Special effects are obviously important for so many movies of various genres, even if they probably shouldn’t be the sole reason you watch a film (with some exceptions… like, maybe Avatar).

Special effects have always been a major part of cinema history, and the very first instance of their use came in 1895, in a film produced by inventor of the light bulb, Thomas Edison.

The year 1968, he writes, was the “annus mirabilis” for the special effect, closing with Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West, another vehicle for iconic slow-mo.

Makeup and special effects artist Katie Middleton is one of them. She has worked on Oscar-nominated films and shares her Brief But Spectacular take on navigating an unpredictable industry.

I saw Back to the Future on Broadway, and I remember saying, “It’s going to be hard to take this show on the road” because of all the amazing special effects.