Special Effects

> *"My face appeared on the monitor, but instead of there being a green wall behind me, it looked like I was standing in front of the Great Wall of China." - Shaggy, Chapter 11 (Shaggy)*
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A **special effect** is an illusion used in visual media to create on-screen elements, often for things that can't (or would be hard for it to) exist in real life. Many of them can be see throughout Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed and subsequently Transformers.

There are two types of special effects commonly used in movies: **Practical effects**, which are effects that are captured in-camera during production, such as a piece of foam made to look like an asteroid, and **Visual Effects**, which are achieved in post-production. Visual Effects include the use of CGI (computer generated imagery), such as a fictional monster made in a computer and composited into real footage.

## Scooby-Doo

1/4Scooby-Doo and his transformations (Monster Scooby and Scooby Brainiac) had to be CGI in the film because Scooby looks and behaves in ways that a real dog simply cannot: talking, holding objects in his paws, and emoting like a human. Scooby's CGI model is designed to look like a realistic dog and composited into the film alongside the actors. Scooby's reflections in the mirror are also CGI. Tasmanian Devil Scooby was also composited into the footage, but instead of being a 3D, CGI model, he is instead a 2D, hand-drawn character. Neil Fanning recited Scooby's dialogue on set as reference for the other actors, and then he re-recorded the lines in a recording studio. He was off camera and his physical performance was not captured on set.

Because Scooby was added into the film in post-production, all of the actors (most notably Matthew Lillard) had to interact with air or a stand-in during the production. This can be seen in an incomplete shot 37 from the Thank You music video, where Shaggy is the only person present. In order to make it look like Scooby was interacting with real objects, such as the refrigerator, these real objects had to moved by a real actor or object on set. This real actor or object was either out of frame during production or painted out in post-production.

## Shaggy Chick's Body

Shaggy Chick was created without the use of CGI, and instead, through two simple visual effects: digital motion tracking and compositing. Matthew Lillard's (Shaggy) head was composited onto Nazanin Afshin-Jam's body to make it appear as though Shaggy had a "chick's body."

The two actors for Shaggy Chick (Nazanin Afshin-Jam and Matthew Lillard) would mimicking the same motions, and then the head of Shaggy would be put onto the woman's body more seamlessly. Peter Crosman, the film's VFX supervisor, described it as "a complex bit of choreography". For more efficient compositing, Lillard's head may have been filmed on a green or blue screen rather than on the laboratory set. His reflection in the mirror is also changed using the same method.

There are times where they do not match up, however. In shot 19, Shaggy Chick's shoulder is mistakingly cut off when the camera is zooming out to reveal the body. Also in shot 19, there appears to be a small black dot near the middle of Shaggy Chick's sternum, but when he turns around, it vanishes, suggesting it was placed there for motion tracking purposes and then digitally painted out. There may have been additional tracking markers used for this effect, but there's no way to know for certain without seeing the original footage.

## Buff Shaggy's Muscles

Buff Shaggy's muscular body is a practical effect achieved through make-up and prosthetics. Matthew Lillard is wearing sculpted foam, which has been painted and covered in make-up, to make it appear as though he has large muscles. These prosthetics are blended in around his neck (using make-up) to sell the illusion that they are an actual part of his body.

The transformation from Shaggy Chick to Buff Shaggy had to be shot twice, once with Matthew Lillard and once with Nazanin Afshin-Jam. The two actors performed the same motions, and then in post-production, digital masking was used to swap out parts of Nazanin Afshin-Jam with parts of Matthew Lillard in the Buff Shaggy costume. The green smoke and motion blur help to hide the animated masks.
The reflection in the mirror does not properly match the transformation until Shaggy covers it entirely, which is either an oversight or a product of time-constraints, considering that the footage of Matthew Lillard would need to be rotoscoped (cut out) in order for the compositors to properly replace the reflection. A similar process was used to transform Shaggy back to normal in Shot 52.

## Green Smoke

During some transformations, digital green smoke can be seen. This is a CGI particle simulation that is used to obscure visual errors in the other effects and to simplify some transformations.
For example, to avoid showing the 2D drawing of Tasmanian Devil Scooby morphing into the 3D, CGI Scooby Brainiac, which would be difficult to achieve, the visual effects artists crossfade from one form to the other and cover Scooby entirely with green smoke to hide this simple transition.

## Potions

The potions are sometimes CGI'd instead of being physical. This is often to allow Scooby to hold them or allow them to be thrown or spilled without practical liquids. Shot 37 especially uses the CGI potion so the liquid can spiral. However there are times where potions are empty like the Turquoise Potion in shot 21 and the Yellow Potion in Shot 22. The "Highly Combustible" Potion is also shown to be empty in the incomplete Shot 37 from the Thank You music video.

## See Also

* Sound Effects
* Shots