Movies & Film

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!

By Marshall Brain

When filming a movie, the sound and the images are recorded and stored separately with different devices. After filming the challenge is to synchronize those two recordings. Learn how a clapperboard is used in movie production.

The phrase "optical soundtrack" sounds like a contradiction in terms, but it's the secret to how sound is recorded on motion picture film.

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?

Love it or hate it, most of the classic black-and-white movies have been "colorized," mainly so that they can be shown on television in color. How does the colorization process work?

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.

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.

By Marshall Brain