History Main / ObscuredSpecialEffects

* The ''Film/TheCrawlingEye'' uses this for MonsterDelay, keeping the aliens wreathed in a strange fog (which they are using in-story for HostileTerraforming purposes) until the climax, when we finally get a proper look at them.

* Likewise, ''Film/TheMist'' has a whole plethora of monsters, obscured by... well, you can probably guess. We do get a pretty good look at a few of them, but others - including perhaps the most iconic creature in the movie, the gargantuan, six-legged Behemoth - are barely more than silhouettes.

*** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E2TheDaleks The Daleks]]", we never get to see the creature inside the Dalek casing, save for a blink-and-you-miss-it shot of a dark hand-like organ twitching underneath a coat. This was because they'd already blown all the budget on building loads of Daleks, but it fortunately worked as NothingIsScarier horror as well. The "Dalekmania" tie-in media intentionally censored the appearance of the mutant in its Dalek cross-section diagrams for these reasons.

* Many critics have noted how ''Film/{{Godzilla|1998}}'' (1998) has 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 can do smooth and shiny surfaces really well and thus looks better in rainy nights, as exemplified by the T. rex escape in ''Film/JurassicPark''. Of course, this also means an implausibly long continuous downpour over New York that seems to last at least two weeks in-story; even during the day, the city seems to be perpetually enshrouded in gloomy weather.

* ''Film/TheSignal2014'': Nic covers up his transparent legs with tape and sheets so he doesn't have to look at them. Of course this saves on the special effects costs, too - considering he's a main character. Also note that while Nic's legs are cool and see-through, Jonah's hands are not. This allows for them to be simply practical-effect gloves for the actor to wear. Note they even save on him wearing those by having him wear the biosuit gloves even after the reveal.

** Several battles are depicted where the enemy ship either is either not 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 doesn't appear until the third season, despite Klingon ship encounters occurring throughout the first and second season. Prior to that, Klingon ships are not seen since no models had been designed or built. "Errand of Mercy", for example, only shows 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.

* In ''Doc Louis's VideoGame/PunchOut'', if you knock Doc's chocolate bar out of his hands, he'll take off his red jacket, revealing a leopard-print shirt. Of course, we only see Doc opening up his jacket before cutting to Little Mac's reaction. When we cut back to Doc, he's already tossing his jacket away.
* 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, not to mention making the item's animation look believable was ''incredibly'' difficult at the time.

* WebVideo/HBomberguy's video ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbZMqS-fW-8 Scanline: The Power of VHS]]'' (co-written with Shannon Strucci) 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 distracting. He also discusses lower budget movies that deliberately [[{{Retraux}} mimic earlier picture quality]], like ''Film/{{VHS}}'' and ''Film/WNUFHalloweenSpecial''.

* Similar to the ''Back to the Future'' examples in ''Film/TheFly1986'' while the audience does see the actual moments when inanimate objects or baboons are teleported away in an enveloping flash of light, the moments when Seth does the same thing aren't shown, likely because the effects were difficult enough to pull off with the former. However, this is handled with enough flair that it's easy to miss. In the climax, the audience does see the moment in full when [[spoiler: Seth, now wholly Brundlefly (which is an animatronic effect), is accidentally teleported with part of the pod's door and wirings]]. Also, anyone who is teleported is initially obscured by mist upon arriving in the receiver pod (the larger the being the more mist there is), which builds suspense as to what has or hasn't happened to them.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonLetsGoPikachuAndEevee'' also does this in various occasions, which is more baffling because Nintendo Switch is clearly more powerful than Nintendo 3DS and should be able to feature cutscenes showing more action than "characters stand around and talk".

* The above ''Crawling Eye'' was a big part of the inspiration for ''Film/TheFog'', which keeps its ghostly killers hidden in the eponymous fog. We rarely see more than a silhouette.

* Downplayed in ''Film/TheBeastFromTwentyThousandFathoms'', where the look we get at the beast is obscured by a blizzard - but we still get a pretty damn good look at the thing, and the effects hold up pretty well today.[[/folder]]

* ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysSecurityBreach'': Its fairly drastic transformation between Sun and Moon is given a Hand Wave by never being depicted onscreen. The only time the switch is actually depicted has Sun fall off a desk below camera and rise up again as Moon. Understandable, given how the animatronic isn't designed with any visibly transformable parts and especially given that the two forms have different color schemes and fabrics.

* 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 CGI of the otherwise practical creatures obvious by having them do things such as swimming or climbing ladders.

* 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 can do smooth and shiny surfaces really well and thus 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; even during the day, the city seems to be perpetually enshrouded in gloomy weather.
* The mechanical shark in ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' was used sparingly, not so much because it was unconvincing, but because it was malfunctioning all the time. Therefore, Creator/StevenSpielberg cut out the parts where the shark was constantly malfunctioning. This decision helped [[NothingIsScarier rack up the suspense]], making the film all the more effective. In the sequels, the shark model worked a lot better and allowing the filmmakers to avert this trope - and the end result wasn't anywhere near as scary.

** Only brief, partial glimpses of the wampa in ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' were shown, as it let the guy portraying it just wear portions of a suit at a time. But for the Special Edition, Creator/GeorgeLucas decided to include shots showing the whole creature. Same thing with the aquatic creature that swallows and spits out R2-D2 on Dagobah.

* The 1988 film adaptation of ''Literature/HeartOfADog'' only shows Sharik in his initial dog form and in the later stages of his transformation into a human, where he could be portrayed by human actors in makeup. The way he appears in the initial stages of his transformation, which the original novel describes as him looking like a freakishly-proportioned dog beginning to walk on its hind legs, were obscured by the curtain around his hospital bed to avoid having to show anything other than a furry arm.

* This was done for ''Film/TheThing1982'', not because the effects were unconvincing, but because it was scarier. The complete lack of this obscurity in [[Film/TheThing2011 the prequel]] was cited as one of its weaker points.

* When we do finally see the yeti in '' Film/TheAbominableSnowman'', they're mostly in shadow. This helps to cover up any flaws in the special effects, naturally (this being a movie from TheFifties, even the good effects weren't ''that'' good), but also helps to preserve [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow the air of mystery around the creatures themselves]].

** 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 throughout 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.

* ''Series/TheXFiles'' had an episode where the BigBad was a [[BigCreepyCrawlies humanoid insect monster]]. The suit that was created for this creature ended up looking very silly, so it was obscured with motion blur effects to create a sense of buzzing, insect-like movement (which was [[NightmareFuel much more effective]]).

** If an item exchange is occurring, chances are it will have this in effect similar to 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.
** When Vega takes his shirt off to show his new tatoo in the Citadel DLC, you never see the T-Shirt move. The camera cuts ''imply'' that he's taking it off his topless body, but the shirt itself isn't actually visible. Similarly, whenever Commander Shepard is in bed, they'll always be sleeping on top of it, avoiding having to animate or simulate the blanket being moved.

** 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 throughout 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.

* 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 can do smooth shiny surfaces really well and thus 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.

* Used rather tastefully in ''Film/BackToTheFuture'': Marty's original jump to 1955, his entry back to 1985 and cinema crash, and Doc leaving for 2015 at the end of the movie, all happen either as a POV inside the car or entirely off-screen. Since Marty leaving 1955 and the signature ending shot of the film are depicted fully (as well as Marty witnessing his first jump once returning to 1985), the audience doesn't pick up on it.[[note]]As an homage to this, ''[[Film/BackToTheFuturePartII Part II]]'' shows jumping to 1985A in first-person, as well as jumping to and just before leaving 1885 in ''[[Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII Part III]]''.[[/note]]

* ''Film/TheTerminator'' has the title character wear his iconic CoolShades in part so the movie doesn't have to use the practical effects to portray his exposed red robot eye in the latter half of the movie.

* ''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!"

[[/folder]]

* 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 distracting. He also discusses lower budget movies that deliberately [[{{Retraux}} mimic earlier picture quality]], like ''Film/{{VHS}}'' and ''Film/WNUFHalloweenSpecial''.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', when the possessed Cloud is turned upside down by Sephiroth, a white flash is used to hide the animation. An animation was made for this (and placeholder textboxes in DummiedOut versions of the scene reveal that one had been especially requested for this sequence) but it was discovered it looked glitchy in the simplified polygonal style ''VII'' uses for its characters.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' has one of the silliest ever examples of this in the medium. The musicians don't have a walk cycle, so in order to prepare them for a gig they ask Yuna to 'push them' out of the door (which is done by having Yuna run against them so that their model slides along the dloor).

*** "[[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.

** There's an episode of the spinoff ''Series/{{Angel}}'', where Wesley and Gunn fight a two-headed, fire-breathing, twenty-foot tall monster. Neither it nor the battle is shown on screen. This might be because it wasn't particularly crucial to the plot. An earlier episode featured the Haxil Beast, a huge demon that was nonetheless shown on-screen for quite a while.
** This is done with invisibility in one episode early on in the show's run. We get one quick CGI shot of a floating baseball bat and at one point the invisible character hits another character with a baseball bat... the hand of which is just off-screen.

** 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 throughout 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.

* 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 can do smooth shiny surfaces really well and thus 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.
* The mechanical shark in ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' was used sparingly, not so much because it was unconvincing, but because it was malfunctioning all the time. Therefore, Creator/StevenSpielberg cut out the parts where the shark was constantly malfunctioning. This decision helped [[NothingIsScarier rack up the suspense]], making the film all the more effective.