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Stranger Things’ Vecna is the perfect merger of practical makeup and VFX

The fourth season of Stranger Things is over, and I finally got to watch the finale two days ago. Even if you haven’t watched it yet, I’m sure you’ve seen Vecna, the monster appearing in the series’ latest season. I mean, memes are all over the Internet!

Either way, you may find it interesting to see how this creepy creature was made. It was almost entirely practical effects, with a dash of VFX just to make it extra-terrifying. In this video from Vanity Fair, you’ll see how Vecna was made, what challenges the team faced, and you’ll hear plenty of interesting details from the set. Whether you’re a Stranger Things fan or not, I’m sure you’ll find the video really fun.

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The new Lord of the Rings intro looks CGI, but it’s 100% practical effects

Two decades after the first movie and seven decades after the first book was published, The Lord of the Rings is getting its TV show version. Perhaps you’ve already seen the gorgeous intro that Amazon prime recently launched. It totally looks like it was CGI – but it actually isn’t. The whole thing is a combination of masterfully created and filmed practical effects.

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Nope, those 30-year-old Terminator 2 bullet effects weren’t CGI, they were practical effects

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When 1991’s Terminator 2 was first released, it was an effects marvel, in terms of both Special Effects and Visual Effects. The two terms are essentially differentiated by their use of computer graphics, and Terminator 2 was pretty groundbreaking in terms of the latter. But it still contained a lot of practical effects – and that included the bullet hits on the mimetic polyalloy (“liquid metal”) T-1000 Terminator, portrayed by Robert Patrick.

A recent post to the Stan Winston School Instagram account recently shared a behind the scenes clip along with an excerpt from The Winston Effect: The Art and History of Stan Winston Studio by Jody Duncan. It demonstrates and explains how the bullet impacts were created using “vacumetalized” latex, foam and a spring-loaded mechanism triggered by an RC controller.

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ILM used a Canon 5D III and Nikon 28mm lens to shoot space scenes for The Mandalorian

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It’s funny how a company can use both the latest insane bleeding-edge tech as well as gear that’s deemed “obsolete” by the masses in order to produce one of the most popular TV shows to ever grace our screens. But that’s exactly what Disney did for The Mandalorian – New season begins tomorrow!

Although much of The Mandalorian, and particularly the space scenes, were created using some pretty next-level CG, a number of scenes for the new series in the show were actually shot using the Canon EOS 5D Mark III DSLR… With a $500 Nikon 28mm f/2.8 manual focus lens.

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These epic Formula 1 photos were made with model cars, household items, and practical effects

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I think I like Formula 1 photos as much as I do the racing itself. And when I saw Lampert Benedek’s announcement of Formula 1 series, I knew something awesome was coming up. And I was right: Lampert has created some darn amazing F1 photos without even going to the races. He made his own track and used model cars and practical effects to create miniature, yet realistic photos. He kindly shared them with us along with some BTS shots and video.

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Photographer creates epic cinematic stories in quarantine using toys and compositing

The current coronavirus situation has suddenly left many people without work and consequently with too much time on their hands. Many photographers are using this extra time creatively, and Arjun Menon is one of them. This India-based photographer combines action figures, household objects and some Photoshop magic. What he ends up with are photos that look like they came straight from the big screen.

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Here’s how to create an epic toy photography action scene at home

If there is the perfect time to shoot toy photography, it’s right now. It’s not like we’re leaving home much, right? Isaac Alvarez of UNPLUG Production has made a great tutorial that will inspire you for creating epic battle scenes with toys. You don’t need to leave your home and you can use whatever you find lying around. And by combining practical effects and lighting with some composite work, you can make create some awesome work.

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Photographer recreates moon landing photos with LEGO and practical effects

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This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. On 20 July 1969 astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong set their feet on the surface of the moon. And in 2019, many people have paid tribute to them in all sorts of ways. Hungarian photographer Lampert Benedek was one of these, and he did it in his recognizable fashion: with LEGO.

Lampert used the popular toy bricks to recreate the iconic photos of the Apollo 11 mission. He kindly shared his work with us, as well as some backstory. And since he used mainly practical effects, the BTS images are as fun as the finished ones.

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Photographer Felix Hernandez creates fantastic worlds by building small scale models

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Mexican photographer Felix Hernandez is known for his amazing photos of toys and miniatures that he builds himself. He relies mainly on practical effects and mixes them with some Photoshop, and we’ve shared lots of his photos here on DIYP. Felix combines his knowledge in photography, design and image manipulation with craftsmanship to create some mind-blowing work. Today, he has decided to tell us more about it: how he does it, where he finds inspiration, and what his work means to him. And of course, he kindly shared plenty of his beautiful images and BTS shots.

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Here’s how to combine practical effects with CGI in videos

If you’re shooting videos, you can find both practical effects and CGI useful. But combining them can give you limitless creative possibilities. In this video, Liran Friedman of Artlist will show you how you can bring practical visual effects and CGI together and shoot an original and fun video.

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