Creature Effects Makeup: An Interview with Matt Rose and Chad Waters

Monsters, monkeys and freaks oh my! Step behind the scenes and onto the back lots of Hollywood with two of the movie industry's most prolific and talented creature effects artists, Matt Rose and Chad Waters. In this exclusive interview, HowStuffWorks gets their opinion on the future of special effects makeup and movie tricks.

How Animatronics Works

All those old monster movies may not scare many of us anymore, but they certainly captivated the audiences in their time. Animatronics have brought countless monsters to life, and the technology is only getting better. Go inside the belly of the beast.

How Blue Screens Work

When an actor dangles over an incredibly deep river gorge, blue screen photography is the magic that makes it look so real to the gasping audience. Find out how the blue screen technique works and why it's so convincing on the big screen.

How Centropolis FX Creates Visual Effects

A movie like "The Patriot" contains an amazing range of visual effects -- Centropolis FX created everything from new towns to virtual soldiers for this movie! Go behind the scenes and learn exactly how CFX makes the imaginary look completely real!

How does a Star Wars lightsaber work?

A "Star Wars" lightsaber is a special effect that looks so real, it's easy to believe it really exists. How do the filmmakers create a lightsaber?

How Industrial Light and Magic Works

The film "The Perfect Storm" is one of the most ambitious projects Industrial Light & Magic has undertaken. The computer-generated effects in the film are absolutely amazing! Go behind the scenes and learn how ILM works!

How is digital 3-D different from old 3-D movies?

Many people remember the weird headache-inducing colors that were part of old 3-D movies. But in newer movies like "Meet the Robinsons," 3-D loses the paper glasses and goes digital.

How do they create the special effects in movies like The Matrix where the camera rotates around a frozen actor?

This effect is amazing to watch! "The Matrix" spawned both imitation and satirization of this special film technique, which was only used four times in the original film.