Special Effects

Exciting sequences in movies are called stunts. These include car crashes, leaps from horseback and escapes from fires. Stunts are often dangerous to perform so leading stars rarely do their own stunts. Stunt people stand in for the star wearing the same make-up and clothes. By mixing close-up shots of the star with filming of the stunt from a distance, it appears to be the star who performs the stunt.

Special effects make it possible for exciting sequences to occur in movies. These tricks and techniques used by movie makers make scenes convincing. Most advanced special effects use computer graphics to build scenes on the screen. The result is so convincing that the audience is not aware that they are watching a computer simulation. The recent movie Titanic uses computer graphics to simulate the ship moving at sea.

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