Special effects software makes visual effects creation faster and more cost-effective.
Unlike in the past, when most special effects were done through make-up, prosthetics, miniatures, props and sets, most movie productions now use special effects software to create their special effects. These software programs allow artists to create the 2-D and 3-D models, elements and backgrounds needed after crews shoot the initial live action footage for a movie.
Silhouette
Silhouette FX features its flagship special effects software Silhouette for various special effects needs of movie productions. According to the company's official website, this program has an award-winning rotoscope and paint features, along with other vital tools for visual effects creation, such as keying, Power Matte and compositing.
These functions are now stereo-enabled. This means these tools can work in an entirely stereoscopic workflow, which is vital in making 3-D movies.
While in post-production, the clips for 3-D movies can be viewed side-by-side, stacked or viewed through anaglyph 3-D glasses, which are red and cyan glasses used for watching 3-D footage.
After Effects
After Effects can be used as an individual program or as a package with other vital movie editing and special effects software through the Adobe Creative Suite (CS) Production Premium or the Adobe CS Master Collection. Artists benefit from the tight integration of After Effects with other Adobe programs, such as Photoshop and Premiere Pro, without having to make intermediate renders when transferring from one platform to another.
Aside from smoother workflows for post-production work in special effects-driven movies, artists can also take advantage of the user-friendly interface for jump-starting animation texts, creating synthetic backgrounds and using animation presets. The Auto-Keyframe mode also allows for an easier animation process, and makes production time much shorter.
ParticleIllusion
ParticleIllusion offers powerful out-of-the-box special effects through its huge library, featuring more than 1,500 effects. These include fireworks, waterfalls, snow, puddle splashes, lava, flocks of birds, rainbows, light beams, waves and magic effects.
This sprite-based particle effects application made by WonderTouch offers comprehensive effects creation tools and efficient work flows. The program uses real-time, or nearly real-time, previews of all effects, and provides ultra-fast rendering time measured in frames per second instead of seconds, minutes or hours per frame. With a single click, an artist can customize an effect by changing simple parameters that can easily be learned and understood even by novices.
