Tuesday, January 4, 2011

“Boardwalk Empire” Special Effects Fakery Creates Reality

The easy use of computer software has increaed the use of special effects, not just for movies but for television as well. An example of the power of sofware is the video below from Brainstorm Digital showing the before and after effect shots from season 1 of HBO's period television series "Boardwalk Empire". It’s amazing – yet in a sense it is a little unsettling that images can be altered so well that the fakery looks completely real. I can’t be too critical, though, since I use imaging and video software to enhance my own photos and videos. Still, I can’t help wonder that sometime down the road it will be so easy to make changes that we won’t be able to trust what we see in things like newspapers and television news, which is supposed to be reporting only what's real.

All that aside, this video is an interesting look into how to create realistic scenes from things that aren’t really there. It’s truly artful.

Boardwalk Empire VFX Breakdowns of Season 1 from Brainstorm Digital on Vimeo.




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