Assignment 30: Faking Life and Death

[Filmmaking 101 overview]

Purpose: To learn to creatively handle effect shots.

Basis: Whether it's a spaceship or a beheading, a talking animal or a choking vine, a monster or a moving car, your productions will often call for you to create something out of very little. George Lucas created the Death Star trench run using models set up on tables which he drove past on a golf cart to film. You will often need to come up with a way of creating an effect without the aid of fancy tools and a large budget. Far better to learn to do things without expensive technology and props.

Directions: Choose three FX shots from this list to create:

•Teleportation	•Disembodied body part	•Flying saucer
•Talk to yourself on screen/clone yourself	•Miniature forced perspective	•Remove object from frame (after filming)
•Make a ghost	•Walk on a wall/ceiling	•Add gunfire
•Replace a computer screen/TV monitor image/video with something else	•Get a leaf to float through your shot	•Green/Blue Screen/Chroma Key a person into another location

Looking Forward: Time for the start of next major project.

What to Watch: "Alive in Joburg" short film which served as the basis for District 9 [R] Some incredible special effects that make use of excellent CG as well as cheap creative film making.

Watch Samples:


Even more Assignment 30 Samples and Student Examples