Special Effects in Animation and Live-Action

My first two term paper scores were both above 80; I will not be writing a third term paper.

Outline for the Third Term Paper

Films of Choice - Wizard of Oz, Hercules

Special Effect - Tornadoes -> The tornado in The Wizard of Oz and the wind titan in Disney’s Hercules

Thesis - In the world of film, one can find intriguing depictions of tornados in The Wizard of Oz and Disney’s Hercules.

Body Paragraphs -

The Wizard of Oz (Film 1) -  Special effects for a tornado are used in the first act of The Wizard of Oz.

→ Analysis 1: After testing several materials and seeing which resembled a tornado most, it was decided that a 35-foot long muslin sock connected to a steel gantry would be most visually suitable. A combination of dirt, wind, and air compressors were used to shape the appearance of the tornado sock while a miniature car was off-screen moving the contraption forward. A recording of the tornado sock was projected onto a translucent screen on the back of the Kansas set behind the three-foot tall miniatures of Dorothy’s house, barn, fence, and crops. Additionally, several machines and stagehands launched wind and debris across the Kansas set to help make the tornado appear more realistic.

→ Analysis 2: Thematically, the tornado is the one force that can cause Dorothy the most physical harm in the real-world of Kansas. This contrasts with the many extravagant forces of nature that Dorothy faces a few minutes later in the dreamworld Land of Oz. Thus, it is suitable to conclude that the special effects for the tornado in The Wizard of Oz are meant to feel as close to a real-world tornado as possible: much focus and attention to detail, from the leaves that are launched by the stagehands offstage to the cloth material used to make the tornado itself.

→ Analysis 3: Without a doubt, the tornado seen in The Wizard of Oz feels extremely realistic, especially compared to the special effects used for tornados in Hollywood movies today (such as the underwhelming tornado effects seen in Twister). One can compare the movement and general atmosphere of the tornado in The Wizard of Oz to that of actual tornado recordings (viewable on YouTube and other sources) and see the uncanny resemblance. The fact that no green screens nor CGI was used for The Wizard of Oz’s tornado helps make it clear that practical special effects have a level of realism that can continue to stand the test of time.

Disney’s Hercules (Film 2) - Special effects for a tornado are used for the appearances of the wind titan (named “Stratos”) in Disney’s Hercules

→ Analysis 1: The design for the wind titan was based on concept art drawn by British cartoonist - and production designer of the film - Gerald Scarfe, and thus fits his very exaggerated, quirky art style. The titans in this movie are based off of elements (generalizations of elements - earth, fire, wind, etc), so having a wind titan characterized as a giant being with a tornado body and tornado arms makes sense and looks very visually captivating. Additionally, the titans in the movie are violent, beastly predecessors to the Greek gods and ruled the earth before Zeus banished them to a sealed prison in the depths of the Earth; so one can conclude that the lack of human-like body parts on the wind titan reflects the wind titan’s lack of humanity.

→ Analysis 2: Several sequences in the film - drawn by professional 2-D animators with knowledge on the physics of animation - demonstrate the extraordinary power of the wind titan, such as a shot where he tears up several debris in a Grecian field and violently drags a terrified sheep along with him. One can see the pieces of debris (and the sheep) being accelerated around in a repeating elliptical motion during the shot. This is an accurate depiction of how powerful tornadoes can be. In another shot, Hercules grabs the wind titan by the base of his tornados, and uses him to scoop up the other Titans before they are all tossed into the stratosphere. Of course, this is not physically possible in the real world, since wind is not a solid object, but it is very possible in the world of Greek mythology. Furthermore, real tornados do not perpetually exist as a semi-immortal being with the capacity to speak and see, but this is acceptable for Greek mythology too.

→ Analysis 3: Within the fantastic universe of the film, the wind titan feels realistically at-home. In a world of gods, demons, and mythical creatures, a gigantic beast made out of sentient tornados does not feel too far-fetched. Short moments such as the sheep comically being dragged in close-up shot through the wind titan’s body makes the tornado feel like a reasonably powerful force of nature, so the tornado feels like one that fits snuggly in the universe of Greek mythology.

Conclusion -

• The tornado effects present in The Wizard of Oz and Disney’s Hercules are very well done and make sense within the confines of their respective story’s universe.
• When producing special effects for any storytelling medium, it is reasonable to make sure the effects enhance the story and make sense in the story, as shown by the effective (no pun intended) tornado effects of The Wizard of Oz and Disney’s Hercules: the former is extremely realistic while the latter is extremely exaggerated, but viewers accept both because the special effects make sense for their stories.