Special Effects: Still in Search of Wonder (Film and Culture Series) - Softcover

Pierson, Michele

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0231125631 ISBN 13: 9780231125635

Publisher: Columbia University Press, 2002

Synopsis

Special Effects Moving from an exploration of 19th century popular science and magic to Hollywood science fiction cinema of our time, this text examines the history, advancements and connoisseurship of special effects. Full description

About this title

Review:

[A] ground-breaking book... Pierson's journey through the history of special effects offers us an important new perspective which has previously been left out of cinema-related academia and formal criticism.--John McGowan-Hartmann "Senses of Cinema "

It is something of a cliché to think of special effects as 'movie magic, ' but Pierson helps us to understand the substance behind that cliché, tracing our current fascination with computer-generated imagery back to discourses about magic and popular science in the late nineteenth century. Much as these earlier magicians helped to excite public interest and shape popular perceptions of emerging technologies, Pierson shows how CGI has become one of the most visible aspects of the digital revolution and how effects-laden films have often sought to examine their own precarious position somewhere between simulation and reality.--Henry Jenkins, Director, Comparative Media Studies Program, MIT "author of Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participator "

Intriguing.... This is not a 'nuts and bolts'history of onscreen magic, but a specific analysis of the 'cultural reception'that visual effects have enjoyed throughout the history of cinema.--American Cinematographer

Synopsis:

The computer-generated imagery (CGI) in Hollywood blockbusters like Star Wars, Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, Independence Day, Men in Black, and The Matrix seems to elude theorizing and critical analysis. Moving from an exploration of nineteenth-century popular science and magic to Hollywood science fiction cinema of our time, Pierson examines the history, advancements, and connoisseurship of special effects. She shows how popular science magazines, genre filmzines, and computer lifestyle magazines have helped shape the cultural reception of these on-screen technological advancements. The author looks at what makes certain types of cinematic effects special, why this matters, and for whom.

About this edition

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0231125631
• ISBN 13: 9780231125635
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 242