ENVIRONMENTS
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ENVIRONMENTS
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CGW M a r ch / A p r i l 2 014
films most people think of as "visual effects movies" are
those with in-your-face effects, science-fiction locations,
and CG characters. But to filmmakers, so-called "invisi-
ble" effects are every bit as important and perhaps even more influential. In-
visible effects allow filmmakers to shoot a "location" in any kind of weather
at any time of day, to control the lighting, to re-create historical settings, and
to enhance imagined locations, as three current films attest: 300: Rise of an
Empire, The Monuments Men, and The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Warner Bros.' 300, directed by Nuam Murro and written by Zack Snyder,
propels audiences into ancient history as imagined by graphic novelist
Frank Miller. Columbia Pictures' The Monuments Men, directed by George
Clooney, marches viewers into the horrors of World War II. Scott Rudin
Productions' The Grand Budapest Hotel, directed by Wes Anderson, waltzes
the
■ LOOK EFFECTS ARTISTS
used CG tools to enhance Wes
Anderson's invented world for
The Grand Budapest Hotel. On
the opposite page, artists at
MPC extended greenscreen sets
for 300: Rise of an Empire.