Traditional special effects can be subdivided into makeup, scenery, fireworks special effects and early movie special effects.

Before the computer appeared, all special effects depended on traditional special effects. Everyone is familiar with the Journey to the West in 1980s, in which all monsters are made up of traditional special effects. Professionals make monster masks, and actors wear them on their heads to shoot. The scenery is reflected in the scene of the Heavenly Palace. Building some buildings similar to the Heavenly Palace and putting some smoke will create a foggy scene of the Heavenly Palace.

2.CG era

CG can be understood as computer creation. When the traditional special effects can't meet the requirements of the film, CG special effects are needed, and CG special effects can achieve almost all the effects that human beings can think of.

The production of special effects in CG era can be roughly divided into two categories: three-dimensional special effects and synthetic special effects. Three-dimensional special effects are completed by three-dimensional special effects artists, who are mainly responsible for the performance of dynamic animation, which are mainly classified into modeling, material, lighting, animation and rendering. The synthesis of special effects is completed by the synthesizer, who is mainly responsible for the synthesis of various effects. Main categories: keying, rubbing, color matching, composition, and scenery collection.

Companies representing the world's top level include: Industrial Light Magic/New Zealand Vita Company, etc. In the past twenty years, these companies have completed countless shocking blockbusters. Let's briefly introduce these two companies.

The Industrial Light Magic was founded by george lucas in 1975, and its masterpieces include Avatar, Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean, Terminator, Jurassic Park and Star Wars. The most classic works are the prehistoric dinosaurs in Jurassic Park and the octopus face of pirates of the Caribbean.

New drama Vita was founded by Peter Jackson, and its representative works include The Lord of the Rings series, Avatar (such special effects blockbusters are basically completed by several special effects companies) and King Kong. Gollum and King Kong basically represent the highest level CG creatures in the industry. Another very influential achievement is the development of the group animation tool MASSIVE, through which the epic melee of The Lord of the Rings was created. This software has been studied in China for several years, but limited by the cost and personnel level, the results rarely appear.