optical effects

American  

plural noun

Movies, Television.

1. special visual effects, as the wipe or dissolve, created in the camera or especially in a film laboratory by technicians using complex optical and electronic equipment.

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Example Sentences

Scientists could observe the optical effects, but they had not directly measured the material's full optical constants.

From Science Daily • Jun. 1, 2026

The enhanced clarity is why VistaVision hung on longer with the makers of old-school optical effects, serving as a workhorse for the original “Star Wars” trilogy and other pictures into the 21st century.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 12, 2025

Walk beneath a tower’s mirrored walls and into its inner sanctum, and assorted optical effects unfold overhead, bathing visitors in their unusual light.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 17, 2024

Though halos are not uncommon in the UK, the combination of other optical effects is more unusual.

From BBC • May 29, 2023

Curious optical effects are sometimes observed a little after sunset in the form of streamers or bands of light that shoot up into the sky, sometimes to a great height.

From Nature's Miracles, Volume 1 Familiar Talks on Science—World-Building and Life. Earth, Air and Water. by Gray, Elisha