How Centropolis FX Creates Visual Effects

Prices: Movie Special Effects Books

• 

  Encyclopedia Of Movie Special Effects:

  From the earliest stop-motion photography in 1899's Cinderella to computer-generated wizardry in the latest Star Wars movie, special effects have thrilled movie audiences for more than a century. The Encyclopedia of Movie Special Effects is a 5-star fan favorite that explains the magic behind these cinematic devices. This A-to-Z encyclopedia unveils the latest techniques and gadgetry inside a comprehensive reference work about the history of special effects. Entries on computer techniques, movie secrets, and the geniuses who have brought the magic to the big screen make this single volume a Hollywood hit. This encyclopedia lists movies that either contributed significantly to the development of special effects or were Academy Award winners, and spotlights over 120 well-known experts whose techniques, developments, and special effects houses have contributed significantly to the movie industry:

  $97.95

• 

  Paul Blaisdell, Monster Maker: A Biography of the B Movie Makeup and Special Effects Artist

  Paul Blaisdell was the man behind the monsters in such movies as The She Creature, Invasion of the Saucer Men, Not of This Earth, It! Terror from Beyond Space and many others. Working in primarily low-budget films, Blaisdell was forced to rely on greasepaint, guts and, most importantly, an unbounded imagination for his creations. From his inauspicious beginning through The Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow (1959), the construction of Blaisdell's monsters and the making of the movies in which they appeared are fully detailed here. Blaisdell's work in the early monster magazines of the 1960s is also covered.

  $36.49

• 

  The DV Rebel's Guide: An All-Digital Approach to Making Killer Action Movies on the Cheap

  Written by Stu Maschwitz, co-founder of the Orphanage (the legendary guerrilla visual effects studio responsible for amazing and award-winning effects in such movies as Sin City, The Day After Tomorrow, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), this book is a must-have for all those budding filmmakers and students who want to produce action movies with visual effects but don't have Hollywood budgets. The Orphanage was created by three twenty-something visual effects veterans who wanted to make their own feature films and discovered they could do this by utilizing home computers, off the shelf software, and approaching things artistically. This guide details exactly how to do this: from planning and selecting the necessary cameras, software, and equipment, to creating specific special effects (including gunfire, Kung Fu fighting, car chases, dismemberment, and more) to editing and mixing sound and music. Its mantra is that the best, low-budget action moviemakers must visualize the end product first in order to reverse-engineer the least expensive way to get there. Readers will learn how to integrate visual effects into every aspect of filmmaking--before filming, during filming and with "in camera" shots, and with computers in postproduction. Throughout the book, the author makes specific references to and uses popular action movies (both low and big-budget) as detailed examples--including El Mariachi, La Femme Nikita, Die Hard, and Terminator 2. Note from the Publisher: If you have the 3rd printing of The DV Rebel’s Guide, your disc may be missing the data files that accompany the book. If this is the case, please send an email to Peachpit in order to obtain the files at ask@peachpit.com

  $29.44