Dava Newman and Gui Trotti at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Designer Ethan Imboden at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Greg Petroff at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Jake Barton at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Sarah Stein Greenberg at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Michael Hendrix at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Natasha Jen at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

David Chang at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Christina Tosi at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Jennifer Colliau at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

On ABC’s “Once Upon a Time,” Disney characters like Snow White, the Queen of Hearts, and Peter Pan are set against a modern backdrop. Realistic visual effects bring to life the magic and mystery of Storybrooke—the town they now inhabit. Mike Seymour from fxguide goes behind the stunning FX and animation that are needed to create the fairytale mashup.

Dan Winters at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Commune at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Carl de Torres at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Ije Nwokorie at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Ian Bogost at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

YACHT at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

Weta Digital was behind the striking effects in two of this year's big-franchise films: “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”—which picked up an Oscar nomination for best visual effects—and “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.” Mike Seymour takes an exclusive look at the impressive, large-scale battle sequences that Weta designed for the final installment in The Hobbit trilogy.

In the new series “Agent Carter” Marvel expands its universe to the small screen with help from Industrial Light & Magic. Creating high-quality visual effects was nothing new for the the award-winning team, but working against grueling weekly delivery dates proved to be a monstrous challenge. Mike Seymour finds out how they did it.

Neill Blomkamp's new dystopian sci-fi thriller "Chappie" stars a fully digital A.I. robot as the title character, acted out by Sharlto Copley. Mike Seymour goes behind the scenes of the CG robots.

Designer and JimmyJane Founder Ethan Imboden at The 2015 Adult Novelty Expo, Las Vegas

The new DreamWorks film “Home” commits the worst of all CGI sins. In an attempt to make cute, kid-friendly characters, “Home” ended up with shapeless purple blobs and uninteresting features. What happened to strange and kind of creepy aliens like E.T.?

The Avengers return in Age of Ultron. Mike Seymour sat down with the men behind the special effects.

See how Industrial Light & Magic created the futuristic tech and magical world in Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland.

Shot mostly in Africa with real vehicles and complex stunts, “Mad Max: Fury Road” brings a high intensity to the post-apocalyptic franchise. Mike Seymour breaks down the complicated camerawork and VFX behind the action-adventure flick.

WHEN BJARKE INGELS set out to create the fourth and final skyscraper at the reborn World Trade Center earlier this year, he faced the same dilemma that has burdened every architect who has ventured onto New York’s most hallowed and expensive construction site.

“Jurassic World” debuted with a record-shattering opening weekend, netting nearly half a billion dollars. See how Industrial Light & Magic used motion capture to help design the complex dinosaurs, including the genetically modified Indominus rex.

He's back—this time in a time-traveling standoff. See how Arnold Schwarzenegger faced off against a digitized version of his younger self.

Find out how the visual effects came together for the end of season five on Game of Thrones, including Daenerys' elaborate and cinematic escape with her drogon.

These cars introduced new forms of beauty---many of them clever solutions to vexing technological problems---that lived on for years and even decades.

The second installment of “The Maze Runner” takes place in a mythical post-apocalyptic city. Find out how Weta Digital took an unusual approach to creating the vast, ruined landscape by building the entire city first, then destroying it.

Cities used to grow (more or less) by accident. Today cities develop more intentionally. From Shanghai to Nairobi, designers, architects, and planners are using better materials, smart science, and big data to make cities better—and even a little magical.

Visual effects companies Framestore and MPC were tasked with creating the red planet in “The Martian.” From realistic landscape shots of Mars to simulated gravity differences, see how it all came together with a shorter-than-usual timeframe for post-production.

Sure, they’re pesky critters but termites can teach architects a thing or two when it comes building design. When creating giant mounds the insects build channels within them to help with ventilation. See how architects are attempting to replicate that process to create better heating and air conditioning systems in giant skyscrapers.

Dan Meis explains the challenges of building an iconic building in the back yard of Rome's Colosseum, and how the enduring life of the classic arena should provide a lesson for the future of stadium design.

Find out how Pixar raised the CGI bar for ultra-realistic environments and landscapes in “The Good Dinosaur.”

For companies and consumers, 2015 was a big year for practical design. Wired tells you why.

Mike Seymour goes behind the visual effects that earned “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” an Oscar nod. See how Industrial Light & Magic crafted complex action sequences, detailed environments, and realistic characters with the help of advanced motion-capture technology and performances from actors like Lupita Nyong’o.

Amazon Studios’ “The Man in the High Castle” take places in an alternate history, set in a post-WWII world where the Axis powers ended up victorious. To create the look of a United States run by Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany, Zoic Studios was tasked with creating difficult visual effects and environment work. Find out how they did it.

And one was nearly 7 feet tall.

We go behind the scenes to show you how visual effects company Double Negative created the dark energy Zero Matter in ABC's "Agent Carter."

Jeff Nichols at WIRED by Design, 2014. In partnership with Skywalker Sound, Marin County, CA. To learn more visit: live.wired.com

The Oculus Rift is now shipping. Four years of intense work led to this moment. WIRED got to look at some of the early prototypes that would have never made it to market.

You probably don’t give your lamp much thought when you switch it on. But the San Francisco design firm Box Clever recently spent two years thinking about a lamp perfect for designers.

In the 1970's a group of California hippies built a new technology that changed the world. Computers? Nope. They were building the earliest commercial mountain bikes.

Mike Seymour goes behind the visual effects in Central Intelligence used to de-age The Rock and Kevin Hart into high school, teenaged versions of themselves. Weta digital puts the The Rock’s face onto Vine star Sione’s body for an amazing locker room shower dance scene you won’t want to miss.

Mike Seymour sits down with "Independence Day: Resurgence" director Roland Emmerich and discusses the astonishing visual effects used in his newest picture, as well as the revolutionary new N-Cam system.

In a weed market flooded with so many edible options, attention to detail and clever design is paramount. Défoncé Chocolatier has created some of the most user friendly cannabis-infused chocolate bars, that look beautiful too.

Design FX dives into the incredible special effects of Star Trek Beyond. From the digital construction of the Starship Enterprise all the way down to the extraterrestrials themselves, Mike Seymour takes us into warp drive as he breaks this successful franchise down to its DNA.

Design FX dives into the incredible special effects of Pete's Dragon. How were the team at WETA able to make Elliot (the titular dragon) appear invisible? Mike Seymour breaks down the techniques used to accomplish this spectacular effect.