Microfilmmaker Magazine - Tips & Tricks - Ultra Low-Budget Special Effects, Pg. 1 of 2


	Ultra Low-Budget Special Effects

by Craig Herron

Visual effects for movies under $30,000? You've got to be kidding.

One thing going for low budget digital movies is the word: digital. Movies shot on film are very expensive for the effects, as they have to be scanned into the computer. Digital footage is already digital and ready to be worked on. AfterEffects and other programs will open the footage into a format that you can use, even changing the rectangular pixels that video uses into the square pixels that computers use. These programs can also bring in renders from 3D programs like Maya and Lightwave as well as digital still photos and Photoshop compositions. Any still camera with a resolution of 1mb or more will work. Also anything that can be scanned or shot on digital still or video can be brought in to be worked with. Colors can be changed; a shot can change from day to night, to rain, snow, movie looks...

So what type of VFX (visual effects) are possible. Pretty much all of them! Need a medieval castle? Use a vacation still photo, shoot video of the actor who's playing your sentry, and put them together. Add some clouds from another still photo panning in the back ground and you've got a digital matte shot.

Need a trained goldfish to jump out of a bowl, or an airplane to hit a motel sign? How about a tennis ball that goes where you want? Combine DV footage, a digital matte painting or still photo with a cgi character modeled in a 3D program such as Maya or LightWave.

Do you need a theater full of people and only 20 extras show up for the shoot? Not too hard. Lock the camera down on a shot of the empty seats and move your extras around to different positions as the camera is rolling. Go back in post-production and cut out and paste the different sections together for a full house.

Need more soldiers for your civil war battle scene? Take your ten or so re-enactors and, with the camera locked down, shoot them on the left side of the screen then rearrange them on the right side of the screen. Cut the two shots together with a mask and you have doubled your army.

Was the battle fought in a thunderstorm but the sun shines every time you shoot? Change the contrast and lower the saturation in post and add a rain plug-in, or even snow or fire.

Most of what we see in the Hollywood blockbuster is possible in our mini epics. Does it look as good? Well, those movies cost over a $100,000,000 -- so, no it doesn't look quite as good, but it looks pretty close. The effects that are done for television and mini-series are often done with the same tools. Of course they are shot on film, or at least in HD.

Won't this cost a lot? Careful planning and shooting and a smart use of effects can keep the costs very reasonable, since they can be done using standard software on a desktop computer.