Visual and Special Effects Film Milestones

Milestones in Film History:
Greatest Visual and Special Effects and Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI)

Part 13

Introduction: From even its earliest days, films have used visual magic ("smoke and mirrors") to produce illusions and trick effects that have startled audiences. In fact, the phenomenon of persistence of vision is the reason why the human eye sees individual frames of a movie as smooth, flowing action when projected.

Cel animation, scale modeling, claymation, digital compositing, animatronics, use of prosthetic makeup, morphing, and modern computer-generated or computer graphics imagery (CGI) are just some of the more modern techniques that are widely used for creating incredible special or visual effects.

(See this site's film terms glossary for definitions and examples, the History of Film by Decade, and an extensive timeline of other Milestones and Turning Points in Film History.)

Note: The films that are marked with a yellow star

are the films that "The Greatest Films" site has selected as the 100 Greatest Films.

Film Title and Description of Visual-Special Effects

Example

The Transformers: The Movie (1986)

Based on the popular weekday afternoon cartoon series during the 80s, this film was another early melding of traditional and computer animation, using TRON-style backlighting. The film was notable for both being Orson Welles' last film (voice) role as Unicron, a planet-sized computer, and for its downbeat, apocalyptic plot in which all of the series regulars were killed off.

Robocop (1987)

Stop-motion special effects were used for the incompetent, robotic ED (Enforcement Droid) -209 prototype which performed poorly during a product demonstration ("It's just a glitch"). This old-fashioned technique was soon to be overtaken by computer-generated imagery.

Akira (1988)

An excellent example of feature-length, science-fiction Japanese anime - "Japanimation" - from director Katsuhiro Otomo, and based on the science-fiction comic book.

Tin Toy (1988)

Pixar's and director John Lasseter's 5-minute short film was the first full computer animation to win an Academy Award Oscar - for Animated Short Film. Billy, the drooling baby character in the short film, marked the first time that a CG character had realistic human qualities. Tinny, the one-man-band tin toy hero of Tin Toy, was to be the central character in Toy Story (1995) - until Buzz Lightyear was created.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

This milestone film won the Academy Award for Best Achievement in Visual Effects, defeating the other nominees Willow (1988) and Die Hard (1988). It was a coordinated effort (produced by Disney, live-action directed by Robert Zemeckis, and animated by Richard Williams) - a remarkable blend of animated imagery (hand drawn and painted), and hand matched to the live action human characters, and filmed as a tribute to the entire pantheon of cartoon characters from Disney, Warner Bros., and MGM, and other studios in the 1940s.

The remarkable computer animation included sophisticated shading, lighting and shadows to dramatically make the characters appear very 3-D and lifelike as they interacted with real-world objects and people.

Willow (1988)

Very crude and primitive morphing could be found in an earlier film, The Golden Child (1986), but the live-action fantasy film Willow was the first to extensively use the groundbreaking effect of digital morphing (the seamless change from one character or image to another). The film's most detailed and fluid morph was in the scene of a halfling farmer and inept magician named Willow (Warwick Davis) finally turning Fin Raziel (Patricia Hayes) back into her original human form as an old sorceress woman - she went through various animal changes in the film, from a rodent to a crow, then to a goat, ostrich, and lastly into a roaring tiger before becoming a human shape.

The same 'morphing' effect was used much more extensively in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and in the conclusion of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) - see below. Digital morphing was also later used in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991).

The Abyss (1989)

Special FX brought this film recognition by the Academy - Best Achievement in Visual Effects for Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), defeating The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) and Back to the Future Part II (1989).

Underwater visual effects, especially of the watery, snake-like alien creature, a 'pseudopod,' were the first example of digitally-animated, CGI water. This was the first computer generated three-dimensional (3-D) character. In the alien water-probe sequence lasting about 75 seconds (requiring 8 months of work), the water-based life form called a pseudopod with a realistic watery tentacle replicated Lindsey Brigman's (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) face and appeared to communicate by movements that resembled facial expressions.

Back to the Future, Part II (1989)

Computer-controlled camera work allowed three characters (all performed by Michael J. Fox) to match up and interact seamlessly in the same scene (the "instant pizza" scene), through impressive split-screen photography.

Another special F/X sequence was the airborne hoverboard chase scene -- the hoverboards were fictional futuristic skateboards without wheels -- merely special F/X creations. Actors (standing on glued-on or attached hoverboards) were held up by a rig on the back of a truck and driven around, making them appear to be floating and sailing in mid-air. In some scenes requiring closeups, the action was filmed in front of a bluescreen, to later be filled in with matching background footage.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

The first all-digital composite, to demonstrate rapid aging, during Walter Donovan's (Julian Glover) death sequence. ILM scanned several filmed makeup transformations of his demise and "morphed" the elements together digitally - it sent the output back to film rather than arranging film elements with an optical printer.

Dick Tracy (1990)

The first major feature film release with a digital soundtrack.

Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990)

The first digitally-manipulated matte painting.

Film Title and Description of Visual-Special Effects	Example
*The Transformers: The Movie (1986)* Based on the popular weekday afternoon cartoon series during the 80s, this film was another early melding of traditional and computer animation, using TRON-style backlighting. The film was notable for both being Orson Welles' last film (voice) role as Unicron, a planet-sized computer, and for its downbeat, apocalyptic plot in which all of the series regulars were killed off.
*Robocop (1987)* Stop-motion special effects were used for the incompetent, robotic ED (Enforcement Droid) -209 prototype which performed poorly during a product demonstration ("It's just a glitch"). This old-fashioned technique was soon to be overtaken by computer-generated imagery.
*Akira (1988)* An excellent example of feature-length, science-fiction Japanese anime - "Japanimation" - from director Katsuhiro Otomo, and based on the science-fiction comic book.
*Tin Toy (1988)* Pixar's and director John Lasseter's 5-minute short film was the first full computer animation to win an Academy Award Oscar - for Animated Short Film. Billy, the drooling baby character in the short film, marked the first time that a CG character had realistic human qualities. Tinny, the one-man-band tin toy hero of Tin Toy, was to be the central character in Toy Story (1995) - until Buzz Lightyear was created.
*Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)* This milestone film won the Academy Award for Best Achievement in Visual Effects, defeating the other nominees Willow (1988) and Die Hard (1988). It was a coordinated effort (produced by Disney, live-action directed by Robert Zemeckis, and animated by Richard Williams) - a remarkable blend of animated imagery (hand drawn and painted), and hand matched to the live action human characters, and filmed as a tribute to the entire pantheon of cartoon characters from Disney, Warner Bros., and MGM, and other studios in the 1940s. The remarkable computer animation included sophisticated shading, lighting and shadows to dramatically make the characters appear very 3-D and lifelike as they interacted with real-world objects and people.
*Willow (1988)* Very crude and primitive morphing could be found in an earlier film, The Golden Child (1986), but the live-action fantasy film Willow was the first to extensively use the groundbreaking effect of digital morphing (the seamless change from one character or image to another). The film's most detailed and fluid morph was in the scene of a halfling farmer and inept magician named Willow (Warwick Davis) finally turning Fin Raziel (Patricia Hayes) back into her original human form as an old sorceress woman - she went through various animal changes in the film, from a rodent to a crow, then to a goat, ostrich, and lastly into a roaring tiger before becoming a human shape. The same 'morphing' effect was used much more extensively in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and in the conclusion of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) - see below. Digital morphing was also later used in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991).
*The Abyss (1989)* Special FX brought this film recognition by the Academy - Best Achievement in Visual Effects for Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), defeating The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) and Back to the Future Part II (1989). Underwater visual effects, especially of the watery, snake-like alien creature, a 'pseudopod,' were the first example of digitally-animated, CGI water. This was the first computer generated three-dimensional (3-D) character. In the alien water-probe sequence lasting about 75 seconds (requiring 8 months of work), the water-based life form called a pseudopod with a realistic watery tentacle replicated Lindsey Brigman's (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) face and appeared to communicate by movements that resembled facial expressions.
*Back to the Future, Part II (1989)* Computer-controlled camera work allowed three characters (all performed by Michael J. Fox) to match up and interact seamlessly in the same scene (the "instant pizza" scene), through impressive split-screen photography. Another special F/X sequence was the airborne hoverboard chase scene -- the hoverboards were fictional futuristic skateboards without wheels -- merely special F/X creations. Actors (standing on glued-on or attached hoverboards) were held up by a rig on the back of a truck and driven around, making them appear to be floating and sailing in mid-air. In some scenes requiring closeups, the action was filmed in front of a bluescreen, to later be filled in with matching background footage.
*Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)* The first all-digital composite, to demonstrate rapid aging, during Walter Donovan's (Julian Glover) death sequence. ILM scanned several filmed makeup transformations of his demise and "morphed" the elements together digitally - it sent the output back to film rather than arranging film elements with an optical printer.
*Dick Tracy (1990)* The first major feature film release with a digital soundtrack.
*Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990)* The first digitally-manipulated matte painting.