%% If you something incorrect, fix it, don't respond to it. Bullet points are for lists, not discussions. TVTropes is not a forum.

Admit it: When the [[Film/IndependenceDay White House got blown up and the Empire State Building got incinerated]], you wanted to turn on the news and make sure that they were still there. When that first [[Franchise/JurassicPark T-Rex roared]] you had to fight the urge to run out of the chair. You spent years wondering where the casting department found those [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings talking trees]] and just what the hell kind of stuntwoman could really get her head to [[Film/TheExorcist turn a full 360 degrees]]. You really did [[Film/{{Superman}} believe a man could fly]], and shouted "Hallelujah!" [[Film/{{Avatar}} as the cliffs floated by]]. [[Film/TheThing1982 When the alien revealed itself,]] you screamed "[[HolyShitQuotient WHAT THE FUCK?!]]" [[Film/StarWars and then when that Star Destroyer flew overhead]], you wanted to ''duck''.

This is the work of Visual Effects artists. Some should be called Visual Effects Geniuses. For some reason, most of them are called employees of IndustrialLightAndMagic, but that's another story.....

The unique properties of film and video allow people to contrive images of things that aren't actually there, or aren't actually happening. Some are things that are impossible, like, say, [[Film/{{Terminator}} liquid metal that can mimic people and objects]]. Others happened at a time long ago, like [[Film/{{Gladiator}} ancient Roman]] Literature/{{b|enHur}}attles. Others can and do happen all the time, but are too difficult to actually film, like a [[Film/TheFugitive train derailment]] for instance.

The advent of computer technology has allowed film and television to reach a point where it seems [=ANYthing=] that can be imagined can be filmed. Surprisingly though, visual effects go back to the very beginning of filmed work. Some of the methods used are surprisingly [[BambooTechnology low-tech]], they include animation, double exposure of film, models and stop-motion. Some are so effective, they are used even today.

There are plenty examples of [[SpecialEffectFailure bad attempts]]. These are the [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Crowning Moments of Awesome]]; the visual effects achievements that have set the standard. And helped sell tons of tickets.

When this standard applies to everything, from [[ShownTheirWork historical accuracy and technical competence]], this would be called DoingItForTheArt.

Compare it to SceneryPorn / AwesomeArt and TechnologyPorn. See also {{Demoscene}}.

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!!Subpages
[[index]]
* [[VisualEffectsOfAwesome/{{Film}} Film - Live Action]]
* VisualEffectsOfAwesome/VideoGames
[[/index]]

!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Advertising]]
* This AardmanAnimations [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZSzY6auc8g Duracell ad]]; Parkouring pink rabbits have never looked so good.
* Pretty much any commercial done by DigitalDomain, {{Framestore}}, ImageEngine, IndustrialLightAndMagic, TheMill, Creator/MovingPictureCompany, PrimeFocus or {{WETA}} will fall into this. Partially because they're also responsible for shows and films such as ''WalkingWithDinosaurs'', ''{{Primeval}}'', ''TheLegendOfKorra''[[note]]to an extent, see below[[/note]], ''Series/{{Stargate SG-1}}'', ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', the ''Film/HarryPotter'' series, ''TheTreeOfLife'', The ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' movies, ''Film/{{Avatar}}'', ''Film/{{Watchmen}}'', ''Film/{{District 9}}'' and ''{{Titanic}}'' among others.
** Some good examples include [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oCF-QFuoYs Godzilla Vs Charles Barkley]], [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUo3r76KeBo a Bank commercial featuring toys]], [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnazs2t5Brg both]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1N91LyATF0 trailers]] for ''TransformersFallOfCybertron'' and ANY of the 5 Gum ads.
* This ad for [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrJmiR-ke6U Romanian mineral water]].
* The Cartier ad, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaBNjTtCxd4&feature=my_favorites&list=FL18ApHMbOQRi6DPuHmPRvZA L'Odyesse de Cartier]].
* The ad for [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmlRK8Da6GE&feature=my_favorites&list=FL18ApHMbOQRi6DPuHmPRvZA Absolut Greyhound]] set to Swedish House Mafia is [[IncrediblyLamePun absolutely]] amazing.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPbDW_Y72Aw This Ikea ad]][[note]] one of MPC's commercials[[/note]] utilizes very seamless editing. There are also two similar versions in one minute and in 30 second long formats. The best part? all three were done in under a week.
* TransformersGenerationOne managed to pull this off in their commercials' hand-drawn segments later on, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugF7cyTOuro take]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TSwBuw9WYk a]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nF4m8wtJwY look]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anime]]
* Whenever a Digivolution sequence in ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' features heavy use of CGI, the result is usually nothing short of awesome. This Troper's jaw all but dropped when she saw [[Anime/DigimonAdventure Agumon and Gabumon's Warp Evolution]] as a kid and the effect has not diminished over the years.
* ''BloodTheLastVampire'' is one of the most disturbingly realistic, ultra-fluent pieces of animation out there. At times you really don't know if it's CG, digitally animated or actually filmed material.
* ''Anime/AfroSamurai''. Both it, its compilation movie, and the video game adaptation. It has perhaps some of the most stunning, mind-bending visuals ever produced. Yes, even {{Gorn}} is beautiful here.
* Anything StudioBONES produces. Just [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr8qaKzSPS8 watch]] the opening to ''OuranHighSchoolHostClub'' and tell me you didn't climax to all the awesome.
* The ''RebuildOfEvangelion'' series certainly qualifies. While anime and animation in general has a reputation of having really cool special effects (helped by the fact that they don't have to worry about inserting live action actors into the shot) the first ''Rebuild'' movie stands out because if it weren't for the characters' heads and a ''slight'' color change a lot of scenes and character models would be indistinguishable from RealLife.
** Bonus points to Ramiel, who went from just a giant floating octohedron to a shapeshifting, incomprehensible [[EldritchAbomination horror.]]
* The original ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' itself had some spectacular-looking battles, which can be further appreciated by the fact the series was made on a ''very'' tight budget.
* '''''{{Karas}}.''''' Along with the above-mentioned ''Evangelion 1.11'', it is one of the most beautiful anime ever created.
* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' certainly qualifies. Gainax is probably the only anime studio that can take a battle between two robots in space, a concept that's been used hundreds of times, and make it look so overwhelming. [[spoiler: Freaking ''galaxies'' are being thrown and blown up, the special attacks become more devastating with each move and Gurren Lagann JUST. KEEPS. GROWING.]]
** Cranked UpToEleven with the two compilation movies. Especially the second one...
* ''SummerWars''. The scene where Love Machine rises into his OneWingedAngel form is what dreams are made of
* ''FiveCentimetersPerSecond''. The SceneryPorn is overwhelming! Current poster movie for CherryBlossom and SceneryPorn.
* ''Manga/{{Akira}}'' is gorgeously animated throughout, but the best animation has to be Tetsuo's mutation. That scene definitely would not have been as effectively [[NightmareFuel horrific]] if it had been handled by lesser animators. And the film wasn't animated by ''any'' computers whatsoever.
* ''{{Paprika}}''. In terms of both technical quality and pure visual imagination.
* The transformation sequences from 80% of MagicalGirl anime.
** The ''Anime/PrettyCure'' franchise takes this UpToEleven. The [[Anime/FutariWaPrettyCure first]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUMvFDV0rr8 one]] even features an [[StuffBlowingUp explosive]] PillarOfLight with awesome [[GivingSomeoneThePointerFinger finger pointing]] during the InTheNameOfTheMoon speeches!
* ''RedLine''.
* When the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' Contest battles and appeal rounds (special mention goes to the Grand Festival) in the Diamond and Pearl series are one thing, the upgraded effects and animation in Unova have skyrocketed to coolness levels [[ReadingsAreOffTheScale off the freakin' charts]].
* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya''. The Yuki v. Asakura battle.
* ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaTheMovieFirst''. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Every. Single. Second. of. it.]] The Nanoha series is known for having good animation and detailed fight scenes, but TheMovie takes it to another level entirely. The animation quality is so incredible, so vast, so amazingly detailed, that it ''must'' be seen in order to be believed. It makes the animation of the [[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha original series]] that it's retelling look several ''decades'' older than it actually is.
* Currently, ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamUnicorn'' is the single greatest example of this trope throughout the Franchise/{{Gundam}} franchise. While it is expected for an OVA series to have higher quality, the amazing detail of every fight in this is awe-inspiring.
** Not to be outdone, ''[[Anime/Gundam00AWakeningOfTheTrailblazer Gundam 00: A Wakening of the Trailblazer]]'' is also this, [[spoiler:being the first in the history of the ''Gundam'' franchise to introduce aliens...]]
* The silver eyes and [[spoiler:Awakened Beings]] in ''{{Claymore}}''.
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}} Shippuden'' really started ramping up its appearance in the Pain Arc, specifically episode 166-167. The story of Naruto's birth was portrayed in movie-quality animation, and the beginning of the Fourth Great Ninja War mixed a little ''CG'' into the awesomeness.
* ''KaraNoKyoukai'' and ''FateZero''.
* ''Manga/OnePiece'' on some occasions. Luffy's DynamicEntry [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk9gUUvVGjg kick on Hody]] shows exactly what ToeiAnimation is capable of when they're not cutting corners.
* ''Anime/MiraculousLadybug'' is gorgeously animated. According to the producers, it has a budget of over ''eleven million''.
* Every movie that came out of Creator/StudioGhibli. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis EVERY. SINGLE. MOVIE.]]
* The 2011 Anime/HunterXHunter by Madhouse is astounding. All one needs to do is watch [[spoiler:the fight between Gon and Hisoka in heaven's arena]] to realise that the animation is on par with most big budget anime films. Later on, Kurapika vs Uvogin gets movie level animation.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film - Animated]]
* ''{{Rango}}'': Holy Fuck, Rango. By IndustrialLightAndMagic, this is one of the most detailed animated films ever. And it is beautiful.
* ''{{Mulan}}'' had some amazing CG effects such as the Hun army barging down on the outmatched Imperial Army was a truly amazing piece of animation, and [[NightmareFuel terrifying]].
* ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon''. Some of the most well-animated hair and fur Dreamworks has produced (checkout the Badass beard on Stoic the Vast), as well as eyes that obviously had irises BEHIND a transparent cornea, as opposed to painted on top of a ping-pong ball shape and stuck into the sockets. Not to mention Hiccup's WET hair. Each character also moved in a unique fashion, and ZOMFG The [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu Green Death]]
** The flying scenes especially had enough details to qualify as more than just RuleOfCool [[DragonRider dragonriding]]. When Toothless wasn't being cartoony, his behavior and movements were incredibly realistic, down to his pupils widening and shrinking slightly when he blinked.
* There are points in watching ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'' when you can't tell what's computer graphics and what's real ocean.
** Here's a hint: it's all computer graphics.
** Also traits of the ocean characters in the movie were based off actual marine biology. Seriously if you research the fish, you'll find that almost all of it is accurate, minus the extra intelligence and CarnivoreConfusion, of course.
** According to the Making Of documentary, as part of the research for this movie Andrew Stanton got some real underwater footage and challenged the animators to duplicate it. When the results were screened a few days later, Stanton couldn't tell which clips were original and which were animated.
*** Pixar works with a rendering algorithm called REYES, an acronym for "Renders Everything You Ever Saw".
* Similarly, ''WesternAnimation/WallE''. There are moments -- fairly frequent moments -- where you wonder how EVE actually works, because she and WALL•E are ''obviously'' real machines...
* ''{{Ratatouille}}'' should be on the list just because they actually managed to make food that did not fall in the uncanny valley using CGI. Fabric is actually really hard to animate well so it was actually very impressive that they were able to make it work well.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coraline}}'' stretches the limits of what can be done with just stop-motion and a crapload of patience. Not counting mistakes, the average production speed is 3 seconds per day. The movie is 100 minutes long.
** The garden scene is CGI, right? [[Film/SupermanReturns WROOONG]]!!! They made loads of flowers that lit up for the scene. A sequence that is impossibly beautiful, even by CGI standards, was made with '''[[MemeticMutation A BOX OF SCRAPS!]]'''
** The scenes where parts of the Other World disintegrated. Try telling yourself that they're from a stop-motion film.
** As an example of TropesAreNotGood, the sheer beauty of the animation made some people think that it's just a generic CGI animation.
* Every single scene from ''Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren''. It's debatable if the plot was good, but every single frame was a masterpiece of CG gorgeousness.
** Especially when ''Advent Children Complete'' was released. Taking advantage of Blu Ray's high definition to touch up the effects such as adding dirt stains on faces/clothes etc. It looks stunning, even moreso than the regular edition.
* {{Pixar}} has quite a few but in the close up shot of Woody and Al in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'' you could swear Al is a live actor because he just looks so freaking real.
** So Pixar's CrowningMomentOfAwesome is that they averted the UncannyValley? Awww yeah.
** ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3''. The incinerator scene has ''the'' best CGI fire ever. Well played, Pixar. [[NightmareFuel Holy SHIT]], but well played.
* {{Brave}} is absolutely incredible, too. There are ''over 100,000 hairs'' rendered on Merida's head.
* The spectral rabbits in the ''WatershipDown'' film. Holy ''crap''. They seriously look like they were pencil-shaded, and that alone is awesome - pencil shading would take a ''very'' long time to animate effectively!
* Although all of G-Force (the movie) looks pretty good, the bit the takes the cake has to be the car/hamster ball chase scene. The FBI guys get to the hideout, and the team have to do a runner in a motorized vehicle that is made out of three hamster wheels and a miniature supercharged engine. They break out the window... the whole scene gets more and more "holy crap this is cool" until the finale of the scene where the FBI jeep accidentally ''sets off a ground fireworks display, so that the rest of the scene is G-Force fleeing from the FBI while fireworks are exploding all around making it look like they're out driving a fireball.''
* The CGI animation in ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'' is generally solid, but when the top of the tower collapses, it's like a massive [[AnimationBump Art Bump]].
* The hair in ''Disney/{{Tangled}}''. They went out of their way to make it wet, blow, touched. Then the detail paid to the textures, water, everything but the skin. That's probably [[UncannyValley for the best.]]
** There's also the unbelievably beautiful "I See The Light" scene. Anyone who didn't find their jaws dropping at the sheer gorgeousness of the lanterns slowly emerging and surrounding the two watchers so obviously falling in love with each other has a heart of stone.
* Try watching ''SinbadLegendOfTheSevenSeas'' in BluRay / Hi-Def. The scenes with The Roc are especially well done; and it's movements are ''scarily'' birdlike.
* TheAdventuresofTintin. The 2011 film. The absolutely gorgeous 2D opening sequence was incredible enough, but then you see the CGI, and it's so realistic that within a few minutes you forget you're watching a CGI, motion-captured film. Some of the effects used for different scenes were incredible, as well-in order to film a scene on a rocking boat, the actors were put on a swinging walkway. And Snowy the dog? No motion capture whatsoever. The animators thought that motion-capturing a dog wasn't realistic enough and just animated him by scratch. Special mention has to be given to the transitions between scenes, as well, especially the one between Tintin and Haddock being lost at sea to the Thom(p)sons walking down the sidewalk.
** Two scenes that ''must'' be mentioned here: the ''insane'' EpicTrackingShot ChaseScene through Bagghar, and the transition between flashback and present day while Captain Haddock is telling the story of the ''Unicorn'' while he and Tintin are in the desert. The way the ''Unicorn'' just crashes over the dunes and everything transforms into ocean has to be seen to be believed.
* Laika topped their work on ''Coraline'' with ''ParaNorman''. The storm clouds and wispy hands created by the witch's ghost utilized thin delicate fabrics. The flying dirt clods when the Zombies rise from their graves involved actually rigging the dirt clods to "fly" up. And the climax with Norman confronting the witch was achieved through MediumBlending all three animation mediums of stop motion for the body with sculpted [[MotionBlur smear frames]] to achieve a face warping effect, with 2D and CG elements for effects such as lightning.
* The Greedy sequence in ''RaggedyAnnAndAndyAMusicalAdventure'', as well as 95% of ''WesternAnimation/TheThiefAndTheCobbler''.
** ''TheThiefAndTheCobbler'' certainly counts as this. The film was completely drawn at 24 FPS as opposed to 12 FPS for even the best animated films today. The film also includes unbelievably accurate 3D polygonal effects that were ''entirely drawn by hand''. In fact, despite the film's visual complexity, ''no computers'' were ever used to produce the film - every minute of it was drawn on traditional cels. There's a good reason the film took ''over 20 years'' to complete.
* The "Night on Bald Mountain" sequence from ''Disney/{{Fantasia}}''. Especially when you think about the fact that it was originally made pre-computer, so it was all done by hand.
** ''Disney/{{Fantasia 2000}}'' is no slouch when it comes to amazing-looking sequences. The ''Firebird'' segment is the most prominent demonstration of this.
** The Rhapsody in Blue segment may actually be an even better example the visual effects. The animation is ridiculously smooth and yet manages to remain in sync with the very fast paced "Rhapsody in Blue", thanks to an obscene amount of frames per second. It also pushed the limit of computers, by using nearly more colors than it could display.
* The colors in ''{{Pocahontas}}''! Oh god, THE COLORS! ..of the wind. No, but seriously. Check it out.
* ''ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' is an amazing return to style for Disney Animation. There is an incredible amount of detail on buildings etc., lots of cool colors, and prepare to be blown away by "[[VillainSong Friends on the Other Side]]", "[[ArtShift Almost]] [[IWantSong There]]" and "Dig A Little Deeper".. That last one takes the cake. It's jaw dropping in its use of lightning effects and it looks breathtaking.
* From ''Disney/TheLionKing'', the wildebeest stampede. Even without the emotional torque that comes with the scene, the sight of hundreds of individual wildebeest thundering over the cliff is nothing short of spectacular.
* ''{{WesternAnimation/Rise Of The Guardians}}''. All of it. Special mention, however, must go to the Sandman's [[spoiler:giant dinosaurs in the climax]].
** There's a good reason why it won the Annie Award for Best Effects in an Animated Production.
* WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt, while mostly using 2-D animation, has segments that used a bit of CGI. Thankfully, all of them are still stunning to look at. They include the following scenes: the burning bush, the plagues, the angel of death, and the crossing of the Red Sea.
* ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast'' was one of the first animated movies to use CGI, in the famous ballroom scene, and it has aged -very- well. The rest of the movie, especially when animating the Beast, or showing any shots of the Castle, are absolutely gorgeous and some of Disney's finest.
** ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' Ditto for this movie for being some of Disney's finest animation. Any scene featuring the titular Cathedral are painstakingly copied from the original building, considered a masterpiece of architecture. The way Medieval Paris is animated makes it look big and grand, and while perhaps not as polished as Beauty and the Beast, still counts for [[SceneryPorn scenery porn]] when it's not being nothing short of epic during the climax's battle for the Cathedral.
* The KungFuPanda films not only have beautiful scenery, but stunning action scenes as well. Special mention goes to Tai Lung's escape from prison in the fist film and the Zen Ball Master scene in the second.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action Television]]
* The TV miniseries adaptation of ''Series/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' mostly suffers from terrible special effects, except for the sequences where we see the guide itself. All these shots are actually hand drawn replicas of typical computer graphics of the time, and even today you'd swear they were actually done on a computer.
* For all the mocking the classic series of ''Series/DoctorWho'' receives at times for its {{Special Effects Failure}}s, nobody can deny just how awesome that opening shot of the space station in "Trial of a Time Lord" was. Unfortunately later spaceship shots in the same serial don't even come close that quality - the BBC just couldn't afford it.
** Also - the sailing ships in space in "Enlightenment".
** And the guy's face melting in "Dragonfire".
** The gorgeously realised alien planet in "Survival" is a definite contender as well.
** The Ninth Doctor's (and by extension, the Tenth Doctor, Derek Jacobi's Master's, [[spoiler: the Eleventh Doctor's and both of River Song's)]] regeneration sequence.
** The shot of Mars at the end of "The Waters of Mars".
** The special effects are pretty much the only good thing about "[[SoBadItsHorrible Time and the Rani]]". The planet and the bubble traps in particular look incredible for their time.
** In the new series, we have the airborne shots of New New York in "Gridlock".
** The [[SceneryGorn ruins of Pompeii]] at the beginning of the fourth series are absolutely breathtaking.
** The climax of "The Poison Sky". ''They set the sky on fire''.
** With a few exceptions, all of Series Five. The Atraxi. Starship UK. Blitz-era London. The [[CoolVsAwesome Spitfire vs. Dalek saucer space battle]]. The crash of the ''Byzantium''. All of them are rendered so gorgeously that it would be hard to convince someone that all of these are from a TV series, and one that used to be mocked for cheesy effects at that.
** Almost any shot of a satellite or spaceship from the new series as early as "The End of the World"'s Platform One. Also, "Tooth and Claw"'s werewolf, which still held up stunningly against that of series 4 and 5.
** March 26, 2005, teatime. The first new episode in over a decade has begun to air, and after just a minute or so, there's ''two'' of these: the beautifully rendered title sequence of the TARDIS travelling through the fiery time vortex and then the shot of Earth in orbit, which picks up speed as it moves toward London.
** Good god, the Toclafane. One of them's just a floating metal ball, but when you see an entire army of them in Earth orbit... brrr....
** "The End of the World", "42", "Amy's Choice" and "The Big Bang" successfully render ''suns'' breathtakingly well.
** "Vincent and the Doctor", the stargazing scene. The Doctor, Amy, and Vincent Van Gogh look up at the night sky, and it transforms into ''The Starry Night.'' Absolutely beautiful.
** A man's face transforming into a gas mask in "The Empty Child". The fact that they actually managed to make something that sounds that absurd look so convincing and horrifying is incredible.
** The shell-less TARDIS traveling through the Vortex in "The Doctor's Wife". ''[[CrazyAwesome Wow.]]''
** Say what you will about the Daleks, their original body and voice designs are superb, rubber plungers notwithstanding.
*** Especially when the guys inside the Dalek casings remember to move around a bit. You'd be amazed at the difference a few random twitches and slight back and forth movements make to bring those things to life.
** "The Daemons" is a very early example. Though it was filmed in the days when both technology and budget were pathetic, the producers worked wonders with just a few clever camera tricks (filters, angles and some judicious shaking). The gargoyle costume was astonishingly realistic, and for once the revealed monster (Azal) ''exceeded'' expectations. The model church which was blown up at the end was so realistic a number of people complained to the BBC, thinking they had blown up an actual building.
** Every single shot of Gallifrey we've gotten in the New Series has been absolutely ''stunning.''
** "Pyramids of Mars" had smoking footsteps and strangulations and Scarman's reverse-playback bullet-wound healing.
** The Special Weapons Dalek's lasers from ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks Remembrance of the Daleks]]''.
** They did it again with an arc that ended with a church being blown up. Their model was so realistic that a number of viewers wrote in complaining that it was a sacrilege to destroy a nice country church for the sake of a television program.
* This is one of the main selling points of ''MadanSenkiRyukendo'': the CG team just get better and better as the series progresses, and the final battle is a thing of jaw-dropping beauty.
* Watch the battle of [[spoiler:the Resurrection Ship]] from Season 2 of the re-imagined ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Reimagined}}''. Watch ''Galactica'' [[spoiler:and ''Pegasus'']] circle the Cylon ships, slowly pounding them to space dust, and avoid dropping your jaw in awe.
* All of ''Series/BabylonFive'' was notable for being trailblazing in CGI space effects.
** Another moment, from the season two finale, [[spoiler:TheReveal of what everyone sees when they look at Kosh]], was particularly notable as well. [[WordOfGod JMS said]] about it, "when you go for something this substantial: either you're going to do something truly amazing, or you're going to massively fall on your face". Watching the episode with someone who was seeing it for the first time, she blurted out "My God, he's ''beautiful''." The effects were ten years old at this point. Yeah, they nailed it.
* The CoolGate doing its "kawoosh" in all incarnations of ''{{Stargate}}''. (Okay, not the cartoon ''WesternAnimation/StargateInfinity'', in which it was just sort of a blob. And it has ''no excuse,'' what with being animated and all.) IIRC, it's done by filming underwater as a jet engine is fired from just above the surface - and filmed from a gazillion angles so they wouldn't have to go to the expense of doing it again. ''That'' is also awesome, because you wouldn't ever know that all the many gate scenes were from the same use of the trick - even when every Gate in the known universe was activated at once, leading to a great many kawoosh scenes being shown back to back. It should really have shown then, but it didn't.
** The Wraith assault on ''[[Series/StargateAtlantis Atlantis]]'' in "The Siege" looks incredible. Wraith darts against human missiles and railguns... it's amazing.
** The shot of the Goa'uld bombarding Washington D.C. in ''StargateContinuum'' is equal parts horrifying and stunning.
** ''Series/StargateUniverse'' has the scene in "Darkness" where ''Destiny'' skims the atmosphere of a gas giant. As Chloe put it, "it's beautiful".
*** Followed by ''Destiny'' emerging from the sun in "Light".
* The final episode of ''FawltyTowers'', featuring Manuel's rat running around the hotel. There are a couple spots (espeically the ending) where the rat is clearly mechanical, but for the most part it looks for all the world exactly like a real rat.
** IIRC they did use a real rat for a couple of insert shots, but mostly it's a puppet.
* The first season finale of ''{{Life}}'' shows main character Charlie Crews driving down a street in LA, when he's suddenly rammed from the side, making his car flip over. The scene is shot in a "you are there" style which is amazingly visceral.
* The episode of ''Series/{{House}}'' involving a video game developer took a different direction than [[UltraSuperDeathGoreFestChainsawer3000 their usual]] [[PacManFever television depiction]] by showing a game that's at least ten years ahead of what's possible today.
* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''. With the Dominion War arc, we got the most impressive special effects from Star Trek until the new movie came out.
** Watch the ''Deep Space Nine'' episode "Trials and Tribble-ations". Now carefully pick your jaw back up from the floor...
*** Similarly the ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' episode "In a Mirror, Darkly" (though the ''Deep Space Nine'' one did go one step beyond by seamlessly integrating original footage with new characters).
** The ''[[Series/StarTrekVoyager Voyager]]'' episode "Scorpion." The ''[[Film/StarTrekFirstContact First Contact]]'' movie had one Borg cube, this episode had 40 cubes nearly running over the insignificant Voyager on their way to face an even greater threat, and were all ''destroyed.''
*** ''Voyager'' crashing into the ice planet in "Timeless" is some goddamn ''epic'' CGI, especially for a TV show in 1998. Watch it [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdG_kxttT0M here]], and check out some badass behind the scenes art for it [[http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/09/27/voyagers-steve-burg-designed-snow-crash/ here]].
* The ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' episode ''"Twilight"''. Nothing really daring by Trek standards, except... the complete destruction of the Earth. Notable for two reasons; 1) while blowing up worlds is fairly common in post-''StarWars'' sci-fi, the effects team showed the Xindi superweapon literally boiling the planet from the inside out, complete with fault lines cracking and tearing apart. 2) It wasn't even in the script! The effects team came in on their weekends off and did the sequence just for the hell of it. Just...damn!
** The animation may not have been technically groundbreaking, the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsOE73pxpys&feature=related first 30 seconds opening credits]] for ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'' was quite beautiful.
*** ''The Next Generation'''s opening sequence too with all the planets. The "Space: The Final Frontier" bit only enhances it more.
** The opening shot of the ''Voyager'' episode "Dragon's Teeth," featuring an alien city under bombardment. An amazing amount of work for a shot that only lasts a few seconds.
*** And it was good enough to be put into the altered credit sequence of "In a Mirror, Darkly."
** The final shot of "Author, Author," with a whole cave full of Robert Picardos.
* ''Into The Universe With Stephen Hawking'''s 2-hour episode has some pretty cool special effects: The super nova "storm clouds", crunching of the earth into a black hole, making a star in Wembly Field, and a super-massive black hole with a ship going around it. Even a bunch of ball-bearings on the floor (they're in a perfect grid, but if you take a few of them out they start swirling together) is facinating.
* ''{{Primeval}}'' may not be about to keep up with its big-budget theatrical peers, but for a TV series to feature a new time-displaced creature ''every episode'', and actually set things up to make it look like it interacts with the enviroment, is nothing short of amazing for a TV series.
* Dinosaurs! from 1985 featured various sequences of stop-motion dinosaurs created by Tippett studios. Sure, they don't look so good compared to the CG dinosaurs of Jurassic Park (which Tippett went on to do), but for the time is was the greatest thing. Also helps that the documentary was hosted by Christopher Reeve.
** A scence from said documentery [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlaXIRTjNfo can be viewed here]].
* In that vein, the BBC's ''WalkingWithDinosaurs'', which for the most part featured jaw-droppingly realistic prehistoric beasts on a TV-budget, and was made in 1999. While never quite consistent, the quality [[SpecialEffectsEvolution kept improving]] throughout its sequels, and by the '05 ''Walking with Monsters'', the CGI stood the test of closeups.
* SuperSentai (and therefore, PowerRangers) is getting there. They kept the slightly dated looking PeopleInRubberSuits from 70's era Godzilla movies long into the mid-90's. However, as of late [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcZCKZGk9z8 they're getting better and better.]] Though there ''were'' some pretty damnm convincing rubber suits. And stuntwork in some of the old ranger fights looks more convincing.
** Close your eyes and point, and you'll likely hit something gorgeous in ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger.'' Henshins, roll calls, the Gokai Change into previous teams, everything.
** For those who prefer the dialogue to be in a language they understand, search Website/YouTube for the 10th-anniversary episode "[[CrisisCrossover Forever Red]]." Excellent choreo and wirework, a BulletTime shot, speed-up-slow-down cinematography years before ''300'' made it popular... It was a VerySpecialEpisode and presumably had a larger-than-normal budget, but being able to produce that on a TV show's budget ''at all'' is still jaw-dropping.
* The scene in ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' in which Claire has just taken enough radiation to kill a platoon of Marines. She steps outside and horrifies her family and neighbors as she looks like burnt meat. And then, as she walks towards her family....her skin, eyes, and hair all restore themselves to their pristine condition. This TV show went toe-to-toe with the Visual Effects of the movies, and WON.
* ''Terminator: TheSarahConnorChronicles'' features some very good effects, particularly the effects makeup used on the Terminators themselves. The big shootouts, explosions and fight sequences do look like they came right out of a feature film. Not forgetting the title sequence which shows Terminator components coming together in mid-air, and then the eyes light up.
* ''John Adams'', the HBO miniseries, isn't exactly the first thing that comes to mind when you think of truly incredible special effects. Then you [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTUs7hDq2PA watch this.]]
* Early on, ''{{Sanctuary}}'' didn't have much of a budget. What they did have was a pretty good CGI team that made almost every set used in the first season. After a few seasons, they got the budget to build some real sets, and it's still pretty awesome that finding where they built stuff and where they used computers can be pretty hard.
* Ernie Kovacs was most likely the first who took the medium of television and really experimented with it as much as he could. Not just comedically, but especially visually. Just look at [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EHiq2SzmOs parts one]] and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtq-DRvKEKI&feature=related two]] of this sketch known as Eugene.
* [[{{Supermarionation}} SUPERMARIONATION!!!]] While the puppets themselves may or may not be [[SpecialEffectsFailure failures]], you got to admit the [[CoolPlane vehicles]] are '''''AWESOME!!!''''' This, among other things, is what puts the ''Super'' in {{Supermarionation}}.
* From the final episode of ''Series/RobinHood'', the explosion that destroys Nottingham Castle.
* ''{{Smallville}}'': Not too surprising, being the newest {{Superman}} show.
** For a show suffering from a critical lack of budget in its final seasons, it managed to pull off some very impressive visual effects in its GrandFinale with [[spoiler: the planet Apokolips moving through space towards Earth and almost crushing Metropolis.]]
* ''Series/{{Outcasts}}'' had some amazing special effects for a mostly un-remembered TV series. Shots of Carpathia from space, with the colony ship hanging over it, looked stunning, as did the white-out and the disease's visible effects.
* For a TV Movie, ''WesternAnimation/MarchOfTheDinosaurs'' has pretty nice special effects.
* ''Series/TheGoodies'' has some pretty damn good FX for a 70s BBC show (in fact, ''Series/DoctorWho'' might have learned a thing or two from them). Just watch the climax of the episode "The Movies" for some truly awesome examples. People run in and out of movie screens, a back-projected truck turns into a real one, and there's so much creative use of doubles that even the cast got confused.
* TheMuppets. You tell me they aren't alive. Later productions also try and use CG for special effects, [[SpecialEffectFailure but it's often not as fondly remembered.]] Crazy Harry's explosions on TheMuppetShow? Real. Gonzo smashing into Statler and Waldorf's balcony on a motorbike? They did something and it still looks good today.
* The penultimate episode of the second season of ''Series/GameOfThrones'' shows where the extra budget they'd received after the success of the first season went to. The pinnacle of an awesome episode? When a massive wildfire explosion (kind of like greek fire, only emerald green) literally ''disintegrates'' the middle of an invading fleet!
* The BBC ''Walking With...'' documentary series (consisting of ''Walking With Dinosaurs'', ''Walking With Beasts'', and others) were all about prehistoric animals. The shows used both CGI and animatronics to represent the animals. The CGI was good, but the animatronics were ''amazing''. You'd swear that the filmmakers brought an ''andrewsarchus'' back to life!
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Other]]
* It's not part of a movie or a TV show or anything of the sort, but the fifty-foot GiantSpider [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Princesse La Princesse]] is amazing. Even when she's walking and you can clearly see her operators... The man who made her has made other giant marionettes, some of them in the UncannyValley, all of them very impressive.
--> He creates machines, machines which are both beautiful and crazy, giant animals, strange contraptions which play music, boats which sail across the land, birds from where you can have a drink in a daydream, a world which is both real and dreamlike and which invades cities for beautiful, moving and crazy celebrations.
** On the one hand, "La Princesse" is undoubtably a magnificent technical acheivement. On the other... ''[[GiantSpider AAAAAAAAAA]][[NightmareFuel AAAAAAAAAAAAAA]][[KillItWithFire GGGGGHHHH!!!]]''
** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sultan%27s_Elephant The Sultan's Elephant]] is just as awesome, and ''sans'' the NightmareFuel.
* {{Demoscene}} deals with those visual effects very often.
* WebAnimation/HomestarRunner, mainly starting with 'A jorb well done', pretty much teaches us how well you can animate with Flash (minus the Power by the cheat shorts, but's that's intentional)
** Keep in mind that most of it is done at less than 20fps. Now tell me it isn't impressive.
* Compiz deserves a mention here - not only did it start a compositing craze that resulted in both GNOME and KDE adding compositing capability to their respective window managers, it's also responsible for causing a massive clean-up of the FOSS graphics stack.
* The Muse music video [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ck6Hcg2cjk Sing for Absolution]]. Just... all of it. Every second, every ''frame''. Particularly special mention must go to the shot as the spaceship is taking off... [[HolyShitQuotient Damn]], that's one hell of a cityscape.
* Ever wonder what it'd be like if there were candy in space? {{ILM}} has [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJoNR0ILZrM that covered]].
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nk_Ow_-sitE The Walt Disney Pictures logo from Pixar movies]].
** On a related note, there's also the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBN-Iolxa1o variant]] from ''TronLegacy'' and {{WETA}}'s [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMyHnZ4lV54 version]]. Which has been in use since 2006.
* ''Literature/TheSpiderAndTheFly'''s ghosts. Drawn seperate from the book, added in photoshop as a transparent layer with the glow.
[[/folder]]


[[folder:Theme Parks]]
* Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights has quite a few scenes and effects that seem far beyond the capabilities of a theme park trying to fit everything into a single, small building. Some examples from 2011:
** Saws n' Steam: Into the Machine includes a full waterfall inside the queue of the Jaws ride.
** The In-Between uses special paint and 3D glasses to give the impression of having walked into another dimension that violates all laws of physics and perspective, including a near-invisible floor (giving the impression of walking on fog) and a room full of lasers reflecting and refracting off of glass walls.
** Winter's Night and The Thing both have falling snow indoors, and Winter's Night manages to create actual frost on props in Florida.
** Acid Assault using 3D projections to make it look like the buildings on New York street are collapsing.
* Universal Studios Tour's new King Kong 3D experience, where Kong saves the tram from a bunch of hungry T-rexes... after they ''drool'' all over the passengers!
* At [[DisneyThemeParks Disneyland and Disney World]], the mist screen projections in {{Fantasmic}} were definitely this when it first premiered although don't have quite the impact these days due to TechnologyMarchesOn. However the new version of the show in Tokyo, along with WorldOfColor use an updated, high definition version of the same system that is flat out breathtaking.
** and now ''Disney Dreams'' at the Paris resort which has combined the mist screens with projections on the castle[[note]]which itself came from the nightly guest montage ''Magic, Memories, and You'' in Florida and California[[/note]] and Disney's trademark fireworks of awesome.
* {{ILM}}'s contributions in ''Star Tours'', ''CaptainEO'' and ''[[TransformersFilmSeries Transformers: The Ride]]'' should all warrant mentions.
** C-3PO is possibly one of the best animatronics at Disneyland-and not just because he was already a robot.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* The SlenderManMythos tends to have nice visual effects, especially in terms of the wicked distortion that goes on when Slendy's about, but in particular TribeTwelve's greatest strength is its spectacular Slenderman-tentacle effects. They may not be shown for long periods of time, but seeing them is awesome.
* [[http://ryanvsdorkman.com/ Ryan Vs. Dorkman]]. Two visual effects animators stage a lightsaber duel in an abandoned warehouse. End result: millions of views, worldwide adulation, and its own page on TheOtherWiki.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOUjfD9ND8U FedConIX (2009) opening video]], features a CGI short film featuring the USS ''Kelvin'' from the 2009 ''Film/StarTrek'' exploring a ringed planet when they are attacked by what looks like a squadron of Klingons. In swoops the ''Enterprise'' to save the day. Honestly, of all the computer-generated models, this video was the most seamless ever. Every phaser and torgedo blast, every asteroid, they even showed the subtle difference in the metal plating of the older ''Kelvin'' and the newer ''Enterprise''. Awesome? Ya think??!
** That is the (awesome) work of Tobias Richter, [[http://www.modelermagic.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/enterprise_wall04_1280.jpg king]] [[http://www.modelermagic.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/kelvin_wall02_1280.jpg of]] [[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7SVSAcj5xz4/TQl3IO3QllI/AAAAAAAACxw/nk9GKjgcGFw/s1600/lightworks3.jpg stunningly]] [[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7SVSAcj5xz4/TQl_dPp0NiI/AAAAAAAACyI/DGmLwDLpqU8/s1600/lightworks6.jpg gorgeous]] [[http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7SVSAcj5xz4/TQl1CQrXNtI/AAAAAAAACxY/4eu_somte2o/s1600/lightworksp1.jpg fan art]].
* ThereSheIs. As if the whole damn thing wasn't gorgeous enough from the beginning, [[spoiler: the scene where the screen expoldes at the airport]] in Step 5 is something else.
* JonLajoie's video for "Pop Song", which parodies the music videos of young male pop singers such as Justin Bieber.
* The latest season of Machinima/RedVsBlue is this with Rooster Teeths addition of Monty Oum (the maker of Haloid) into their ranks. Not only is the CG very cool in it self but even better is that it is put into several Halo 3 levels perfectly. And then the fights (especially ep. 10 and 19) is just jawdropping, especially for a online-show. Episode 19 takes the cake however, as the characters fight amongst cliff in the process of collapsing around them, and an entire ice shelf breaking off. (ep 10 can be found [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke9wtbzGjCI here]])
** [[{{Haloid}} EVERY]][[DeadFantasy THING]] by Montum Oum count, but the Machinima/RedVsBlue Season 9 takes the cake. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArRt-Ymopqk&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_139177 Here's]] the trailer, and it only gets better from there.
** And then Season 10 cranks it up even further, culminating in Episode 19, when [[spoiler:Tex & Carolina [[InterestingSituationDuel duke it out in zero-gravity aboard the bridge]] of the frigate ''[[CoolShip Mother Of Invention]]'' as it flies through a planet's atmosphere - trailing fire and glowing with reentry heat - and then makes a sliding crash-landing on a [[SceneryPorn beautifully rendered snowy locale]]. You'd swear the Rooster-Teeth boys got 343 Industries themselves to help them out.]]
* Creator/FreddieWong. This one man can do what entire effects studios strive for.
** He also directs the new ''VideoGameHighSchool'' on Website/YouTube, which brings his fantastic visual effects UpToEleven.
* The guys over at CorridorDigital must have sipped from the same Fountain of Visual Awesomesauce as Creator/FreddieWong.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpnD2dJgmHw This trailer for an animated short]]. No words can describe it's beauty, especially on a low budget.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkDrIacHJM The Backwater Gospel,]] an animated short about a small town who is terrified by the appearance of the Undertaker, whose arrival always means death. The animation is 3D, but looks very sketchy and gritty, and the whole thing has a dark, eerie and extremely atmospheric feel to it. Points for when (spoilered because it's best if taken by surprise) [[spoiler: the Undertaker's wings first flicker into view]] and [[spoiler: the scene where all the villages turn on each other and rip each other to shreds, which is almost entirely in silohette.]] Even just the detail put into the props, such as the Tramp's guitar, and the little details like only animating the details of the eyes during strong moments of anger and fear, is absolutely fantastic. And all from a small group of college students.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* In-universe: [[http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2738 Monique discusses the surround sound, the high definition multisensory effects, the in-round - and God preens.]]
* Any time [[RealityWarper Bec]] shows up in Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* The scene in ''StarWarsCloneWars'' where Saesee Tiin flies up to the space battle above Coruscant. You wonder what the fuss is about at first; it's just an ordinary sky filled with stars. Then you notice they aren't all white, and tiny points of light move between them. A few of the stars flare and fade. And then it hits you; they're no stars, they're battle ships, and the sky is absolutely full of them blasting the hell out of each other.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''...just, all of it. Particularly stunning examples include 'The Siege of the North' and the series finale 'Avatar Aang'. Here we see the pure might of the Avatar and his elemental powers, and is awesome.
* WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra uses '''very''' dynamic "camera" angles and effects. A great example (but still really just a drop in an ocean) is the scene in episode three when Korra uses fluid, circular dancing motions to get through a spinning maze used for airbending practice.
** The scene in Episode 1 where Korra is riding on Naga through the snow is almost heartbreakingly beautiful. Excuse me... *sniffle*
** The CG models by Creator/MovingPictureCompany's parent studio Technicolor S.A. are also amazing to look at.
* She-Ra's TransformationSequence in ''WesternAnimation/SheRaPrincessOfPower''. For an otherwise totally low-budget show, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Knwo6YFbYPM&feature=PlayList&p=6B7B2F3D6CC86EC0&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=37 this]] is a true moment of brilliance. Worth seeing OnceAnEpisode.
* ''ThomasTheTankEngine and Friends'' had absolutely spectacular model work. The people and animal miniatures were the only tells that those weren't real trains. Sadly, following the fifth season things became less and less realistic, and now the models have been retired in favour of cut-rate CGI. The quality of writing has deteriorated as well. But this is not the side for that. The model sets were stunning, absolute masterpieces. The engines carried onboard smoke machines that puffed like a real locomotive, the couplings and buffers worked, the buildings and scenery looked like they were plucked from real life. Nil Unquam Simile indeed.
* In 1994, one year before {{PIXAR}} brought ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' to the big screen, a little Canadian company by the name of MainframeEntertainment brought CG to the TV screen with the fully CG animated ''ReBoot''! Cartoons haven't been the same since.
* Any Fleischer Studios short that features their so-called "tabletop" process. The effect is obviously dated now, but for its time it was considered revolutionary.
* [[http://vimeo.com/12339283 In The Fall Of Gravity,]] an 11-minute stop motion short whose [[AnimationBump smooth]] animation rivals today's advances in CGI.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. Watch the episode "The Late Phillip J. Fry", especially the segment in which [[spoiler: Fry, the Professor, and Bender watch the universe destroy and recreate itself.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime''. The faces may feel goofy at first, but after a few episodes you will quickly forget that fact. They have to keep the cast low due to the CGI and budget, but despite this they have managed to impress and [[NightmareFuel terrify]] a new generation of fans.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' is one of the most beautiful Flash-animated products ever, because most of the time, it doesn't really seem like Flash animation. Very few if any shortcuts are used and some things that some consider to be impossible to pull off in Flash are pulled off beautifully. The second season episodes look particularly dazzling.
** Scenes that deserve special mention are Rainbow Dash's Sonic Rainboom, Princess Cadence and Shining Armor's love spell, the underground cave Queen Chrysalis traps Twilight in, and the pegasus-powered water tornado in "Hurricane Fluttershy".
** There are also many instances where the possibilities of Flash are used very cleverly. For instance, populating backgrounds with more or less randomly-generated ponies rather than using FacelessMasses.
* If one had to single out the sole favorable aspect of the SoOkayItsAverage ''HeroFactory'' animated show, then it would probably be the CGI. Sure, backgrounds can seem a bit empty, and early crowd scenes offered some interesting sights (like Von Ness, a character that canonically didn't exist anymore appearing suddenly), but they're ironing these out with every new episode. And they have plenty of time for improving, seeing as there are only a couple of episodes released every year.
* WesternAnimation/{{Motorcity}}: Full of SceneryGorn and SceneryPorn.
* Anything by Aardman, particularly anything involving Nick Park.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Real Life]]
* It's actually quite realistic.
** [[RealityisUnrealistic Most of the time, anyway.]]
* Every. Single. CirqueDuSoleil. Show. Ever.
* SarahBrightman embarked on her "Symphony" tour in 2008, which junked all the theatrical staging she usually utilizes for '''holographic technology'''. The result was a stripped down stage with a hollowed out stage that included a b-stage and 3 gigantic screens for the holograms hovering above it. The holograms are HOLY FUCK awesome. At times it'll appear like she's standing on a hovering platform. During Dust in the Wind, she appears in a fairytale-like forest with fireflies floating around. During certain songs, her and her dancers will be on the hollowed out portion of the stage, while their image is projected on the screens, making it appear as if she's laying on the screens. Thats just the beginning. You could look at [[http://lh5.ggpht.com/-1Ybp0JiIKlg/SU11vy7R_CE/AAAAAAAADBU/EkbIw-AKzr8/SarahBrightmanSymphonyWorldTour.jpg this photo]], but that wouldn't do it justice.
* Go to any of the old Gothic Cathedrals. Once you tear your eyes away from the actual statues, stained glass and other noticeable art, look at the lighting. The windows cast light in exactly the right places, almost subconsciously pointing you where to look. Now that's a cool visual effect.
** Europe is amazing for this, especially to an American as our evangelical protestant tradition generally leaves something lacking in houses of worship.
* Some of the larger astronomical events like total solar eclipses, meteor storms, auroras and gazing at the Milky Way away from the city. It's during those moments that you realise how vast the universe is, and how much there is out there that is waiting for us to explore and learn. RealLife already has a lot of good visual effects like sunsets and thunderstorms, but there are times when reality decides to treat us to something ''really'' special.
* [[{{Vocaloid}} VOCALOID]]. CONCERT. It happened. It was holograms. There's many moments where you forget that the Vocaloids are holograms of anime characters and start believing that they're real singers. The hair in particular moves beautifully.
** {{Gorillaz}} did similar concerts too. Especially in their 2005 MTV performance.
** It was a rear projection onto a mostly-transparent screen. It was 2D. Holograms are 3D.
* While a good number of effects go into a typical attraction at the DisneyThemeParks, special mention has to go the Haunted Mansion's including a disappearing ceiling in the Stretching Room and the Ghost Ball Room sequences, which are some 60 year old effects that still look real today.
* Mount Rainier in Seattle in the middle of the night as a full moon shone down on it. It looked like someone had wrapped the top of the mountain in shining silver.
* The opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. Holy crap.
** Some parts were actually digitally added in real time. They were practically indistinguishable from the live segments unless you had a trained eye or read about it.
* Many huge spectacle musicals of the 80s and early 90s feature magnificent live theatrical effects. From ''PhantomOfTheOpera'''s falling chandelier to the helicopter from ''MissSaigon'', it's all very very cool.
* The mother of all stage effects spectaculars has to be ''Walking With Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular''. Fifteen life-sized animatronic and puppeteered dinosaurs, including a Tyrannosaurus and her baby, a Stegosaurus, a very large Brachiosaurus and a flying Ornithocheirus invade a stadium or arena, move around, roar and interact with a time-travelling narrator. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnNMReD72vQ Have a look for yourself]].
* Trompe l'oeil painting, an ultra-realistic form of painting whose very name means "trick the eye." In one particular case, a monastery was famed for its beautifully decorated dome. For four hundred years, people went to the monastery just to see it. Then someone decided it needed to be cleaned and restored, so they raised ladders into the ceiling. The dome was a trompe l'oeil painting. Best part? The monastery has a flat roof.
* The most [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auYHb7-E4iw beautiful tornado]] you'll ever see.
* Rainbows and prisms are ''light'' showing off its F/X talents.
* Looking down at any major city from an airplane's window after dark can be visually spectacular, especially around the holidays.
* Most stage magicians who specialise in optical illusions are rather good at this trope ... almost by definition, since it's their job to make you think something happened that didn't. David Copperfield is one of those artists who takes this trope up to eleven: google up his flying sequence, or disappearing the Statue of Liberty, for examples of how he makes this work in real life.
* Newgrange passage tomb in Ireland. Once a year, at sunrise on the winter solstice, the first light of the day shines all the way down the entrance passage to light up the main chamber, to stunningly beautiful effect. It's believed that when it was built, this happened at the ''exact moment'' of sunrise (now it happens four minutes after). And it was built, with all the precise engineering required to achieve that, ''five thousand years ago''.
* The [[NorthKorea North Korean]] Arirang Festival has over 30,000 children holding up colored cards (called "card stunt" in the West) that make [[AwesomeArt very pretty pictures]] which are usually the symbols of North Korea. In a nutshell, pixel art in RealLife
* The skyline of any big city.
* Supernovas. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova Just look at these pictures!]]
[[/folder]]

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