Hanging miniature is an
in-camera special effect similar to a
matte shot where a model, rather than a painting, is placed in the foreground and the action takes place in the
background
Background may refer to:
Performing arts and stagecraft
* Background actor
* Background artist
* Background light
* Background music
* Background story
* Background vocals
* ''Background'' (play), a 1950 play by Warren Chetham-Strode
Record ...
. It is thus a specific form of
forced perspective
Forced perspective is a technique that employs optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. It manipulates human visual perception through the use of scaled objects and the correlation ...
.
Description
There are hundreds of instances where a hanging miniature has been used. This is a very old device and when produced correctly it is almost completely undetectable. The chariot race in the
1925 version of ''Ben-Hur'' is a good example. Only a very careful examination will reveal that above the wall surrounding the stadium and the first rows of bleachers, there hangs a miniature with moving 'puppet' people that can rise and fall with the human extras. Another cost saving effect was that of 'flopping' the negative so that only one side of the stadium miniature was built. The main reason for using a miniature in this way is that, unlike a painting, the light on the built set will always be the same as that on the miniature, making it possible to shoot in a variety of different 'lights' during the day.
See also
*
Shot (filmmaking)
In filmmaking and video production, a shot is a series of frames that runs for an uninterrupted period of time. Film shots are an essential aspect of a movie where angles, transitions and cuts are used to further express emotion, ideas and mo ...
*
Filmmaking
Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, cast ...
Special effects
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