The public has always enjoyed seeing highly detailed miniatures of buildings or vehicles, and behindthe-scenes documentaries showcasing the making of films such as Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind during the late 1970s and early 80s helped raise awareness of how these effects were achieved.
BAFTA-winning visual effects designer Mike Tucker. Photo © Karen Parks.
Miniatures are also an easy target to attract criticism, for whilst a well-crafted miniature effects sequence can be almost invisible to an audience, a badly executed one is all too obvious – although, to be fair, the same can also be said of CG or creature effects. And, over the years, Doctor Who has had its fair share of both.