This Harry Potter spin-off, again directed by David Yates, features a massive cast of magical creatures - aided by some special effects stardust.
This Harry Potter spin-off, again directed by David Yates, features a massive cast of magical creatures - aided by some special effects stardust.
Jon Favreau’s CGI remake of the Disney classic The Jungle Book made more than $900 million (£690 million) at the box office,
The team behind Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, went as far as to invent new technology to craft the special effects in this sci-fi flick.
The brainchild of George RR Martin, this HBO series has fundamentally changed the game in terms of TV storytelling and visual effects.
This film, directed by David Yates, the sixth instalment of the much-loved franchise, features some very memorable moments, including this library scene starring Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson.
And this SFX glut has, equally, made its way to television; just think of some of those epic Game of Thrones and Walking Dead battle scenes.
“The line between TV and movies is eroding,” visual effects producer Luke Groves explained to Vulture. “That’s now the way of the world.”
Explaining the process that goes into making such spellbinding special effects, London-based visual effects expert John Rafique - who’s worked on Top Gear, 2005 horror The Descent, and Ricky Gervais’ upcoming Netflix comedy series After Life - tells BBC Three: “Something the public might not realise is the amount of planning, research, and testing that goes into even the shortest special effects sequence.
“What eventually turns out to be a two second shot in a film can take a whole crew of SFX men and women a week to make.”
Looking ahead to how special effects could change in the years to come, John adds: “I kind of think the future is always to make the most unreal, dramatic effect as possible.
“Our advances tend to be in the slow process of refining our equipment to do that more and more efficiently. It's the advances in the other areas on set that changes the look of things on screen: new cameras, new VFX software, and new post-production techniques.”
And a viral Instagram account is now lifting the curtain on the special effects process that goes into making movies so magical.
Modern moviegoers have come to expect the most breathtaking, mind-boggling, reality-defying special effects every time they head down to their local multiplex.
I was constantly sweating, because I was on hyper-alert - waiting for the next thing to worry about. Eventually, I booked an appointment to see my doctor and told him I felt like I was about to break. He said my anxiety and depression symptoms were exacerbated by feeling burnout, and suggested I take some time off for my mental health. I wasn’t surprised by his diagnosis, but the thought of being allowed to stop was such a relief.
I took a few weeks off work where I had absolutely nothing to do. I still had my to-do lists going round in my head, and felt like I needed to make the most of my time off, but I was also so exhausted that I just slept. In the end, the time off helped, but a year later, the burnout still hasn’t gone away. I'm now looking into therapy as my doctor suggested - even though that’s now a new source of stress as I’m struggling to find an affordable one.
I'm also doing a lot of reading up on how to manage stress. My go-to is to flare up in an argument with my boyfriend because I’m so on edge, but I don’t want to be like that, so I’m trying to find other ways of channelling how I’m feeling instead, like doing creative writing.
I’m also trying to see more of my friends and talk to them about what I’m going through, because I know a lot of them feel the same way. Last year, I spent a lot of time staying at home trying to get through my lists, and felt guilty about going for beers with my friends and wasting money. But now I need to remind myself that being with people helps because it makes me feel less alone, and it takes me out of my head.
She believes that this burnout can be brought on by “over-expectations from parents, careers, and society”. It’s exacerbated by social media because of the constant pressure to be living your best life, which “leads to a fear of failure and, conversely, a fear of success: 'If I achieve all that, how can I possibly keep it up? I may as well not even try'."
In extreme situations, she says it can even lead to depression or suicidal thoughts, and urges people experiencing millennial burnout to seek medical help like counselling.
For me, one of the hardest parts about millennial burnout is that I don’t feel I’m ‘allowed’ to be this tired. I don’t think I’ve earned it or done enough to warrant having burnout. I always compare myself to my mum, who was a single mother working two or three jobs at a time to raise me and my siblings in Wales. I always think, 'How could my mum work all these jobs, cook for us, clean, have all our school uniforms ironed and never complain?' Then I feel worse for whining.
But, at the same time, things have changed for our generation. We've internalised the idea that we need to be working all the time, and that being average is no longer enough; we have to always be achieving. Plus, our lives are a lot more 'out there' for everyone to see with social media. My mum had no one to prove to on a daily basis that she was keeping us alive, and that we had the latest toy or computer game. She’s really sympathetic to what I’m going through, and obviously worried about me, but sometimes talking to her makes me feel worse because I can’t help comparing myself unfavourably to her.
The idea of what a successful career should look like has also changed for my generation. It used to be about earning a decent salary, but now it feels like we need to do that as well as have a cool, exciting job you’re passionate about. It’s the same with being healthy. For my mum, that meant eating three balanced meals and having clean clothes. For us, that means going to the gym at 5am, doing a run post-work to get cardio in, eating kale at every possible opportunity, and cleansing my skin all the time or I’ll get wrinkles. It’s all about being hyper-healthy, hyper-clued-up, hyper-fashionable - and it’s exhausting.
My job as a content analyst - writing about tech and software - is a big priority for me, and I put a lot of pressure on myself to work hard. It means I'm always on – replying to emails at all hours, and bringing my work laptop home at night. But while I'm doing well in my career, my personal life admin is a mess. I have endless to-do lists that I never complete. Recently, I even made a list of lists and sectioned it off into the different rooms of my flat, with a weekly list of chores to do by each room.
Then I have a list of appointments I need to make, and a shopping list I know I’ll never buy half the stuff on, like ingredients to make packed lunches for the week in order to save money. I often send myself reminder emails the night before I get into work, so when I’m at my desk, they’re at the top of my inbox.
It’s my way of trying to stay in control of my spiralling life admin, but when I end up not doing the things on my list, I’m left feeling even more overwhelmed. Then I bury my head in the sand so I don’t have to think about everything I’m not doing - and end up less productive than before. It’s a vicious circle.
And it’s about more than about making lists. I tend to break my life up into compartments: work, relationship, friends, and family. I want to give all of them equal attention, but I can’t do that because there just isn't enough time, so then I feel stressed, guilty, and permanently tired.
I overcommit constantly but always manage to make my deadlines with work. The sacrifices are more in my social life where I’ve ended up having to cancel nights out last minute and let down friends who end up angry and disappointed.