20 Shots from Cult Classics Before and After VFX Magic

We all know that film and TV producers use special effects, but you will be surprised to find out how much CGI is being used even in scenes where it’s seemingly unnecessary. With the help of colorful screens, a photorealistic three-dimensional image of a location can be generated by the graphics engine in real-time then changed and adapted to any time of day, angle, lighting, etc. This is how, for example, “The Mandalorian” was filmed even though it looks almost 100% real. But just a few years ago, Michelangelo Antonioni was painting grass to make it look greener, and Stanley Kubrick waited for the sunbeams to hit the camera lens in just the right way.

These photos show how much your favorite movies rely on the magic of special effects and smart editing.

1. The first Avengers movie has over 2,200 VFX frames, which have been produced by over fourteen different studios. Imagine how many of those frames were in all of the MCU projects.

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2. The gravity-defying fight of Doctor Strange vs. Ebony Maw

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3. Thor, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot about to wreck some fools

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4. Spidey, Hulk, and Warmachine look so goofy without the VFX

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5. Gamora showing Thanos funny cat videos

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6. Hulk after skipping leg days and Thor after skipping everything

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7. Just Rocket being sad. No Drax here

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8. This is how the Reverse Snap looked like

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9. They just removed half of his face in post-production.

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10. About 60% of the action in Gravity was created using computer graphics.

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11. Good old Space Jam was a real treat for the kids, mixing cartoons and reality.

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12. Working with so many green screens must feel like you’re going mad.

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13. In Star Wars Episode I, the people watching the pod races were actually a bunch of colorful Q-tips.

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14. Behind every cute droid stands a man wearing all green.

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15. There’s that Mandalorian movie magic!

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16. The Matrix VFX people made a lot of money on that movie.

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17. It’s just a guy in blue tights cosplaying a tiger — your usual D&D druid.

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18. A blue Genie on a blue set? That’s straight out of an Eiffel 65 video.

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19. The funniest part about the Life of Pi is the blue tiger dummy.

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20. Speaking of funny dummies, how about that Drogon from the Game of Thrones?

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