History Main / ObscuredSpecialEffects

* Many critics have noted how ''Film/{{Godzilla|1998}}'' (1998) had all of its New York scenes filmed at night and/or in heavy rain as a means of obscuring the CGI-heavy Franchise/{{Godzilla}} himself; CGI looks better in rainy nights, as exemplified by the T-Rex escape in ''Film/JurassicPark''. Of course, this also meant an implausibly long continuous downpour over New York that seems to last at least two weeks in-story.

* WebVideo/HBomberguy's video ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbZMqS-fW-8 Scanline: The Power of VHS]]'' praises the use of this trope in movies like ''Film/{{Alien}}'', ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', and ''Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre'' as heightening the tension by [[NothingIsScarier not showing us the thing we're supposed to be afraid of]], keeping us in the dark about where - and sometimes, what - the threat is. He extends this not just to the filming techniques themselves but also the poor picture quality of their VHS releases, which he feels helps to make effects seem a bit more real. He gives the example of a memorable scene in ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'', when the T-1000 melts up out of the floor: as a kid watching the scene on VHS, he was terrified, but in the crystal-clear picture quality of a newer release of the movie, the dated CGI is kind of [[ConspicuousCGI distracting]]. He also discusses lower budget movies that deliberately [[{{Retraux}} mimic earlier picture quality]], like ''Film/{{VHS}}'' and ''Film/WNUFHalloweenSpecial''.

** ''Film/HaloNightfall'' starts on another Earth-like planet, with the Elite that Locke and the others chase seen primarily in fleeting, long-distance glimpses. When the action moves to a shard of a Halo, the scenes there take advantage of the numerous charred valleys to avoid having to frequently show the surreal vista of the damaged RingShapedWorld. The fact that most scenes take place during "night" on the shard also means that [[spoiler:the CGI-heavy colony of Hunter worms can be similarly obscured as needed.]]

Let's say the crew behind some movie or TV episode is in charge of portraying a creature, vehicle or object through SpecialEffects. However, the effects budget, effects technology and/or the skill of the effects team are somewhat lacking. They can't show their special effects asset too often or openly without running into SpecialEffectsFailure, but the nature of the story means that they can't ''not'' show the asset and [[TakeOurWordForIt hope the audience will just use their imagination]] either.

* The Xenomorphs in the ''Film/{{Alien}}'' movies are often shown in the dark or not shown in full at all, allowing the audience to fill in the blanks themselves. ''Alien: Resurrection'' makes the ConspicuousCG of the otherwise practical creatures obvious by having them do things such as swimming or climbing ladders.

* When we do finally see the yeti in '' Film/TheAbominableSnowman'', they're mostly in shadow.

** And then Adam Rosner, creator of ''WebVideo/TribeTwelve,'' a series ''known'' for visual effects, went "[[PrecisionFStrike Fuck that]]" and [[AvertedTrope decided to show off his talent with the Adobe Cloud.]] Notable instances include the famous Mary Asher Phone Call video, in which Slender Man ''bullrushes the camera'' without moving a single bit, stop-motion style. Then, as Noah is running away, he turns to look back at Slender Man... who is completely unobscured, looks horrifically ''real'' and has his CombatTentacles. The entire video is mostly free of distortion, giving everyone a good look at the series's strong point: It looks '''''real.'''''

* ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'': While LettingHerHairDown during "Let It Go", [[http://24.media.tumblr.com/41664ddd71900691fbf8b3bba0b1dd7b/tumblr_mxeeplqrCJ1ssndyfo1_r1_500.gif Elsa's braid passes through her left arm.]] The animators found this couldn't be fixed without breaking Elsa's model, so they obscured it a bit by having her body block the view of the phasing. This is a surprisingly common trick in 3D animation.

* ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'': While LettingHerHairDown during "Let It Go", [[http://24.media.tumblr.com/41664ddd71900691fbf8b3bba0b1dd7b/tumblr_mxeeplqrCJ1ssndyfo1_r1_500.gif Elsa's braid passes through her left arm.]] The animators claim this couldn't be fixed without breaking Elsa's model, so they obscured it a bit by having her body block the view of the phasing.

* Many critics have noted how ''Film/{{Godzilla|1998}}'' (1998) had all of its New York scenes filmed at night and/or in heavy rain as a means of obscuring the CGI-heavy Franchise/{{Godzilla}} himself. Of course, this also meant an implausibly long continuous downpour over New York that seems to last at least two weeks in-story.

** In ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' and ''Film/TheLastJedi'', Luke wears a black glove on his mechanical right hand. In-universe, it's to conceal the damage to his artificial skin; and also gives a connection to Darth Vader. Out of universe, it allows for money to be saved on VFX and makeup.

* Done for the opposite reason in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom:'' When the filmmakers saw the footage of the animatronic human sacrifice being lowered into the flames, they decided it looked ''[[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath too real,]]'' and added some flames to the foreground to make it harder to see.

* Whenever one character hands another character something in ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', expect the cutscene to be framed shoulders-up. The player can see just enough body language to get the "one person gives the other an item; the other accepts it" gesture without at any point seeing the item they're supposedly exchanging. (Which, needless to say, is because the item isn't rendered and often doesn't have a world model in the first place.)

* If an item exchange is occurring in ''VideoGame/MassEffect'', there's a 99% chance it will have this in effect, to the same degree as in the above example (which isn't surprising as they were both made by Bioware). A frequent example is a character giving another a Datapad, as well as items in the first game that are given but only implied, yet are given vector icons in the Missions screen. The Prothean Trinket given to you by the Consort is another notable example.

* In the original ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' trilogy on the UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation}}, characters are never actually shown opening or closing doors. When a character besides the player (or even a monster) enters or leaves a room, it is often done off-screen.

** And then Adam Rosner, creator of ''WebVideo/TribeTwelve,'' a series ''known'' for visual effects, went "[[PrecisionFStrike Fuck that]]" and [[AvertedTrope decided to show off his talent with the Adobe Cloud.]] Notable instances include the famous Mary Asher Phone Call video, in which Slender Man ''bullrushes the camera'' without moving a single bit, stop-motion style. Then, as Noah is running away, he turns to look back at Slender Man... who is completely unobscured, [[NightmareFuel looks horrifically]] ''[[NightmareFuel real]]'' and has his CombatTentacles. The entire video is mostly free of distortion, giving everyone a good look at the series's strong point: [[SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome It looks]] '''''[[SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome real.]]'''''

** And then Adam Rosner, creator of ''WebVideo/TribeTwelve,'' a series ''known'' for SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome went "[[PrecisionFStrike Fuck that]]" and [[AvertedTrope decided to show off his talent with the Adobe Cloud.]] Notable instances include the famous Mary Asher Phone Call video, in which Slender Man ''bullrushes the camera'' without moving a single bit, stop-motion style. Then, as Noah is running away, he turns to look back at Slender Man... who is completely unobscured, [[NightmareFuel looks horrifically]] ''[[NightmareFuel real]]'' and has his CombatTentacles. The entire video is mostly free of distortion, giving everyone a good look at the series's strong point: [[SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome It looks]] '''''[[SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome real.]]'''''

-->-- '''[[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Yahtzee Crowshaw]]''', on the overuse of vision-obscuring dust in ''VideoGame/BattlefieldBadCompany2.''

** In ''VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake'', after the suspension bridge leading to Zanzibarland's detention camp is blown up, Gray Fox shows up piloting the new Metal Gear D model. Rather than actually animating Metal Gear showing up, the upper half of the screen turns black momentarily only to gradually unveil Metal Gear's feet. The mech then walks off-screen during the "talking heads" conversation sequence between Snake and Fox.

* Many times in ''Series/StarTrek'' The Original Series.

** The "Vampires Exploding into Dust After Being Staked" effect cost ''$5,000'' per use. As a result, the majority of vampires (especially in the first few seasons) are staked ''just'' off-screen, with the disintegration sound-effect playing. By the time the show's budget had been raised to a point where they could afford to use it every time (and the cost of CGI had been reduced by a significant figure), vampires had long ceased to be the main threat on the show -- which, naturally, let Buffy kill scads of them when they infrequently show up.

* Due to time and budget limitations, the only characters who have unique models in the original ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'' are [[BigBad Andrew Ryan]] and [[MadArtist Sander Cohen]] (not counting [[spoiler:Fontaine's OneWingedAngel form]]); other characters like Atlas and Brigid Tenenbaum simply use re-skinned [[{{Mooks}} splicer]] models, hidden by either being kept in the dark or being kept at a distance.

[[folder: Film -- Animation ]]

* ''{{Disney/Frozen}}'': While LettingHerHairDown during "Let It Go", [[http://24.media.tumblr.com/41664ddd71900691fbf8b3bba0b1dd7b/tumblr_mxeeplqrCJ1ssndyfo1_r1_500.gif Elsa's braid passes through her left arm.]] The animators claim this couldn't be fixed without breaking Elsa's model, so they obscured it a bit by having her body block the view of the phasing.

[[folder: Film -- Live-Action ]]

* Many critics have noted how ''Film/{{Godzilla 1998}}'' had all of its New York scenes filmed at night and/or in heavy rain as a means of obscuring the CGI-heavy Franchise/{{Godzilla}} himself. Of course, this also meant an implausibly long continuous downpour over New York that seems to last at least two weeks in-story.

* Franchise/StarWars:

[[folder: Live-Action Television ]]

*** We very rarely see the TARDIS materialise in the Hartnell stories, because the special effect (a StopTrick with a fade) was incredibly difficult to do at that time (the BBC could only afford two edits per episode, and the effect required an edit). Usually, we see the crew in the TARDIS interior while the sound effect plays, the Doctor confirms that it's safe outside and opens the doors, we see a glimpse of the new location through the doors from the crew's perspective, and we then cut to the characters emerging outside, seeing the TARDIS already standing wherever it is. Eventually, as technology improved, the effect became easy and cheap to do to the point where the effect could be used to introduce ''Doctor Who'' actors appearing on chat shows or ''Series/BluePeter'' and so on -- the TARDIS is shown materialising and dematerialising whenever necessary with no fanfare by Tom Baker's tenure. Even reconstructions of {{Missing Episode}}s can animate this one with a bit of clever Photoshop and a fade...

*** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E2DinosaursOnASpaceship "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship"]] mainly shows its eponymous dinosaurs lurching through the dark, foggy halls of its eponymous spaceship.

*** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E8ColdWar "Cold War"]] mainly portrays [[TheReptilians Ice Warrior]] Skaldak in a suit of armor made with practical effects. But when the time comes for scenes where he sneaks through the submarine ''without'' his armor, only his arm reaching down from the ceiling is shown most of the time, while a close-up of his face is done in the shadows. Only near the end is his unarmored, unconcealed face seen, and then not even for more than half a minute.

*** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E9Flatline "Flatline",]] Clara busts up a wall using a sledgehammer - only the wall is *just* out-of-shot and we never see any actual damage.
* A common complaint about ''Series/{{Heroes}}''. Many characters had CoconutSuperpowers, but others had very flashy powers that they... [[FightUnscene happened to use just off-screen]]. Most notably, a fight between the two most powerful characters was shown as just flashes of light visible below a closed door.
* The "Vampires Exploding into Dust After Being Staked" effect on ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' cost ''$5,000'' per use. As a result, the majority of vampires (especially in the first few seasons) are staked ''just'' off-screen, with the disintegration sound-effect playing. By the time the show's budget had been raised to a point where they could afford to use it every time (and the cost of CGI had been reduced by a significant figure), vampires had long ceased to be the main threat on the show--which, naturally, let Buffy kill scads of them when they infrequently showed up.

*** Another one relating to the seventh season. The BigBad can take the form of anyone that has died and its true form is only seen a couple of times. Quite lucky that Buffy herself has died twice in the show's continuity, which means that Creator/SarahMichelleGellar could easily double up and appear as the First when they didn't want to stretch the budget by bringing back old cast members for every episode.

** Several battles were depicted where the enemy ship either could not be seen onscreen or only as a blip or flashing light ("[[{{Recap/StarTrekS2E10JourneyToBabel}} Journey to Babel]]", "[[{{Recap/StarTrekS1E26ErrandOfMercy}} Errand of Mercy]]", "[[{{Recap/StarTrekS1E18Arena}} Arena]]"). This is, of course, because building and filming of model miniatures is expensive, especially during the 1960s where the labor involved cost many times more than the actual model which was often cheaply built from wood scraps and pieces of plastic toy models. The Klingon warship did not appear until the third season, despite Klingon ship encounters occurring througout the first and second season. Prior to that, Klingon ships were not seen since no models had been designed or built. "Errand of Mercy", for example, only showed footage of magnetic pulse bolts hitting the Enterprise. This actually works to establish that starship battles are very much like submarine battles (or even modern aerial combat) where, unlike the SpaceDogfight, the enemy ships cannot see each other with the naked eye. As a result, the space battles on the original series are often postulated as an example of what realistic space combat might look like.

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

* In order to contribute to the NothingIsScarier atmosphere, ''WebVideo/MarbleHornets'' and other video series in Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos generally portray [[HumanoidAbomination Slender Man]] at night, at a distance, and/or filtered through some OminousVisualGlitch (the visual and audio glitches are also used to imply his presence even if he isn't actually in the shot). This also helps to hide the fact that Slendy is actually a guy wearing white gloves and a [[TheBlank featureless white mask]]. In fact, one early ''Marble Hornets'' entry became somewhat controversial among fans because it ''didn't'' try to conceal him and gave viewers ''too'' good of a look at him.

* In the commentary for the ''A Nightmare On Elm Street'' episode of ''WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd'', James Rolfe and Mike Matei explain they kept Freddy Krueger's face hidden in darkness to make up for the fact that they were unable to apply proper makeup for the character. The only time where Freddy's face is seen is at the end of the episode, [[TheUnreveal when he shapeshifts into the Nerd to taunt him]].

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' has an unusual example. The Stormtroopers are FacelessGoons, as in the movies, but so are the crews of Imperial ships. Every imperial crew member has the peak of their cap pulled very far down over their face so their eyes are obscured. This means that the creators don't have to animate eyes, and it obfuscates the fact that [[OnlySixFaces every imperial crew member has the exact same character model]].

* ''WesternAnimation/ScrewySquirrel'' lampshades and plays with this, often presenting a tremendous crash or almost any random combination of sound effects accompanying a blacked-out screen, followed by Screwy lighting a match and remarking “sure was a funny gag - too bad you couldn’t see it!”

* Many critics have noted how ''Film/{{Godzilla 1998}}'' had all of its New York scenes filmed at night and/or in heavy rain as a means of obscuring the CGI-heavy Franchise/{{Godzilla}} himself.

* ''Film/{{Contamination}}'' suffered a similar case as the shark in ''Jaws,'' in that the monster prop just did not work! As a result, the director had to chang how the scene was handled, how it was lit, etc, and with many quick shots, and as a result is often considered the most competently directed part of the film.

* ''Contamination'' suffered a similar case as the shark in ''Jaws,'' in that the monster prop just did not work! As a result, the director had to chang how the scene was handled, how it was lit, etc, and with many quick shots, and as a result is often considered the most competently directed part of the film.

* ''Film/Contamination'' suffered a similar case as the shark in ''Jaws,'' in that the monster prop just did not work! As a result, the director had to chang how the scene was handled, how it was lit, etc, and with many quick shots, and as a result is often considered the most competently directed part of the film.

* In ''VideoGame/StarcraftIIHeartOfTheSwarm'', one of the cinematics involves a Dominion Battlecruiser launching {{Drop Pod}}s. The part of the ship from which they are launched is covered in fog, most likely because on the stock model used for the cinematics, the pods are ''much'' smaller.

* Fairly often in ''Franchise/MetalGear'', a shot will be done in a slightly strange way to avoid showing something difficult to animate in a game, usually things that involve textures or models changing gradually (like writing on something or removing an article of clothing), when the easiest way to do it is with the StopTrick -

* ''WesternAnimation/..'' unusual example. The Stormtroopers are FacelessGoons, as in the movies, but so are the crews of Imperial ships. Every imperial crew member has the peak of their cap pulled very far down over their face so their eyes are obscured. This means that the creators don't have to animate eyes, and it obfuscates the fact that [[OnlySixFaces every imperial crew member has the exact same character model]].

''WesternAnimation/ScrewySquirrel'' lampshades and plays with this, often presenting a tremendous crash or almost any random combination of sound effects accompanying a blacked-out screen, followed by Screwy lighting a match and remarking “sure was a funny gag - too bad you couldn’t see it!”

** And then Adam Rosner, creator of ''WebVideo/TribeTwelve,'' a series ''known'' for VisualEffectsOfAwesome went "[[PrecisionFStrike Fuck that]]" and [[AvertedTrope decided to show off his talent with the Adobe Cloud.]] Notable instances include the famous Mary Asher Phone Call video, in which Slender Man ''bullrushes the camera'' without moving a single bit, stop-motion style. Then, as Noah is running away, he turns to look back at Slender Man... who is completely unobscured, [[NightmareFuel looks horrifically]] ''[[NightmareFuel real]]'' and has his CombatTentacles. The entire video is mostly free of distortion, giving everyone a good look at the series's strong point: [[VisualEffectsOfAwesome It looks]] '''''[[VisualEffectsOfAwesome real.]]'''''