The Difference Between Special Effects and Visual Effects

In the present day and age, effects are all over the place in movies. Due to advances in the creation of CGI, directors and producers can literally put anything they want to in their movies. With all the effects these days, we hear terms like "special effects" and "visual effects" a lot. These two terms may seem like two different ways of saying the same thing, but there's actually a difference, and it's quite important. So what is that difference?

In broadest terms special effects (SFX) are effects that are created on the film set itself. These effects can be as large or small in scope as needed for the specific scene. Special effects are often referred to as practical effects. Now it may sound like SFX just means things like explosions, but in reality there's a lot more encompassed by the idea. SFX includes other area effects like smoke, fog, and rain, all of which can add a tremendous amount to movie scenes.

Mechanical effects like moving set pieces and animatronics are also considered SFX. These may seem like lesser used types of effects, but there's probably more uses of them than you may realize. Animatronics have been used to create some of the classic creatures from films in recent decades, including the T-rex and Velociraptors from Jurassic Park and Treebeard in Lord of the Rings. This may seem like an effect technique that is used rather infrequently, but there's probably more uses of it than you might think.

Other SFX include miniature photography, used in hundreds of movies over the past few decades, even movies like Pirates of the Caribbean Curse of the Black Pearl and The Dark Knight. This is probably the most iconic form of SFX due to movies like Star Wars, and the one that most people seem to lament the loss of. Miniature effects are still used quite frequently however, and some recent uses of such effects may surprise you.

Some more miscellaneous forms of SFX include the use of special lenses, lighting effects, or camera movements to achieve a unique look for the finished scene. These types of effects are used less frequently. This does not include things like panning or zooming of the camera, which are traditional elements of cinematography.

Now as for visual effects (VFX) things (on paper) are a bit simpler, but the range of effects is just as broad if not more so than that of SFX. VFX is considered anything created through the use of computer technology, or in decades prior, hand drawn animation. VFX can essentially create anything done by SFX, which is why many people fear that SFX are being used less and less frequently. VFX includes the creation of digital 3D models, used in animating certain elements in a scene, or even entire sequences of a movie. VFX also includes other more subtle techniques like color and lighting correction.

So I hope that clears some things up!

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