VFX (Visual Effects)
Digital imagery created or manipulated outside live-action shooting.
Definition
Visual Effects (VFX) encompass any imagery created, altered, or enhanced for film and television that cannot be accomplished during live-action shooting. This includes CGI characters, digital environments, compositing, motion capture, and invisible effects like removing wires or extending sets. VFX work is typically outsourced to specialized studios.
Why It Matters
Visual effects enable storytelling that would be impossible, dangerous, or prohibitively expensive to capture practically. From subtle enhancements to fully digital environments, VFX shapes modern cinema.
VFX planning must begin in pre-production—the most cost-effective digital work is designed in advance, not solved in post. Understanding VFX capabilities and limitations influences everything from scriptwriting to on-set decisions.
Examples in Practice
A modest VFX budget extends locations digitally, making a small production feel much larger in scope.
A film's seamless VFX earns an Oscar despite audiences never noticing the extensive digital work.
Planning VFX sequences during pre-production allows on-set capture that reduces post-production costs significantly.