Ask & Answer: India's Largest Education Community

Special effects (or SFX) artists draw from disciplines including mechanics, pyrotechnics, chemistry, sculpture, makeup, and puppetry to create astonishing effects and convincing illusions for stage productions, films, music concerts, and live events. Special effects artists can control the weather, build and bring to life gruesome monsters, construct stunning pyrotechnic displays, create convincing wounds, or even manipulate the audience's perception in more fundamental ways—making them believe something small is large, for example. The art of special effects spans multiple industries and a world of approaches, from the practical effects artists of Hollywood to the theatrical effects artists of the stage, the pyrotechnics specialists who commonly work on music tours and concerts, and the many shades of grey between.

Theatrical special effects artists are an integral part of the Broadway and West End ecosystems, and active participants in the collaborative process that is core to these high-profile, big-budget shows. Their work typically begins very early in the production process, when the show's director, technical director, and lead designers meet to discuss the production design, address any major interdepartmental concerns, and coordinate the timeline. From there, special effects artists begin the iterative process of designing, prototyping, and testing effects. Throughout, they liaise with the other design departments to ensure that everyone's on the same page: using pyrotechnics may require fireproofed costumes, for example, while the placement of a rain rig might impact set or lighting design. Finally, special effects artists take into account the particulars of the performance space to create an ultimate version of the effect, test it to ensure a high degree of safety and consistency, and educate crew members on its use.

There are a few differences between special effects for the stage and those used in film, although many SFX companies work on both. For one thing, the medium of film allows practical effects artists to take full advantage of skills like modeling, sculpting, makeup, and facial prosthetics, which really shine in a medium capable of close-ups and perspective manipulation. In addition, contemporary practical effects are almost always used in tandem with copious post-production visual effects, meaning they rarely carry the full weight of the illusion. For example, a recent Jurassic Park film commissioned practical effects artists to build a large mechanical model of a dinosaur's head, which was used for positioning and visualization during shooting, but ultimately replaced with CGI in post-production. Similarly, esteemed practical effects artist Rick Baker made silicone heads for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which were then scanned to create the CGI models.