Visual effects, usually shortened to VFX, are the techniques used to create, alter, combine, or extend imagery that cannot be captured exactly as desired during live-action photography. VFX can be spectacular and highly visible, but they are also frequently used for invisible corrections, cleanup, set extensions, crowd work, and environmental changes.
How VFX Fits Into Production
VFX is not just a late post-production patch. On many films, the work begins in pre-production through concept art, technical planning, previs, and shot design. What is photographed on set often depends on what will later be added, removed, or transformed digitally, which is why directors, cinematographers, production designers, editors, and VFX supervisors have to coordinate from the start.
What It Changes
Visual effects expand what cinema can show. They make impossible spaces believable, extend practical builds, blend live action with animation, and support worlds that would be unsafe, unaffordable, or physically impossible to capture. At the same time, VFX changes workflow, because shots may continue evolving long after principal photography has wrapped.
In Practice
Modern VFX includes compositing, tracking, rotoscoping, simulation, digital doubles, matte painting, motion capture, and virtual production pipelines. Famous examples such as Jurassic Park and Avatar are often cited because they show how VFX can redefine spectacle, but a large amount of effects work in contemporary cinema is designed precisely so the audience never notices it.