ABSTRACT
Science fiction has a long history with special effects and, necessity being the mother of invention, it’s in constant need. This chapter goes through modern solutions for many visual effects issues that relate directly to this genre. Although the genre has the long shadows of Trek and Wars cast over it right now, science fiction film has existed since the dawn of the medium itself. Sci-fi, a high-budget genre right now, has its roots deep in low budgets. Throughout the late 1930s and 1940s the genre was tied to a B-movie reputation, but in the 1950s the big-budget sci-fi film emerged with Destination Earth and The Day the Earth Stood Still. In the 1960s the genre was transformed, with the social consciousness of Planet of the Apes and the stunning effects of 2001: A Space Odyssey. However, the genre went wild in 1977 with the arrival of Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
