Films that changed the industry

We all love seeing special effects in movies, but did you know that some of the special effects we know and love today like the green screen and virtual reality came out of earlier films such as King Kong and The Terminator?

It's incredibly entertaining to see events happen in the movies that you could never witness, for example, seeing dinosaurs. The first dinosaur movie with special effects was, of course, the world-renown Jurassic Park in which many dinosaurs were created and then animated. This was ground-breaking and was one of the main reasons the film was such a success. 

How have special effects changed the film industry?

Using Jurassic Park as an example, it is easy to see by watching the full series of films how the special effects progressed from film-to-film. The better the special effects became the more respect the brand earnt and the more fans it amassed. As dinosaurs are extinct, it isn't easy for us curious humans to imagine how they would have behaved so for us as viewers to get a glimpse into a time in history when we didn’t exist was revolutionary. 

Star Wars, which is another great film franchise, has demonstrated that special effects and virtual reality can be combined with real-life actors and actresses to create futuristic scenes that transport the viewers to another time.

Entrepreneurs and celebrities like Elon Musk have created many of their ideas and inventions with heavy influence from films like Star Wars and Star Trek. 

What are the career prospects associated with the study of special effects?

Special & Visual Effects graduates from the University of Bolton have recently worked on films including Guardians of the Galaxy, Dr Strange, The Martian, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Ready Player One. These are just a few examples of the opportunities that await upon gaining a degree in Special and Visual Effects at the University of Bolton.