The term "movie magic" makes the art of filmmaking sound like intricate shots are as easy as the flick of a wand. But even in the age of CGI, some scenes can take an inordinate amount of planning. And can you imagine how much more difficult it was to pull off things like realistic dinosaurs, exploding spaceships, or twisters before advanced cinematic technology existed?
This isn't about to turn into a "back in my day" diatribe about how "kids have it so easy these days." Instead, it's more...