Günümüzde dijital üretim sistemi film yapımcılığının temel yöntemini oluşturmaktadır. Kurgu aşamasının bilgisayar ortamına geçişi ile başlayan dijitale geçiş süreci, pelikülün terk edilmesi ve gösterimin dijitalleşmesi ile tamamlanmıştır. Görsel efekt kategorisi de dijital üretim sürecinde kurgu sonrası bilgisayar ortamına taşınan ve sonrasında orada kalıcı hale gelen üretim başlıklarından biri haline gelmiştir. Bilgisayar desteği veya tamamen bilgisayar yaratımı olmaksızın bir efekt üretimi artık söz konusu değildir. Bu dönüşüm dijital öncesi dönemde daha çok yapım öncesi ve yapım sürecinde gerçekleştirilen efekt üretimini, tamamen yapım sonrası aşamasına kaydırmıştır. Bilgisayar tabanlı üretime geçilmeye başlanan 70’li yılların sonlarında görsel efekt üretimi açısından üretimi zor olan bilimkurgu, fantastik ve distopya temalarına sahip projeler, gelişen üretim teknolojisi ile birlikte üretimi mümkün hale gelmiş ve günümüzde kült niteliğine erişmiştir. 2000’li yıllardan itibaren tamamen dijital üretime yönlenen sinema endüstrisinde, dijital dönem öncesi üretimi yapılan bir film veya film serisinin günümüzde devam ettirilmesi sık karşımıza çıkan bir tercihtir. Bu türde üretimlerde hem filmi üreten hem de filmi izleyenler için önemli olan noktalardan biri de görsel devamlılık olacaktır. Görsel devamlılıkta efektlerin üretimi son derece hassasiyet gerektirmekle birlikte, teorikte ve pratikteki temel tartışma da bilgisayarlarda üretilen dijital efektler ile dijital dönem öncesi yapılan özel efektlerin gerçekliğe yakınlığı, yapaylığı ve görsel devamlılığı eksenlerinde sürmektedir. Bu araştırmada yapım tasarımında özel efekt kullanımı ile öne çıkan 1982 yapımı Blade Runner ile bu hikâyenin 30 yıl sonrasını anlatan 2017 yapımı Blade Runner 2049 (Bıçak Sırtı 2049) filmleri arasındaki görsel devamlılığın sağlanmasında dijital efektlerin rolünün tartışılması amaçlanmaktadır. Keşif amaçlı bir alan araştırması olan bu çalışmada filmler arası betimsel analiz yöntemi kullanılmış, filmlerin yapım sürecinde görev alan ekip üyelerinin kamera arkası röportajlarından ayrıca yararlanılmıştır. Araştırmada farklı üretim dönemlerinde gerçekleştirilen görsel efektlerin her iki filmde de yapaylığa düşmeden ve birbirleri arasında bir uyum yakalama konusunda hassasiyet gösteren bir sistemle üretildiği, görsel devamlılığa uyum sağladığı sonucuna varılmaktadır.

Today, the digital production system constitutes the basic method of filmmaking. The transition to digital, which started with the transition of the editing phase to the computer environment, was completed with the abandonment of the pellicle and the digitization of the display. Effects design, on the other hand, is a process that is carried out in the post-production phase, mainly in the production phase, before the computer starts to be used as a design tool in cinema. The production of effects in the production of many scenarios also caused negative consequences such as not being able to be produced in parallel with the technology. For some projects, separate teams and companies have been established for effects design. Even the ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) company, which was founded specifically for Star Wars Episode IV (George Lucas, 1977), has developed new imaging systems such as the Motion Control Camera for the production of effects in certain scenes. An effect design is created by combining each image layer taken on blue or green screens with optical printers. Optical printer, which has been the most used tool since the invention of cinema, has started to be replaced by computers since the 80s. Digital effects produced by computers also have a structure that needs to be planned systematically before and during the shooting stages. Saving an image does not ensure that every desired element can be easily incorporated as an effect later on. The visual effects category has also become one of the production titles that are transferred to the computer environment after editing during the digital production process and then become permanent there. Effects production is no longer a question without computer support or purely computer creation. This transformation shifted the effects production, which was mostly carried out in the pre-production and production process in the pre-digital period, to the post-production phase. The computer nevertheless remained an auxiliary tool in the production of special effects until the completion of the digital revolution. In the late 70s, when computer-based production started, projects with science fiction, fantasy and dystopia themes, which were difficult to produce in terms of visual effects production, became possible with the developing production technology and reached a cult character today. In the cinema industry, which has completely turned to digital production since the 2000s, it is a common choice to continue a film or film series that was produced before the digital period. There are many sub-reasons, including economic, in the creation of these universes, which were produced a certain time ago and continue to be talked about in many respects. In the 2000s, the difficulties that the mainstream cinema experienced in finding original ideas and the ever-increasing breeze of nostalgia in the whole of popular culture are the two main reasons. Visual continuity will be one of the important points in this type of production for both the producers and the viewers. Although the production of effects in visual continuity requires extreme precision, the main discussion in theory and practice continues on the axes of the proximity to reality, artificiality and visual continuity of digital effects produced on computers and special effects made before the digital period. When viewed as sequels, it is seen that many productions are high-budget productions supported by special or visual effects. In a production system dominated by digital effects, the production team's view of the needs of the film gains importance in order to produce an effect that does not involve an artificial appearance and does not conflict with the visual design and atmosphere of the previous film as a sequel. In this research, it is aimed to discuss the role of digital effects in providing visual continuity between the 1982 movie Blade Runner, which stands out with the use of special effects in production design, and the 2017 Blade Runner 2049, which tells the story 30 years later. Ridley Scott, the director of the first film, and Denis Villeneuve, the director of the sequel, are two important storytellers of their time, known for their original ideas and visualizing stories on different themes. Both filmmakers are directors who do not go beyond what the story wants in effect design and who argue that the scene or sequence should be equipped with possible succinct and aesthetic effects. In this study, which is an exploratory field study, the descriptive analysis method between films was used, and the behind-the-scenes interviews of the team members involved in the production process of the films were also used. In the research, it is concluded that the visual effects realized in different production periods are produced in both films without falling into artificiality and with a system that is sensitive to catching a harmony between each other and adapts to the visual continuity.