Theatrical Contact Lenses: An Insight into the World of Cinema & Special Effects

Ever wonder how stage actors or movie characters get that eerily captivating look in their eyes? Sure, there is always the CG and special effects route in the movies. Certain lighting schemes can invoke various feelings on the stage. However, the majority of the time, that intrinsic look is a result of theatrical contact lenses.

Given the right situation and storyline, theatrical contacts can transform your viewing experience from observer to active participant. In suspenseful thrillers, theatrical contacts can just flat out scare you. In the world outside of theatrics, they also do a pretty great job of terrifying children of all ages around Halloween as well.

Theatrical contact lenses come in a wide assortment of themes and colors. Many rock musicians wear theatrical contacts that black out the pupil making the eye appear to shun light. The white out theatrical lens gives off that angry look popularized by the Hulk in the old television series. Other popular themes include bloodshot contacts and various animal associations such as zebra, jaguar, and the always popular cat pupil.

If you are trying to find the particular contact used by your favorite monster in the latest horror movie, you may be out of luck. Most movies have special effect contacts specially designed to fit the character's needs. However, if you search around deep enough, you may stumble across a generic knockoff that generates the same effect.

Although there are a variety of companies that manufacture and sell theatrical contacts, the two most popular brands carried by most opticians are CooperVision's Crazy Lenses and CIBA Vision's WildEyes. CIBA Vision also makes the immensely popular FreshLook line of color contacts.

It is important to note that the same rules for purchasing, wearing, replacing, and caring for regular contact lenses also apply for theatrical contact lenses and cosmetic lenses. This means that you must have a prescription to purchase them. Even if you don't need vision correction, you must still go to an optometrist to be examined, prescribed, and fitted for all styles of contact lenses including special effects contacts.

If you are looking for a fun way to breathe new life into a character, transform your production without costly cg effects or simply terrify kids this Halloween season, look into purchasing a pair of theatrical contact lenses. There are numerous varieties to choose from. Talk to your optometrist about ordering your new pair of special effect contact lenses today.

Mike Schwartz is the owner of the popular web site Best Contact Lenses Online His site provides useful tips, resources, and reviews to help you make the best decision when purchasing contact lenses on the Internet.

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In this April 22, 2008 file photo, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, left, followed by current Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., right,  smiles on Capitol Hill in Washington.  Democratic officials say Daschle has accepted President-elect Barack Obama's offer to be Secretary of Health and Human Services.  (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File )AP - President-elect Barack Obama promised the voters change but has started his Cabinet selection process by naming several Washington insiders to top posts.



Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008 in Washington, before the House Financial Services Committee.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)AP - Pounded by a fierce financial crisis, the country is sinking deeper into economic despair and is likely to be in the hole well into next year, forcing more Americans into the ranks of the unemployed.



Auto industry executives, from left, General Motors  Chief Executive Officer Richard Wagoner; Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Robert Nardelli; and Ford Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally, testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008, before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the state of the auto industry.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)AP - A plan to give troubled U.S. automakers billions of dollars in government-backed loans is on life support, leaving the fate of hundreds of thousands of workers and Detroit's once-venerable car companies hanging in the balance.



Passers-by watch the electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average plunged early in the day and never recovered, finishing down 6.9 percent, or 570.18 points, at 7,703.04. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)AP - European and Asian stock markets tumbled Thursday after recession fears sent Wall Street plunging the day before.



A gopher frog sits in the hand of Audubon Zoo curator Nick hanna  in New Orleans, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2008.  For the first time in 10 years, a pond in south Mississippi got enough rain this year to let gopher frogs, one of the nation's most endangered animals, turn from tadpole to frog without human help.  (AP Photo/Bill Haber)AP - With the Bush administration on the verge of relaxing regulations protecting endangered species, Democratic leaders are looking at ways to overturn any last-minute rule changes.



In this image provided by NASA Astronaut Steve Bowen participates in the mission's first session of extravehicular activity Tuesday Nov. 18, 2008 as construction and maintenance continues on the International Space Station.(AP Photo/NASA)AP - Astronauts vowed to double-check, even triple-check, to make sure a bag of tools is properly tied down during a spacewalk Thursday so it doesn't float away like one did earlier this week.



U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt speaks at the opening for the new U.S. Food and Drug Administration office in Beijing , China, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008.  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration opened a new office Wednesday in China's capital, its first outside the United States, as part of a new global strategy to ensure the safety of trillions of dollars of imports.(AP Photo/ Elizabeth Dalziel)AP - China announced a complete overhaul of its dairy industry Thursday to improve safety at every step — from cow breeding to milk sales — saying its worst food quality scandal in years had revealed "major problems" in quality control.



In this Nov. 8, 2007 file photo, pop star Michael Jackson poses on the red carpet during the RainbowPUSH Coalition Los Angeles 10th annual awards in Los Angeles. Representatives for the king of Bahrain's son say he is suing pop star Michael Jackson for $7 million. The Bell Pottinger Group says Sheik Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa has filed a breach-of-contract case against the troubled singer at London's Royal Courts of Justice.  The suit is to be heard Monday, Nov. 17, 2008. In 2006, Jackson announced he would put out a new album for Khalifa's record label 2 Seas Records. Media reports say Khalifa is arguing that the promised work was never delivered. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok, file)AP - Michael Jackson's lawyer says the pop star has agreed to come to London to respond to a Bahraini sheik's $7 million lawsuit.



AP - Three male and three female inmates at a southern Indiana jail face charges that they devised a way to sneak between cell blocks to help pass their time behind bars by having sex.

In this Oct. 9, 2008 photo, Dallas Cowboys' Adam 'Pacman' Jones prepares to participate in practice at the Cowboys training facility in Irving, Texas.  Jones' suspension was lifted by the NFL on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008,  just over five weeks after the Dallas Cowboys cornerback was banned for another violation of its personal conduct policy.  (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)AP - The NFL is giving Adam "Pacman" Jones another chance. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Wednesday the suspended cornerback has been reinstated by league commissioner Roger Goodell, but he must miss two more games — this Sunday and the following game on Thanksgiving. He'll be back Dec. 7 at Pittsburgh.



Share trader Tom Holler reacts in front of his trading terminal during early morning trading at the German stock exchange in Frankfurt, November 20, 2008. (Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)Reuters - Global economic misery spread on Thursday with the Federal Reserve predicting U.S. recession well into 2009, Japan's exports to Asia falling for the first time in six years and job losses mounting.



Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano speaks during closing ceremonies of the 26th Border Governors Conference at Universal Studios in Los Angeles August 15, 2008. (Fred Prouser/Reuters)Reuters - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's top choice to lead the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, CNN reported on Wednesday, citing multiple sources.



A pedestrian walks along a side street in Seoul November 20, 2008. (Jo Yong-Hak/Reuters)Reuters - World stocks dropped to 5-1/2 year lows and oil hit 22-month troughs as investors reacted to dire Federal Reserve warnings on the economy and fears about the viability of major U.S. auto makers and bank giant Citigroup.



Leaders of the U.S. automotive industry testify at a hearing held by the House Financial Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, November 19, 2008. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)Reuters - Chances dimmed that a last-minute plan being crafted by Republican senators, with White House support, to provide $25 billion to bail out U.S. automakers would receive enough backing from Democrats to pass before the end of this week.



Reuters - A pact allowing U.S. troops to stay in Iraq for three more years has a chance of being approved by parliament despite some heated opposition, Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Thursday.

Sharon Papo (R) and her partner Amber Weiss display their wedding rings after exchanging wedding vows at City Hall on the first full day of legal same-sex marriages in San Francisco, California June 17, 2008. (Erin Siegal/Reuters)Reuters - California's Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a legal challenge against the state's voter-approved ban on gay marriage and let the ban stand in the meantime.



A computer keyboard is seen in this 2005 file photo. (Catherine Benson/Files/Reuters)Reuters - A Missouri woman established a fake identity online to torment a vulnerable teenage girl who later committed suicide, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday in a trial that is being closely watched by the burgeoning social networking industry.



A boy stands at the site of suspected U.S. drone attacks in the Janikhel tribal area in Bannu district of North West Frontier Province November 19, 2008. (Stringer/Reuters)Reuters - Pakistan summoned U.S. ambassador Anne Patterson on Thursday to protest over missile strikes launched by pilotless drone aircraft against militant targets in Pakistan.



US auto giant executives wait to testify before the House Finincial Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Fears of an implosion of the US car industry have continued to weigh heavily on investors' minds as the AFP - Governments scrambled to cushion the impact of the finance crisis Thursday with France launching a sovereign wealth fund and China unveiling a jobs protection plan as the car industry made huge new cuts.



A picture taken in 2007 shows the Delight cargo ship anchored in the port of Hamburg, Germany. Somali pirate attacks have spun AFP - Russia announced Thursday it would send more warships to combat piracy in the waters around Somalia, as the Saudi owners of the Sirius Star negotiated with the pirates holding their oil tanker.




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