. Even some of the characters need special effects to come to life. In this photo, the girl who plays Alice standing in a very dark and scary area. The picture on top shows what was necessary to create the scene. They placed the actress in front of a green screen and the scary scenery was added later with computer special effects.
#6 Gravity
Obviously, Sandra Bullock didn’t go to outer space to film the movie Gravity, therefore, a lot of special effects were necessary to make it look like she was in space. This is just one of many instances where special effects were used. In the top photo, you see Sandra’s character working on the spacecraft before the special effects. Everything behind her was white and she wore a special hood so that the special effects team could create the perfect scene. In the photo on the bottom, you see what the special effects could do.
#7 Godzilla
The film, Godzilla certainly wasn’t a low budget film, however, the filmmakers didn’t have the budget to fill the bay with 10+ battleships. In order to create this scene, they had the actors stand in front of a wooden fence in front of a green screen. After the scenes were shot, the water and the battleships were added. It made the scene look 100% authentic and it saved them millions of dollars.
#8 The Avengers
The scene in the bottom photo would have been extremely dangerous for the cast if they used real fire and a real explosion. To save money and to protect the cast, a green screen was used in the background. Later, the explosion and the falling building were added. The final product was pretty great. This photo deserves a place on this list of 10 movies before and after special effects that are amazing.
#9 Oz The Great and Powerful
This scene from Oz The Great and Powerful would have been extremely dangerous if it was shot the way that it is seen in the final cut. Since something like this would be dangerous and crazy, the film’s creators put the actor and his basket in front of a large blue screen. After the scenes were shot, the water and the background were added in. When you look at the finished product, you would never guess that the actor wasn’t risking his life on the water.
#10 San Andreas
The film San Andreas was about a major earthquake that caused huge tsunamis and destroyed everything in its path. The only way to create these scenes is through special effects. To create this scene, a model of a bridge was built and it was put in a green room. Water was poured over the bridge and later, computers were used to add the waves, the detail on the bridge, and the ships underneath.
Bonus Photo: The Maze Runner
Creating the maze in the Maze Runner would have been very expensive and very difficult. To make things easier and more realistic, special effects were used. A blue screen with markers was put up. After the scenes were shot, computer graphics were added to create the large buildings in the maze.
