Hollywood has made fantastic films for over 100 years, and the filmmaking process has undergone a lot of evolution throughout that time. The advent of sound, color, special effects, and CGI have each revolutionized the film industry in their own way. Filmmakers have used special effects in various ways for a long time, but it has taken off in the last few decades. Read on to learn why special effects are so important in Hollywood.
Allows Filmmakers To Explore New Worlds
One of the best reasons special effects have gained new ground in recent years and become a Hollywood staple is that they allow filmmakers to do new and exciting things. In the early 20th century, filmmakers still made fantasy and science-fiction films, but they primarily used costumes, sets, and animation to achieve the desired effects. They did great with the resources available, and now those resources have turned into something much more significant. Imagine the Marvel films or Game of Thrones without special effects—everything would look completely different.
Real Things Are Dangerous
Part of the reason why special effects are so significant is that the real things they represent, such as guns, fires, and explosions, are dangerous. For example, in Star Wars, many characters have particle blasters that shoot a laser beam. The filmmakers created this weapon using special effects because working with actual lasers and shooting them at each other could be quite dangerous. Even when laboratories are working with lasers as intended, they must take a lot of precautions to ensure everyone is safe. When a project doesn’t involve lasers or explosions, smaller things like working with an animal or being in a harsh climate can still put actors and the crew at risk.
It Keeps Animals Safe
Special effects are also crucial in today’s world of filmmaking to ensure no animals are hurt or exploited during production. Filmmakers have used animals in their films for many years, and as the world learned more about animals, people started questioning the ethics of their use in movies. Many animals were accidentally, and sometimes purposefully, hurt during production. Many filmmakers continue to cast real animals, while others have transitioned into using special effects, eliminating their use entirely. This practice ensures no animals are hurt or exploited and that the Hollywood animal industry can stop breeding animals solely for stardom.
Special effects are so important in Hollywood, as evidenced by all the reasons above, and they will only become more critical as time goes on. People love domestic films with little to no fanfare but simultaneously love off-the-wall displays of fantasy. To keep up with this demand, the use of special effects will grow, and they will soon be indistinguishable from reality.
