We've all sat spellbound in our seats at the cinema and thought, How did they do that? as another stunning special effect unfolds in front of us. These effects are the product of a whole range of movie-making techniques and visual trickery that make us believe in the exploding spaceships in Star Wars or talking animals in Babe. This book goes behind the scenes to look at the methods that are used to create this world of make-believe, exploring subjects such as optical compositing, blue screen processing, projection methods, animation, animatronics, matte art, digital production, pyrotechnics and sound effects. It is illustrated with film stills, production shots and specially commissioned diagrams.