Performing Illusions

Cinema, Special Effects and the Virtual Actor

By: Dan North

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Hardcover | 1 January 2008 | Edition Number 1

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The camera supposedly never lies, yet film's ability to frame, cut and reconstruct all that passed before its lens made cinema the pre-eminent medium of visual illusion and revelation from the early twentieth century onwards. This volume examines film's creative history of special effects and trickery, encompassing everything from George Melies' first trick films to the modern CGI era. Evaluating movements towards the use of computer-generated 'synthespians' in films such as Final Fantasy: the Spirits Within (2001), this title suggests that cinematic effects should be understood not as attempts to perfectly mimic real life, but as constructions of substitute realities, situating them in the cultural lineage of the stage performers and illusionists and of the nineteenth century. With analyses of films such as Destination Moon (1950), Spider-Man (2002) and the King Kong films (1933 and 2006), this new volume provides an insight into cinema's capacity to perform illusions.

Industry Reviews

An important addition to debates about film realism... Highly recommended to scholars. -- Elizabeth Lathrop * Film Quarterly *

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Non-Fiction Arts & Entertainment Photography & Photographs Special Kinds of Photography Cinematography Video Photography Film, TV & Radio Specific Films Film Theory & Criticism Society & Culture Dance & Other Performing Arts

Introduction
The Magic Theatre	p. 24
Rituals of Incarnation	p. 66
Invasion and Excusion	p. 94
The Computer	p. 116
The Synthespian	p. 148
Conclusion	p. 179
Notes	p. 185
Bibliography	p. 205
Index	p. 227
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

Performing Illusions

Cinema, Special Effects and the Virtual Actor

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

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