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So, I want to vote to close this question which asks about special effects, as it seems to me that this is something that could easily be researched with just a couple of Google/Wiki clicks. The same could be said for the slew of 'stunt' questions this past week.

However, I don't see anyone else down voting it - and I wonder if I am being too harsh.

In fact, seeing as I answered one myself about crying techniques, perhaps I am being a bit hypocritical - but I would be interested to get my fellow users' views on these types of queries.

Do they really have a place here? Especially if they are easily found answers? Should we allow all types of questions, just to keep our numbers up?

Just thinking out loud here :)

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  • I do admit, my question is a bit vague. If you have a way to improve it, please let me know :)
    – Tablemaker
    May 21, 2012 at 20:42

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The question is a bit vague, and could be answered by presumably a whole slew of techniques - but I didn't have much of a problem with it. What techniques do they use to make someone thinner, more muscular, bigger etc..... I can see that as a useful question.

I don't see it in the same category as a general reference such as material that can be trivially found out about an actor or a movie on IMDB or Wikipedia.

I struggled with the stunt question too, particularly:

How is it decided whether to use a stunt in a scene? Are there official rules for that?

To my initial reading this seemed rather a non question - if the script calls for a dangerous thing to be performed - isn't this automatically a stunt? Other questions like this have cropped up with a 'is there a rule for that' which seems a little naive to me. However on reading the answer I reappraised the question as perhaps asking how do they decide what sort of stunts are performed, who performs them, or how much CGI is used instead to mitigate cost or danger. The question could do with editing to clarify this point perhaps.

So, to sum up - I don't think they are closable, but perhaps people should be more willing to use downvotes or to suggest edits if they think they are not good questions.

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    Down votes are a powerful tool that don't get used much here, yet, I feel. If my question gets down-voted into oblivion, then I know I did something wrong and should want to improve upon it.
    – Tablemaker
    May 21, 2012 at 20:43
  • Here's the thing, I'm torn on this. At the end of the day these ARE interesting questions, and I can understand TylerShads' desire to get the community talking on these topics, I just wonder if they are along the lines of "How are day for night shots produced?" which ultimately belongs in the Video Production site. That said - as I have alluded to before, the movie-making site is dead in the water, and this seems to be as good a place as any to pose these questions - perhaps splitting the original question up into film specific questions might be the way to go - plus create more content ;)
    – Nobby
    May 21, 2012 at 23:02
  • Sorry if I'm not making a lot of sense, but I'm in the middle of a final edit on my latest animation and it's due in a week and it isn't ready and my head is imploding.
    – Nobby
    May 21, 2012 at 23:03
  • @Nobby I'm sure if you take a slight break from us, you'll still be leagues ahead of our rep :p
    – Tablemaker
    May 22, 2012 at 3:20
  • But I have to come back every day -I NEED that gold badge - LOL :D
    – Nobby
    May 22, 2012 at 16:15
  • @Nobby - aaaha - when I was at about 90 consecutive days I was starting to become twitchy about missing one day - lol - sad.
    – iandotkelly Mod
    May 22, 2012 at 19:59
  • Just to follow up on this sad thread - I got to 96 consecutive days, logged in at 8:30 one evening and found that I was starting again. Turns out SE resets according to UST. Notification of this time zone use might be nice. Suffice to say I was mighty pissed.
    – Nobby
    Jun 2, 2012 at 14:14
  • @Nobby - I would be mighty pissed too. Yes it switches over at 8pm Eastern in summer and 7pm I winter. I guess it might be too much for them to base it off our preferred time zone but that would be nice.
    – iandotkelly Mod
    Jun 2, 2012 at 14:34
  • I nearly threw a hissy fit and canceled my account... LOL
    – Nobby
    Jun 2, 2012 at 18:30
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I always thought that this question is too broad (and therefore not a real question), each example has a very special explanation, which can or should be explained in its own question.

LOTR works with camera tricks, Captain America looks like green-screening and the "one person playing twins" in the social network is something very special too.

There is general name for all these thing: Special Effects, but I don't think that here is any science that explains all 3 Effects.

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