P1: Analysis of Three Existing Special Effects

Scale Model (VFX with scale models)

In this tutorial, they show you how they used a miniature helicopter toy to create the effect of a real helicopter taking off in a desert. Film makers would use this effect as it is generally cheaper than hiring an actual helicopter and pilot for a very short shot, also it would be a lot safer and easier to carry out the shot using a miniature. This person started off the shot by creating a basic sky and layering some camera stills on top of each other to make a realistic background. After colour correcting the helicopter and placing it into the shot, they 3D animated the rotating blades. To finish, they added some heat haze for realism.

 Scale models have also been in Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The city of Minas Tirith is approximately 14 feet tall and is often used in conjunction with a CGI landscape in the film.

Prosthetics (Rambo "First Blood" Special Effects : FX Reboot)

This video explains how Rambo sewed up his wound when he fell through a tree in 'First Blood'. The wound was created with nose putty, liquid latex, vaseline, red food colouring, and corn syrup. The fake wound was connected to a tube with an air pump hidden in the actors armpit, and when squeezed, fake blood would come out of the cut in his arm. Film makers use effects like these in their films as is done properly, they can create an extremely realistic effect without actually hurting any actors. Others aspects of this effects that are very important would be the colour of the skin, if the putty wasn't painted to match the actors skin tone then the entire effect would fail. Also the actor must show pain to match the seriousness of the wound or it wouldn't be believable. 

 Prosthetics are also used to make other effects on the body, not just wounds. For example in The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films, the large hobbit feet are created by gluing the actors feet into pre-made rubber feet and airbrushing the seems.

Knife Throw (Knife Throw Effect : BFX)

This effect is fairly simple to create. All that is necessary is two fake knives (one to be cut in half). The first step is to film the actor throwing the knife and pan quickly away from them. Next,  film the shot again but with another actor with the knife in their head. Simply blend both shots when editing and it's finished. Similarly to the prosthetics, film makers will use this effects to create a very realistic shot without harming any actors. To make the shot more realistic, fake blood can be used where the knife hits the person, also sound effects can be very useful here too.

This effect is used during a sword fight in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, except the sword is thrown into a wooden door instead of a persons head.