As winter creeps in, the glorious summer of the London 2012 Olympics may seem a distant memory but the magic of the opening and closing ceremonies will probably burn bright for a long time to come. Who could have failed to be impressed by watching a bus transform into a giant 50-metre octopus or a 20-metre-high Voldemort come to life or smoke emerging from the massive industrial chimneys?
The teams behind these eye-catching creations are known as special effects and are regarded as one of the most prestigious skills groups within the creative industries. British special effects technicians are often said to be unrivalled, accounting for the increasing number of US films being made in the UK.
Special effects within the film and television industry are split into three distinct areas:
1. Physical special effects – in general, carried out on set during production with the special effects team working with the director with different types of lighting and cameras to manipulate the shot.
2. Pyrotechnic special effects – in general, creating explosions, fire, and different weather conditions.
3. Visual special effects – usually done in post-production such as graphic design, modelling and animation.
Special effects is both a small and specialist area. Many people working in the field are experts in specialised areas such as electronics, construction, carpentry, robotics and explosives.
However, the following are a general requirement for entry into the special effects arena through designated courses:
- Basic computer literacy;
- Health and Safety knowledge and awareness;
- Creativity and imagination;
- Good communication and presentation skills; and
- The ability to visualise how things will appear “on screen”.
Rebecca is in her second year of a BA (Hons) in Special Effects at Hertfordshire Skillset Media Academy and is already benefiting from her industry focussed course, having completed three months’ work experience on a mega-budget sci-fi film for Disney/Pixar.
Rebecca chose to study at Hertfordshire Skillset Media Academy primarily for its excellent facilities and work experience prospects. The degree gave her the opportunity to combine her love for fine art and film. “I’d always done painting before, but found the transition to 3D and model-making easy and really interesting.”
Having spent three months on the set of a live action/animation film, Rebecca has acquired an understanding of, and practical expertise in, Special Effects Design (SFX) as well as worked with some of the best freelance artists in the world. “All in all it was a fantastic experience. It was incredible getting to meet such well-experienced people in the field. We expected to just be making tea but were given important jobs such as prop-making and got to watch some shooting,” she added. Rebecca picked up core skills which she deems “really important to the industry but actually takes quite a lot of practice to get down.”
“The skills I’ve learnt can be applied to pretty much everything I do now. It’s mainly a skill-based career we are going into, so being set up with the knowledge and contacts at the Academy is very helpful.”
Following her stint on work placement, Rebecca now has a major three-month project to do back at the Academy, where she hopes to apply all the invaluable skills she learnt from the experience.
For much more information about following a career in Special Effects, or a huge range of other roles in the creative industries, please visit www.creativeskillset.org/careers.
Image: Shutterstock
