Special Effects Actors Films Movies Impressive Things Make

The history of American filmmaking is "marked" (characterized) by many "landmarks" (very impressive things that others refer to as major achievements) in special effects. For example, the 1956 film The Ten Commandments used "impressive" (getting admiration from many people) special effects to "multiply" (make bigger in number) "crowds" (large groups of people), making it seem like there were more actors than there actually were. The film was also noted for the special effects used when Moses "parted" (separated; put into two pieces) the Red Sea.

Special effects are especially "prominent" (noticeable) in science fiction films. For example, Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey "established" (created) a new "benchmark" (a standard for measuring things; an expectation of quality) for special effects in films. The filmmakers used very detailed model "spaceships" (vehicles for going into space) for filming. And they made careful use of "wires" (thin cables) and mirrors to "portray" (show) a "zero-gravity environment" (where there is no gravity, so people and things float in the air). George Lucas's Star Wars "trilogy" (a group of three movies in a series) also used many impressive special effects.

In recent years, "computer-generated imagery," or "CGI," has helped to advance special effects. With CGI, filmmakers no longer need to create "physical" (real; able to be touched) models for filming. Instead, they can create "digital" (electronic) images and combine them with live actors in unusual ways, as "illustrated" (shown) in movies like Jurassic Park, where human actors interacted with digital "dinosaurs" (large animals that lived on Earth many, many years ago) "on screen" (in a movie). Movies like Toy Story have continued to "blur the line" (make unclear the distinction) between live action films and CGI films.