Question 1

True or false: Special Effects in Film for the 1993 Jurassic Park used both CGI and animatronic dinosaurs.

Accepted Answer

True. The T-Rex was mostly an animatronic, but full CGI was used for the gallimimus herd and some close-ups.

Question 2

True or false: The special effects for the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey used a rotating set to simulate artificial gravity.

Accepted Answer

True. The rotating 'centrifuge' set, built inside the Discovery spacecraft, used centrifugal force to create the illusion of gravity for scenes like the iconic jogging sequence.

Question 3

True or false: Special Effects in Film for the 1977 Star Wars used motion-control cameras to shoot spaceship miniatures.

Accepted Answer

True. John Dykstra developed the Dykstraflex motion-control system to precisely repeat camera moves for realistic space battles.

Question 4

True or false: The special effects in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz used CGI to create the tornado.

Accepted Answer

False. The tornado was a 35-foot muslin cloth rotated by a wind machine, with dust and debris added. No CGI existed in 1939.

Question 5

True or false: Special Effects in Film for the 1972 The Godfather used digital compositing to place the horse head in the bed.

Accepted Answer

False. The horse head was a real severed head obtained from a slaughterhouse. No digital effects were used.

Question 6

True or false: Special Effects in Film for the 1980 The Empire Strikes Back used CGI for the AT-AT walkers.

Accepted Answer

False. The AT-ATs were stop-motion models created by Phil Tippett. CGI was not used until later films.

Question 7

True or false: The 1933 film King Kong used an 18-inch model in stop-motion animation for its special effects.

Accepted Answer

True. The giant ape was an 18-inch armatured model animated frame-by-frame by Willis O'Brien, a pioneering stop-motion technique.

Question 8

True or false: Special Effects in Film for the 1994 The Shawshank Redemption used CGI for the rainstorm scene.

Accepted Answer

False. The rain was real, and the escape tunnel was a practical set. No CGI was used for the rain; it was all practical effects.

Special Effects in Film Trivia Questions