Christopher Nolan is known for using practical effects in his movies: a rotating stage for "Inception," flipping a truck in "The Dark Knight," and setting off real explosives in his latest movie, "Oppenheimer."
In a time before computers could achieve award-winning effects like that of "Avatar: The Way of Water," Hollywood had to achieve the on-screen trickery of movie magic with fewer tools.
Today, technological advances have made special effects a go-to in filmmaking. Tools like "the Volume," a new technology that projects an image using LED lights that provides a more realistic and immersive background than a green screen, allows filmmakers to make anything a reality. But sometimes, a practical effect can achieve a similar result to CGI with the same suspension of disbelief.