Special Effects: The History and Technique [Hardcover]

Richard Rickitt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2000

Spanning the rich history of movie magic, from George Mlis's A Trip to the Moon to George Lucas's Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace, and the Wachowski Brothers' The Matrix, this completely up-to-date guide to visual trickery is unparalleled in scope, presenting a clearly written, lushly illustrated chronicle of special effects development over ten decades of filmmaking. Starting with the earliest use of smoke and mirrors in silent films, the book goes behind the scenes to reveal the methods used in creating the cinematic world of make-believe, ranging from optical composing animation, sound effects, model-making, special-effects makeup, and matte painting to the most astounding electronic innovations seen in blockbuster movies now hitting movie screens. Packed with information obtained from hundreds of interviews with both the legendary and current leading names in the field of special effects production, the book includes illustrations showing, by the use of unique segments of photographs, many never before available in print, how many of the effects are achieved. This dazzling volume, as entertaining as the films it covers, is a must for lovers of movie fantasy, students of film and popular culture, and amateur filmmakers.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Rickett tells the story of that perennial box-office draw, special effects, from "trick photography" through today's astonishing, computer-assisted cinematic legerdemain. Individual chapters examine components of the special effects artist's toolkit. Optical illusions, models, and animation are each dissected and appreciated, and ditto makeup and sound effects. The chapter headed "Physical Effects" gives simple instructions for creating the illusion of a snowstorm; "fake snow is infinitely preferable to the real thing," Rickett says. Okay, so most of the tricks described aren't fit for home application, but then why should they be? This is a measured account of an integral part of what makes today's movies, as always, bigger than big and huger than huge. Fascinating stuff for gadget freaks, sf geeks, plain old film fans, and picture-book peepers. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Richard Rickitt, a lecturer at the British Film Institute and former director of the Education Department of the London Film Festival, is a writer, filmmaker, and partner in a company specializing in digital animation and special effects for film and television. A frequent visitor to the U.S., he lives in London, England, and is available for the promotion of this book. Richard was awarded the 2001 Kraszna-Krausz Moving Image Book Award for best book in the Business, Techniques and Technology category.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Billboard Books (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823077330
• ISBN-13: 978-0823077335
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 9.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #727,691 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The greatest special effects book ever!, February 26, 2001

By 

kenneth vernon (Los angeles, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Special Effects: The History and Technique (Hardcover)

WOW! If you have even the smallest interest in special effects, filmmaking, or even general film history, you must own a copy of this brilliant new book - it's amazing!

Though at first I figured `Special Effects: The History and Technique' seemed expensive, I thought I'd give it a try since so few books on this subject are ever published. Also, because I am a film studies lecturer, I need to keep up to date with books that are published on the subject. It turned out to be the BEST BUY I have made in a long time.

The book starts with an `overview if the first 100 years of special effects' and perfectly summarises the first century of the commercial cinema. The author writes about the film pioneers, the formation of the studio system, the coming of sound, the challenge of TV, the changes in society and audiences - all the influences that affected the type of films that were made in each decade. He then gives a summary of the most important effects films of each decade and even includes profiles of important effects directors from Alfred Hitchcock to James Cameron.

Chapter Two teaches you everything you need to know about the basics of cinema technology - like how film and emulsions work, how cameras, lenses and projectors work, the physics of light and color etc. The author then explains the basics of traditional optical work and, with the help of fantastic graphic illustrations (there are hundreds of these thru the book), shows how an optical printer works and details the various bluescreen travelling matte systems and their variations like the Dunning Pomeroy Process and Sodium Vapor travelling mattes. There is a stack of examples and images from many films as well as interviews with people who worked on movies such as Terminator and Superman. The chapter then moves on to the history and science of digital technology - explaining how images are created and manipulated digitally with reference to many modern special effects companies and films.

Chapter 3 looks at models and miniatures. The Chapter explains how traditional models are built and filmed and gives formulas for things like camera speed, model size and scale. Examples from the earliest days until the current time are used. The chapter also explains how different types of miniatures are made and filmed - there's a section on boats and water, one on aircraft and flying and (best of all) one on miniature pyrotechnics. The chapter then explains how models are built in the computer and shows different CG modelling and painting techniques and interviews many masters of the process.

The animation chapter is the best of all. Every form and technique is covered in minute detail - from early cartoons, stop motion, go-motion as well as modern computer assisted cartoons and full 3D animation. There are profiles of films like King Kong and Jurassic Park and interviews with masters like Ray Harryhausen and Phil Tippet.

Chapter 5 covers matte painting from the earliest glass paintings to the latest amazing 3D computer generated environments in films like The Phantom Menace and Titanic.

The next section looks at special effects makeup - showing how to create anything from a scar to a huge animatronic dinosaur. All processes are covered in minute detail with explanations from experts such as Stan Winston and Jim Henson's Creature Shop. The chapter ends with a look at digital makeup in films like The Mummy. Chapter 9 looks at physical effects and talks about how to create wind, snow, rain - even fake glass. It also has a fantastic section on guns and explosions which tells you just how it is all done in films such as James Bond and Indiana Jones.

The next chapter was a great surprise - sound effects! I can't think of another fx book that covers this subject - even though the sound of a dinosaur is, of course, as important as what it looks like. The whole process of film sound is explained from recording, mixing and dubbing to sound design with profiles of experts such as Ben Burtt.

The final chapter looks at the future of cinema and special effects and considers formats such as 3D (full coverage of history and technique, IMAX, digital filmmaking and virtual reality.

Finally chapter 10 looks in detail at the effects and techniques of the top 50 effects films of all time- some people might not agree that these are the top 50 films, but those chosen are definitely some of the most important ones. The author details exactly how each film was made and who did what.

There is a good bibiography and a really useful glossary with every complicated film and special effects term explained with amazing clarity.

I cannot fault this book - it is probably as good as a few years at film school or a hundred nights at the movies. Anybody even slightly interested in movies and movie making should have a copy on their shelf - I will definitely recommend it to all my students as one of the few books that is worth buying rather than simply borrowing from a library. I've read my copy from cover to cover twice and will refer to it for years to come.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 'Special Effects' is the difinative book on the subject!, November 13, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Special Effects: The History and Technique (Hardcover)

This book covers every aspect of the special effects industry. From the early days of using mirrors, to George Lucas Starwars saga, everything is covered in a highly detailed book. There are also countless images and interviews on offer. Richard Rickett definately did his research, and it paid off in this valuable and informative book. Don't just take my word for it though, buy the book and you won't be disappointed!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Book Ever, November 30, 2002

By 

Simon Harryhausen - See all my reviews

This review is from: Special Effects: The History and Technique (Hardcover)

Special Effects is THE BEST book you could wish for on the subject. I have a shelf full of old, an mostly inaccurate books about special effects, but with this new book I could throw the rest away. Also, don't bother with magazines like Cinefex anymore, which are very dry and heavy going. this book is a pleasure to read and has interviews with everyone who is important in the business. There are hundreds of cool photos as well which makes it very good value. Anyone who works in special effects, or is just interested in the movies should read this book. Congratulations to the author Mr Rickitt who has condensed 100 years of movie magic into a single lavish book. Dont take my word for it - BUY IT!