At this point, films have entertained audiences for more than a couple of decades already. However, the acting and storytelling business had existed way before the first city was even supplied with electricity. Although that may be the case, the techniques used to make these stage performances as immersive and believable as possible still found their way into modern-day filmmaking.
Time and time again, films have impressed people not only with excellent performances by actors but also with impressive visual and practical effects. Along with the ever-improving growth of technology, filmmakers have gained more and more access to better equipment for their projects. As a result, several movies have become more and more immersive and realistic.
For this article, we will be talking about a few behind-the-scenes tricks filmmakers and their teams use when they create movies. Some of these can be quite apparent even for the average film-goer, while others can be very subtle. With that said, one thing’s for sure, all these techniques and effects still take a significant amount of investment money to fulfill – especially the good ones. Well, with that said, let’s talk about a few of them, shall we?
That Sounds Familiar
There are many requirements filmmakers need to accomplish to make a good movie. One such requirement is sound. Although it is often overlooked, the way a film’s environment sounds can play a vital role in making the story more believable.
Sound designers take credit for providing the sound for a movie’s environment — they would recreate sounds like footsteps and running water to make it more audible for the audience. However, a sound designer’s job can also require them to think outside of the box. One such example is how Godzilla’s roar was made. For the iconic monster’s first iteration back in 1954, composer Akira Ifukube thought that rubbing a glove coated in pine-tar resin against a double bass could make an otherworldly shrieking roar – and he was right. Another more modern example is for the aliens in A Quiet Place, where the sound of their footsteps was made by cracking lobster legs – the sound of vegetables being twisted were used for when they open their ears.
Mirrors
Although they’re often seen in movies, filming actors in front of mirrors can take some investment money to execute flawlessly. Cameramen tend to be caught in a mirror’s reflection. Fortunately, filmmakers have found ways to solve this problem.
One such example aspiring filmmakers can reflect upon is found in James Cameron’s Terminator films. In the scene where Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator and Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor face a mirror, the two actors aren’t actually facing one. Instead, alongside Hamilton’s twin, Schwarzenegger was at the farther side facing the camera, while Hamilton and Schwarzenegger’s body double stood in front of it. Meanwhile, for John Wick: Chapter 2, in the set full of mirrors, the filmmakers shot the scene like any other and removed the cameraman in post-production via visual effects.
They Looked Taller In The Picture
Through the years, the film industry has had more than its fair share of grand set pieces. Nowadays, though these can often be made with computer-generated effects, the practical ones still maintain a high degree of charm.
Before animating software was strong enough to create realistic environments, filmmakers relied on creating small-scale versions of their sets. With these “bigatures,” cameramen can take “aerial shots” of the place while maintaining the illusion of their life-size appearance. One such series of films that used this technique with perfection is Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. Throughout its production, the film’s crew made several scaled-versions of the sets – some were even so wide they covered the parking lot outside their studio.
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