CTAN 432 Final (Spring 2024)

• 35 mm film


  the film gauge most commonly used for chemical still photography and motion pictures (the wet process prior to digital)
• technicolor


  a process of color cinematography using synchronized monochrome films, each of a different color, to produce a movie in color. red, green, and blue colr recorded onto black and white film and combined into a full color image. began in the 1930s
• Ray Tracing


  The technique for adding light and shadows to a 3-D image. Ignores the diffusion of light into skin and other surfaces.
• Radiosity


  A global illumination algorithm for rendering all of the luminous energy emitted and reflected from the diffuse surfaces in a scene, based on a detailed analysis of the rate of transfer of radiant energy between the surfaces. Considered to be more accurate but also more computationally intensive than ray tracing, Radiosity assumes that all surfaces emit and reflect energy uniformly over their entire area, and that all of the energy in an environment can be accounted for through absorption and reflection.
• George Melies


  discovered substitution transformation effect. early film pioneer and magician
• Hanging miniature shot


  used in Chaplain's city lights. A miniature is hung in front of frame tom simulate a more complex background
• Glass Shot


  A shot made by shooting through a pane of glass on which have been painted objects or elements of setting meant to blend in with the actual set behind the glass.
• Trick Danger Shot


  harold Lloyd in Safety Last - camera positioned to simulate that a character is hanging over the street
• Bell and Howell 2709 camera


  First all metal, steady registration camera. Can make double exposures without unsteadiness
• Travelling matte


  mattes that change, to mask the shapes of moving objects, such as human beings or spaceships.
• Williams' Process


  Early traveling matte process that filmed foreground images against a black or white backdrop and used high-contrast film to produce a matte
• Dunning shots


  In which the background scene was photographed and then negatives were used in a positive print process. Which would result in the gray and black areas of the print being dyed orange and bleached
• Schufftan process


  The technique consists of covering part of the camera's view with a mirror, allowing filmmakers to assemble an image from multiple parts.
• front projection


  lets actors be photographed in front of an image so that they appear as part of it. Used in 2001 and Superman
• First blue screen


  Developed by Larry Butler for Thief of Baghdad
• Technicolor Wizard of OZ

  Sepia double and lighting
• Double exposure


  combines two different images that are layered on top of each other. The image overlaid is less than full opacity so a bit of both images can be seen often producing a ghost-like effect.
• Die Nibelungen


  An example of a full sized dragon in film. Puppet controlled by people from the inside
• Willis O'Brien


  First to use Stop Motion best known for his work on King Kong. He used rubber figures.
• Ray Harryhausen


  Protégé of O'Brien, developed the Dynamation technique that allowed him to make lots of movies
• Dynamation


  a technique that combines rear and front projection. The setting is filmed with part of the scene masked, and miniature is filmed with part of the scene masked, and the two are then combined. Developed by Harryhausen. Ex: Jason and the Argonauts.
• Visual Effects


  created in postproduction through digital imaging
• Special Effects


  Practical effects. Done on set
• Hydraulic Car Flipper


  Flips cars for films. Practical effect.
• Split Screen


  an optical technique that divides the screen into two or more frames
• What is an Optical Printer?

  A device consisting of film projectors linked to a movie camera for re-photographing film strips. It is used for creating special effects, copying, and restoring film material in movies.
• Techniques for snow in film


  The creation of artificial falling snow for film sets involved materials such as feathers, bleached cornflakes, and even asbestos, posing health and environmental risks. Russell Shearman developed a technique using fire fighting foam and a giant silent fan (ritter fan) for "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946). Still used today.
• The Uncanny Valley


  a hypothesis by Masahiro Mori in the field of aesthetics which holds that when features look almost, but not exactly, like people, it causes a response of revulsion among observers. The "valley" refers to the dip in a graph of the comfort level for the observer as a function of a subject's aesthetic acceptability. Examples can be found in the fields of robotics and feature film visual effects.
• Performance/motion capture

  A visual effects technique that records actors' movements and expressions, transforming them into digital representations of humans or stylized characters.
• Subsurface scattering


  simulates the look of CGI rendered skin. Instead of light being completely reflected off an object, like a metallic surface, a portion of the light is absorbed by skin, scattered around inside and exits at a different point. Many materials in real life show the effect such as skin or wax.
• Andy Serkis


  pioneered work for motion capture acting with his performance of Gollum in LOTR and Caesar in Planet of the Apes
• Failed attempts at crossing the uncanny valley

  Cats, Tron: Legacy
• Successful attempts to cross the uncanny valley

  The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Featured CGI humans, head replacements, and digital makeup, showcasing unparalleled quality.
• Deep fake


  a technique that processes video or other media to replace someone else's likeness. The "created" asset can be made to do or say anything. A render farm of computers is used to employ machine learning and artificial intelligence to manipulate or generate new visual and audio content with a high potential to deceive.
• Forced perspective


  employed in the Lord of the Rings trilogy to create the illusion that the actors playing hobbits were smaller than their actual size
• Bullet time effect


  Bullet time is achieved by placing of a circle of cameras around the capture the actors. It captures extreme slow motion while moving the camera at the same time. CGI is used to add frames and interpolate them
• How was Cloud Tank photography used in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)?

  It was used in the "Well of Souls" sequence.
• How does Cloud Tank photography create billowing clouds?

  By injecting white paint into a glass tank of water with layers of different densities, the white paint expands towards the camera on top of the saltwater inversion layer, creating breathtaking billowing clouds.
• What is morphing?


  A visual effect developed for the film 'Willow' (1988) where one image is gradually transformed into another by marking key points on the face and transitioning those points to create the effect.
• What was the initial purpose of morphing in the film 'Willow'?


  To transform the character Raziel from a goat back to her human form.