Forced Perspective In Film

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What is forced perspective? Forced perspective is a technique that involves optical illusion to make the object seem larger, smaller, closer or further than it actually is. It influences the visual perception and is used mainly in filmmaking, photography and architecture.

Forced Perspective was developed by the Romans during the Renaissance period. It came about when a stage designer started layering set pieces to make the stage space appear bigger than it is.

In this research paper, I will be explaining how forced perspective has been used in filmmaking, photography as well as architecture; the impact it has made and how it has changed the industry as a whole. First up, forced perspective in films.

First, Close Encounter of the Third Kind. It was directed by Steven Spielberg. It was a well known movie when it came out in 1977. Many awards were won such as Oscars for the best cinematography in 1978. Close encounter of the third kind is a film revolving around a group of children encountering with Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). There was this particular scene that was filmed at the desert. The original storyline was the at the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. But in reality the scene was filmed at the Mojave Desert in California. In the film, the ship …show more content…

It was directed by Jhon Dorig. Although it not a very well known movie, but the movie used a lot of forced perspective shots. One such scene was also a desert scene. The original script was to depict the Gulf War in Iraq, but the scene was actually shot in at the Imperial Sand Dune in California. In the film, it looked like a real Humvee truck. However, the film maker, Vashi Nedomansky actually bought a 30 centimeter toy model Humvee from Walmart for US$23. This scene was filmed with the Humvee 2 feet away from the camera. They had to use the widest lens possible to get a wide view so that the depth of field was not a problem. The actors were placed behind the model, 40 feet away from the

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