Crash Course
Special Effects
Special effects have come along way since the spectacular illusions of Georges Melies. Young filmmakers learn about the three major types of special effects: mechanical or practical effects, optical effects, and computer-generated imagery.
Crash Course
Georges Melies—Master of Illusion
The focus of a playlist on the history of film shifts from the development of early film technology to techniques used by filmmakers like Georges Melies. Melies, a former magician, used dazzling illusions and tricky editing to create...
Be Smart
What Color Is The Moon?
Is the entire moon an optical illusion? We know it exists, but do we really know what color it is? The video explains what color we perceive the moon to be and its actual color.
Steve Spangler Science
Disappearing Money - Sick Science! #049
Bring a little magic into the classroom. Fill a cup with water, place a plate underneath it, and watch a coin disappear. This is a great way to kick off a discussion involving the behavior of light and the concepts of reflection and...
Curated OER
Color Mixing Wheel
Two scientific concepts can be taught with this activity. First, the mixing of primary colors is demonstrated. As the color wheel spins, red, yellow, and blue are no longer visible; secondary colors orange, purple, and green appear in...
Steve Spangler Science
Spinning Disk Illusion - Sick Science! #042
What the eye perceives can be deceiving. Learners can make a spinner that creates an optical illusion by merging two images. They can experiment with ways to make them in different shapes and styles to get varied results.
Curated OER
Disappearing Money
Bring a little magic into the classroom. Fill a cup with water, place a plate underneath it, and watch a coin disappear. This is a great way to kick off a discussion involving the behavior of light and the concepts of reflection and...
Steve Spangler Science
Color Mixing Wheel - Sick Science! #019
Two scientific concepts can be taught with this activity. First, the mixing of primary colors is demonstrated. As the color wheel spins, red, yellow, and blue are no longer visible; secondary colors orange, purple, and green appear in...
Steve Spangler Science
Mysterious Appearing Colors - Sick Science! #050
Experiment with light and color using the activity from this film. Learners can make their own spinning discs to demonstrate the principles. This is a hands on way to explore color and optical illusion. As an added bonus, your scientists...
Curated OER
Engineering an Empire - Greece, Part 5/5
"There are no straight lines in the Parthenon." The series concludes with a look at the optical illusions involved in the engineering of the Parthenon. Mixing animated images and current video, the producers bring alive this famous...
TED-Ed
The Moon Illusion
Does the moon change size? It sure looks like it! Two optical illusions are suggested as an explanation: Ebbinghaus and Ponzo. However, there are problems with both of these. Convergence micropsia may answer the question, but many...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Waves and Optics: Virtual Image
Video lectures discusses virtual image and light rays. [7:52]
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Epistemology: Paradoxes of Perception #2 (Arg From Hallucination)
Common sense takes for granted that we can typically just see physical objects without further hindrance. In this Wireless Philosophy video, Eugen Fischer (University of East Anglia) presents the 'argument from hallucination' that...
AsapSCIENCE
Asap Science: Can You Trust Your Eyes?
How do you know what you're seeing is real? These illusions bring about the truth! [2:03]