Background
Titling and special effects are two more components of television and film. Novice filmmakers and production crews are guilty of several common errors in these areas. Titling should be kept at a minimum. The titles must be legible. Use fonts that are both appropriate to the project and easy to read. Keep the number of words used on the screen to a minimum. Titles must fit within the essential area, also known as the title safe area, of the screen.
Special effects (or SFX) are used in the film and entertainment industry to create effects that cannot be achieved by normal means, such as travel to other star systems. They are also used when creating the effect by normal means is prohibitively expensive, such as an enormous explosion. They are also used to enhance normal visual effects.
Many different visual special effects techniques exist, ranging from traditional theater effects, through classic film techniques invented in the early 20th century, to modern computer graphics techniques (CGI). Often several different techniques are used together in a single scene or shot to achieve the desired effect.
Special effects are often "invisible." That is to say that the audience is unaware that what they are seeing is a special effect.
Even with low end video editing software, you can add some special effects. More advance programs allow you many more options. Novice filmmakers often insert too many special effects and lose sight of the story. Most television productions and films use little to no special effects. Save them for when your story absolutely demands them.
