ABSTRACT
This chapter defines the difference between visual and video effects. Visual effects are basically special effects that can be created in front of the camera and therefore include stuff like explosions, crashes, fire, water, rain, snow, and so on. Video effects include all forms of video manipulation performed on the video signal outside the context of a live-action shoot and therefore after the camera has stopped turning. The terms visual and video are becoming increasingly interchangeable today as more and more effects involve the integration of live-action footage with computer-generated imagery in order to create composite images which would simply be impossible to photograph directly. Other regularly used video effects include the 'record' viewfinder graticule, with line corners and a 'REC' graphic superimposed, or a binocular effect over a long shot. The problem editing green screen sequences is that an older computer's speed can slow down as it processes that second stream of video.
