About

The Illusion Almanac is dedicated to illuminating the craft of film and television, from design to effects, makeup to cinematography, with insights from the creative professionals who put your favourite shows on the screen.

Graham Edwards spent his formative years on England’s Jurassic Coast making disturbing Super-8 films and drawing spaceships. Following a varied career as a graphic designer, scriptwriter and animator, he found himself working as senior staff writer at Cinefex, the legendary journal of cinematic illusions, where he wrote behind-the-scenes articles on major motion pictures.

During his time at Cinefex, Graham covered shows including Spectre, Star Trek Beyond, Arrival, Alien: Covenant, Thor: Ragnarok, The Shape of Water, Black Panther, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Game of Thrones and Terminator: Dark Fate, and interviewed film directors including James Cameron, Robert Zemeckis, Guillermo del Toro, Ron Howard, Luc Besson, Taika Waititi, Ryan Coogler, Justin Lin, David Leitch and Duncan Jones.

When he isn’t tending to The Illusion Almanac or otherwise engaging with the filmmaking fraternity, Graham is usually to be found writing fiction. His first novel, Dragoncharm, was published by HarperCollins in 1995 and nominated for a British Fantasy Award. Other novels include the fantasy adventure Stone & Sky, the interdimensional thriller String City, and the prehistoric murder mystery Talus and the Frozen King, both published by Solaris Books. Graham’s short fiction has appeared in a range of magazines and anthologies. His novelette Girl in Pieces made the longlist for the Nebula Awards.

Cinefex Covers

The Cinefex Years

From 2013-2021, I worked as part of the editorial team at Cinefex, a bimonthly magazine devoted to motion picture visual effects. As senior staff writer, I researched and and wrote long-form articles on the making of feature films and streaming series. I also created the videos used to promote each new issue of the magazine.

Here are some of the nice things people have said about my Cinefex articles:

Hey Graham, it’s a wonderful article, really well done. Thanks for a great job!

Joe Bauer, visual effects supervisor, Game of Thrones

It’s a great explanation of the story of the last two years of my life. So great to hear all of the voices along the way again. Thank you!

Jake Morrison, visual effects supervisor, Thor: Ragnarok

Your article on Welcome to Marwen reads really great!!! Thanks so much for painting such a cohesive story about such ‘unusual’ subject matter. I think the article is a slam dunk.

Kevin Baillie, visual effects supervisor, Welcome to Marwen

Thanks very much for the smart and insightful article. You’ve captured the significance of the film, the details of the logistics, and the spirit of the process. Really, excellent job all around.

Mark Elijah Rosenberg, director, Approaching the Unknown

This story is fun, knowledgable, exciting. You’re a hero in that you can put all these facts and projects together in a cohesive, riveting way! So appreciate how much care you put into this.

Robin Griffin-McLachlan, visual effects producer, Ben-Hur

Here’s a complete list of my Cinefex magazinearticles:

  • Formula For Fire – Rush (2014, Cinefex 136)
  • Explosive Cocktail – Spectre (2016, Cinefex 145)
  • Smart-Mouthed Glory – Deadpool (2016, Cinefex 146)
  • History in the Making – Hail, Caesar! (2016, Cinefex 146)
  • Apocalypse Rising – X-Men: Apocalypse (2016, Cinefex 147)
  • Acts of War – Warcraft (2016, Cinefex 148)
  • Cosmic Deconstruction – Star Trek Beyond (2016, Cinefex 148)
  • Quick the Eye, Steady the Hand – Ben-Hur (2016, Cinefex 149)
  • One Moment of Pure Wonder – Approaching the Unknown (2016, Cinefex 149)
  • Persistence of Vision – Arrival (2016, Cinefex 150)
  • Love in a Dangerous Time – Allied (2016, Cinefex 150)
  • The Dreamsmiths Unleashed – Virtual Reality (2017, Cinefex 151)
  • A Lonely God – Kong: Skull Island (2017, Cinefex 152)
  • Blood Father – Logan (2017, Cinefex 152)
  • Life in the Fast Lane – The Fate of the Furious (2017, Cinefex 153)
  • Dark Materials – Alien: Covenant (2017, Cinefex 153)
  • Symphony of Color – Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017, Cinefex 154)
  • Spirit of the Ocean – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017, Cinefex 154)
  • Gunslinger – The Dark Tower (2017, Cinefex 155)
  • Team Thor – Thor: Ragnarok (2017, Cinefex 156)
  • The Patron Saint of Otherness – The Shape of Water (2017, Cinefex 156)
  • Afrofuture – Black Panther (2018, Cinefex 158)
  • The Marvel Effect (2018, Cinefex 158)
  • Heft and Jank – Pacific Rim Uprising (2018, Cinefex 159)
  • Kessel Runner – Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018, Cinefex 160)
  • Knocking ’em Dead – Deadpool 2 (2018, Cinefex 160)
  • Symbiosis – Venom (2018, Cinefex 161)
  • Lone Wolf – Alpha (2018, Cinefex 161)
  • Small Wonder – Welcome to Marwen (2018, Cinefex 162)
  • Robert Zemeckis Q&A (2018, Cinefex 162)
  • Transformation – Bumblebee (2019, Cinefex 163)
  • Beast of the Apocalypse – Hellboy (2019, Cinefex 164)
  • The Nature of the Beast – CG Animals (2019, Cinefex 164)
  • Ancient Gods – Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019, Cinefex 165)
  • A Very English Armageddon – Good Omens (2019, Cinefex 165)
  • Grand Illusions – Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019, Cinefex 166)
  • When Dragons Go To War – Game of Thrones: Season 8 (2019, Cinefex 166)
  • Muscle Cars – Hobbs & Shaw (2019, Cinefex 167)
  • No Fate But What We Make – Terminator: Dark Fate (2019, Cinefex 168)
  • 12,000 Feet Straight Down – Midway (2019, Cinefex 168)
  • The Visionaries – Interviews with James Cameron and Robert Zemeckis (2020, Cinefex 169)
  • The Illusionists – Interviews with VFX Oscar-Winners (2020, Cinefex 169)
  • Inner Demons – The New Mutants (2020, Cinefex 170)
  • Why Have Average? – The Boys (2020, Cinefex 171)
  • Resetting the Wonder – Tales from the Loop (2020, Cinefex 171)
  • The Undiminished Spirit – Star Trek: Discovery (2021, Cinefex 172)