 Some special effects , like Motoko 's " <unk> @-@ optical camouflage " , were rendered through the use of <unk> software . The process uses a single illustration and manipulates the image as necessary to produce distortions for effect in combination with a background without altering the original illustration . The effect is re @-@ added back into the shot to complete the scene . While the visual displays used in the film were technically simple to create , the appearance of the displays underwent numerous revisions by the production team to best represent visual displays of the future . Another aspect of the CG use was to create images and effects that looked as if they were " perceived by the brain " and were generated in video and added to the film in its final stages . 
