This volume presents the story of the organization whose name has become synoymous with state-of-the-art special effects - Industrial Light & Magic. It examines its early days to its Oscar-winning accomplishments for films such as the Star Wars trilogy, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Back to the Future, the Star Trek films and Cocoon. The book takes a behind the scenes look at the special effects process, from cinematic design, matte painting, model construction and creature development to miniature photography and optical compositing. It also discusses the invention of new cameras, lenses and other technological devices.