Many films that you see are full of invisible visual effects shots. These shots are not flashy, exciting, or eye-catching. Often enough, these shots go under the radar. They don’t show up in VFX breakdowns or internet reviews. This doesn’t mean that they are badly executed, on the contrary, it means that they are doing their job quietly and effectively. 

Visual Effects can be compared to camouflage. A good creator of camouflage gear is not looking for people to come and tell him that they saw some of his camouflage gear in the field and it looked great. This would mean that they had instantly spotted it and started evaluating the quality immediately. This would be terrible for the camouflage creator. In the case of this camouflage creator and a visual effects artist, the goal is to create something that integrates seamlessly into its surroundings.

Invisible effect shots come in a few different types:

1. Addition
2. Replacement
3. Removal

Let’s consider each one of these.

1. Addition

Addition or extension shots are a common type of shot because often time and budget doesn’t allow for sequences to have the scale that a director imagined. What to do? Fix it in post, of course! Jokes aside, set extensions and matte paintings have found their way into many films, even those that don’t need futuristic cityscapes or fantasy castles. Matte painting can be used to add to an alleyway or even just add to a mountain range. Even 3 extra mountains can add to the sense of majesty in a scene.

In the shot above, the set that was available was likely not big enough for wide shots. All the visual effects artist would have to do is add some background imagery rather than construct a whole CGI environment. This is a classic case of adding to a small set. Many other examples are even simpler and easier. 

Subtle effects like this often don’t end up being noticed by anyone, but that doesn’t mean that they were a waste of time. They can change the compositing and thus the feeling of a scene. They can make a location feel big and the subjects seem small or vice versa. 

2. Replacement

Sometimes you have something in a shot that is almost right but something’s not quite right about it. It could be a sign that has the wrong text or logo or a laptop that needs to have something displayed on its screen.

That last case I mentioned is actually quite a common one. Screen replacements are one of the most common types of replacement shots. Often the content that will be displayed on a screen has not been decided on yet, or the content needs to be clear and not over/under exposed. In these cases the computer monitors on set will often have a screen like this.

Often there will also be tracking markers if the shot has motion. The reason that the monitor is displaying a green screen is to enable the VFX artists to have people and things appear over the laptop using chroma keying. 

There are so many things that could need replacing is a shot or sequence:

• An Actor’s Face.
• A Billboard/Sign.
• A Number Plate.
• A logo on a laptop, coffee cup, pizza box, document.
• A Screen on a Phone/Computer.

Above are just a select few of the many cases that an invisible replacement could be used.

3. Removal

Addition, replacement, and now removal. When you think of the chaos of a film set, there are so many things that could need to be removed. A misplaced piece of gear or some technology. Visual effects artists spend a lot of time removing things in films. Thanks to them, distracting, pesky elements of a shot can be eliminated.

In films that are full of stunts, a common issue is the issue of wires. Wires are essential to many stunts for both the spectacle of the stunt and also the safety of the performers. The problem is that seeing wires in a film instantly dissolves the feeling of wonder we see when watching a great stunt.

Visual effects artists have the solution. They have found ways to use the pixel data of the areas around the wires to cover up and essentially remove the wires. This is like a clone stamp effect for video. 

Below you can see an example from a recent project that I had the joy of working on. It is an invisible effect. It was thoroughly enjoyable to witness viewers of the project not noticing anything strange about the shot. It certainly wasn’t the best shot in the film, but it got the job done. Hint: Watch the doorbell.

I hope you enjoyed learning about the invisible effects in film. Keep your eyes open, because you never know if the shot you are looking at has gone through the visual effects pipeline. Thank you very much, and have a nice day!

Samuel