Visual Effects vs. Special Effects

Special effects- usually preformed on set during production. This is broken down into 2 more categories; Optical effects and Mechanical effects.

Visual effects- Usually added in post-production. It is rare to see a film without Visual effects, this can be from filling a green screen to adding CGI in post-production.

Although both teams are involved during the shoot and post production, each creative decision is given to whomever's field is more appropriate during the production pipeline.

Optical effects: (a division of Special effects) this is where the camera or lighting is used to convey a certain message/mood on screen which is not what it would look like to the naked eye. A good example of this is the dolly zoom, shown here in a scene from Jaws 1975.

Mechanical effects: (a division of Special effects) these are also created during a live-action shot and are usually designed to making things look like something they are not. This can range from manipulating weather and wind to pyrotechnics and full scale models. Some examples are shown here by Technifex.

Special effects supervisor- will make the creative decisions and work closely with the director on set to achieve the results he/she wants.

Visual effects supervisor- will make all the creative decisions and work closely with the director on and off set to make sure he/she gets the desired visual image.

Visual effects coordinator- will work for the visual effects supervisor in post-production.

Visual effects producer- deals with the cost of the visual effects.

Information read originally at: http://filmescape.com/2011/01/10/whats-the-difference-between-special-effects-visual-effects/