Question: Do Special Effects Count as Animation?
CGI special effects can add a real splash to animated and live-action films...but do they count as actual animation?
Answer: For the most part, yes. CGI requires 2D and 3D animation skills to render effects over the timeline of the existing video. It's basically layering animation on top of the video to enhance it or fill in for things left out during filming. Since it requires building frame-by-frame effects to either create the illusion of motion or enhance the illusion of motion, then it counts as animation. Many entertainment-oriented animators end up going into the field of CGI special effects, rather than producing animated features from scratch.
Cases where CGI special effects might not count as animation can include instances like image/video filters. Yes, the filter is being applied frame-by-frame, but it's just a setting that processes automatically with no real animation required.
