Special effects are practical on-set effects. They are created during filming, not in post-production. They include explosions, rain, snow, fire, smoke, and animatronics. They are physical, tangible, and real. They are the opposite of visual effects, which are digital. Special effects are as old as cinema. Georges Méliès used them in the early 1900s. They are still used today, often in combination with visual effects.

Special effects are created by a special effects supervisor and their crew. They rig explosions, operate rain towers, and control fire. They build animatronic creatures that move and blink. They create the wind, the fog, and the debris. They work with the director and the cinematographer to integrate the effects into the shot. They must be safe, repeatable, and visually convincing. A special effect that goes wrong can injure someone or ruin a take.

Special effects have advantages. They are real, so the actors react to them. They are captured in camera, so they do not need to be added later. They can be cheaper than digital effects for certain shots. But they are also limited. They cannot create a dragon or a spaceship. They cannot be undone. They must be reset for each take. The best films use both practical and digital effects, choosing the right tool for each shot. Special effects are the physical magic of cinema.