How Do the Movies Do It? Have you ever seen movies in which a building was burned down or a bridge was destroyed? Have you se

How Do the Movies Do It?
   Good morning, everyone. Today’s lecture is about the Movies, or to be more specific, How Do the Movies Do It? Have you ever seen a movie in which a building was burned down or a bridge was destroyed? Have you seen films in which a train crashed or a ship sank into the ocean? If so, you may have wondered how these things could happen without harming the people in the film.
   The man who knows the answer is the "special-effects" man. He has one of the most important jobs in the film industry. He may be ordered to create a flood or to make a battlefield explode. But he may also be asked to create a special effect which is much less exciting, though just as important to the success of the film.
   In a scene for a movie there was a big glass bowl filled with water in which small fish were swimming. The director of the movie wanted the fish to stop swimming suddenly while it seemed to stare at an actor. Then the director wanted the fish to stop staring and swim away. But fish can’t be ordered to do anything. It was quite a problem.
   The special-effects man thought about this problem for a long time. The result was an idea for controlling the fish with a harmless use of electricity. First he applied electricity to the fish bowl causing the fish to be absolutely still. Then he rapidly reduced the amount of electricity allowing the fish to swim away. Thus he got the humorous effect that the director wanted.
   As in other parts of movie making there are those who have developed particular skill in creating certain kinds of effects. Jim White, who has been a special-effects man for thirty-two years, is best known for work with ships and airplanes.
   Calmly he builds and crashes airplanes or sends tiny models of ships on dangerous voyages.  For a movie about World War Two he built a boat which was a copy of a real ship. The copy was made of wood and was 165 feet long. As it sailed along at a speed of seven sea miles an hour in the Pacific Ocean, it seemed so real that a United States military airplane flew down near it, trying to discover which country owned it.
   For fires the special-effects man does not trust the normal burning process of wood or other materials. He does not have time to wait until large flames appear. Usually he places metal pipes in the area that is to be burned. Gas flowing through the pipes burns instantly but can be kept under control easily by opening or closing the pipes.
   When explosives are used, as in battlefield scenes, special-effects men usually receive extra pay.  There is danger, and sometimes there are accidents. For a large battlefield scene the special-effects man talks with the director, examines the area and plans the effects several days before the filming is to begin. He then places his explosives. They must not be too powerful in the areas where actors will pass. But there must be enough power so that—with sound effects added later—the explosions seem real.
   The special-effects man may cover two acres of ground with explosives, each connected individually  by wire to a special device for controlling the course of an electric current. When the scene begins, he causes explosions in the air by sending up large bags filled with explosives. The bags float in the air and are held by wires. At the right time he makes them explode. If a church tower, for example, must seem to be hit by guns, he puts explosives in several places in the tower. He usually cuts through some of the supports of the tower first so that he can be sure they will fall.
   All this requires training, skill, and experience. It also adds a great deal to the expense of producing the film. It helps explain why so many movies are very expensive to make.