Forced perspective is a technique that uses optical illusions to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than they actually are. It makes objects of vastly different sizes, that are at significantly different distances appear proportionate through manipulating human visual perception. This is achieved by using scaled objects and developing a correlation between them and the vantage point of the spectator or camera.
Function
A small object very close to a camera appears large while a big object far away appears small. Our brains usually understand that something is close or far based on relative perspective. In a picture of a skyline, we see everything small but know that buildings are really large. Our brains, therefore, see everything as big from a distance. However, bringing a smaller object closer to the point of view and giving the illusion that it is larger can trick our brains. This is forced perspective.
Forced perspective can be made more believable when environmental conditions obscure the difference in perspective. For example, the final scene of the famous movie casablanca takes place at an airport in the middle of a storm, although the entire scene was shot in a studio. This was accomplished by using a painted backdrop of an aircraft, which was "serviced" by dwarfs standing next to the backdrop. A downpour (created in-studio) draws much of the viewer's attention away from the backdrop and extras, making the simulated perspective less noticeable.
Effects and Features
In photography, forced perspective can be achieved by positioning objects of different sizes and distances so that they appear to be right next to each other. An example would be placing a toy car close to the camera with a car dealership in the background. If placed correctly, the toy will appear to be a full-sized car. It is also a common photographic effect to make a person appear to be touching something large that is far away. For example, holding the moon in his hand or touching the top of a tall building.
Forced perspective is a commonly used trick in films. Movie sets and location shoots are expensive. It is much cheaper to film actors in front of paintings, photographs or miniature models giving the illusion that they are in a much bigger place. Small objects can also appear to be very large by placing them close to the camera and shooting actors from far away. Old-time monster movies used to use this trick.
This is a practical technique for shooting a scene in a studio with less space than might be required. How can that happen? Isn't the size of a studio predetermined by the number of sets scheduled to occupy the space? Initially, it is. Then any number of things could happen; the schedule changes or a critical location is lost or an additional series of shots are added to forward the storytelling. At that point, a forced perspective set might be squeezed into the empty space previously occupied by a set already shot and wrapped.
Role of Light
Early instances of forced perspective used in low-budget motion pictures showed objects that were clearly different from their surroundings, often blurred or at a different light level. The principal cause of this was geometric. Light from a point source travels in a spherical wave, decreasing in intensity or illuminance as the inverse square of the distance travelled. This means that a light source must be four times as bright to produce the same illuminance at an object twice as far away. Thus to create the illusion of a distant object being at the same distance as a near object and scaled accordingly, much more light is required.
Opening the camera's iris lets more light into the camera, allowing both near and far objects to be seen at a more similar light level, but this has the secondary effect of decreasing depth of field. This makes near or the far objects appear blurry. By increasing the volume of light hitting the distant objects, the opening of the iris can be restricted and depth of field is increased, thus portraying both near and far objects in focus, and if well scaled, existing in a similar lateral plane.
Since miniature models would need to be subjected to far greater lighting than the main focus of the camera i.e. the area of action, it is important to ensure that these can withstand the significant amount of heat generated by the incandescent light sources typically used in film and TV production.
Nodal Point: Forced Perspective In Motion
Peter Jackson's film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings make extended use of forced perspective. Characters apparently standing next to each other would be displaced by several feet in depth from the camera. This, in a still shot, makes some characters appear much smaller in relation to others.
A new technique developed for the enhancement of this principle which could be used in moving shots. Portions of sets were mounted on movable platforms which would move precisely according to the movement of the camera, so that the optical illusion would be preserved at all times for the duration of the shot. The same techniques were used in the Harry Potter movies to make the character Hagrid look like a giant. Props around Harry and his friends are of normal size, while seemingly identical props placed around Hagrid are in fact smaller.
The techniques developed center around a nodal point axis, so the camera's panning axis is at the point between the lens and aperture ring where the light travelling through the camera meets its axis. By comparison, the normal panning axis would be at the point at which light would strike the film. The position of this nodal point can be different for every lens. However, on wide angle lenses it is often found between the midpoint of the lens and the aperture ring.
Forced Perspective in Architecture
In architecture, a structure can be made to seem larger, taller, farther away or otherwise by adjusting the scale of objects in relation to the spectator, increasing or decreasing perceived depth. For example, when forced perspective is used to make an object appear farther away, the following method can be used: By constantly decreasing the scale of objects from expectancy and convention toward the farthest point from the spectator, an illusion is created that the scale of said objects is decreasing due to their distant location. In contrast, the opposite technique was sometimes used in classical garden designs to shorten the perceived distances along a path.
Builders of ancient structures like the Pantheon, built stone columns curving slightly outward in the middle. This gives them the illusion of being straight and longer than they actually are. Symbols on temples were made larger the higher they were off the ground. This made all the writing appear to be the same size from the ground.
The Statue of Liberty is built with a slight forced perspective so that it appears more correctly proportioned when viewed from its base. When the statue was designed in the late 19th century, there were few other angles from which to view the statue. This caused a difficulty for special effects technicians working on the movie Ghostbusters 2, who had to back off on the amount of forced perspective used when replicating the statue for the movie so that their model - which was photographed head-on, would not look top-heavy. A similar effect can also be seen in Michelangelo's statue of David. Forced perspective is extensively used in theme parks or other post modern architecture often to make structures look larger than they are in reality. The technique is used in instances where physically large structures may not be feasible or to provide an optical illusion for entertainment value.
REFERENCE:
Kay, N. 2006-2010. 15 Forced Perspective Techniques Example [online]. Available at: http://www.digital-photography-school.com/forced-perspective
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_perspective. [Accessed: 12 May 2011]
50+ Forced Perspective: Just Incredible Photography [online]. 2010. Available at:
http://desigg.com/forced-perspective-just-incredible-photography/. [Accessed: 12 May 2011]
Ninomiya, K. 1999-2011. What is Forced Perspective [online]. Available at:
http://www.ehow.com/about_4588026_what-forced-perspective.html. [Accessed; 12 May 2011]
Function
A small object very close to a camera appears large while a big object far away appears small. Our brains usually understand that something is close or far based on relative perspective. In a picture of a skyline, we see everything small but know that buildings are really large. Our brains, therefore, see everything as big from a distance. However, bringing a smaller object closer to the point of view and giving the illusion that it is larger can trick our brains. This is forced perspective.
Forced perspective can be made more believable when environmental conditions obscure the difference in perspective. For example, the final scene of the famous movie casablanca takes place at an airport in the middle of a storm, although the entire scene was shot in a studio. This was accomplished by using a painted backdrop of an aircraft, which was "serviced" by dwarfs standing next to the backdrop. A downpour (created in-studio) draws much of the viewer's attention away from the backdrop and extras, making the simulated perspective less noticeable.
Effects and Features
In photography, forced perspective can be achieved by positioning objects of different sizes and distances so that they appear to be right next to each other. An example would be placing a toy car close to the camera with a car dealership in the background. If placed correctly, the toy will appear to be a full-sized car. It is also a common photographic effect to make a person appear to be touching something large that is far away. For example, holding the moon in his hand or touching the top of a tall building.
Forced perspective is a commonly used trick in films. Movie sets and location shoots are expensive. It is much cheaper to film actors in front of paintings, photographs or miniature models giving the illusion that they are in a much bigger place. Small objects can also appear to be very large by placing them close to the camera and shooting actors from far away. Old-time monster movies used to use this trick.
This is a practical technique for shooting a scene in a studio with less space than might be required. How can that happen? Isn't the size of a studio predetermined by the number of sets scheduled to occupy the space? Initially, it is. Then any number of things could happen; the schedule changes or a critical location is lost or an additional series of shots are added to forward the storytelling. At that point, a forced perspective set might be squeezed into the empty space previously occupied by a set already shot and wrapped.
Role of Light
Early instances of forced perspective used in low-budget motion pictures showed objects that were clearly different from their surroundings, often blurred or at a different light level. The principal cause of this was geometric. Light from a point source travels in a spherical wave, decreasing in intensity or illuminance as the inverse square of the distance travelled. This means that a light source must be four times as bright to produce the same illuminance at an object twice as far away. Thus to create the illusion of a distant object being at the same distance as a near object and scaled accordingly, much more light is required.
Opening the camera's iris lets more light into the camera, allowing both near and far objects to be seen at a more similar light level, but this has the secondary effect of decreasing depth of field. This makes near or the far objects appear blurry. By increasing the volume of light hitting the distant objects, the opening of the iris can be restricted and depth of field is increased, thus portraying both near and far objects in focus, and if well scaled, existing in a similar lateral plane.
Since miniature models would need to be subjected to far greater lighting than the main focus of the camera i.e. the area of action, it is important to ensure that these can withstand the significant amount of heat generated by the incandescent light sources typically used in film and TV production.
Nodal Point: Forced Perspective In Motion
Peter Jackson's film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings make extended use of forced perspective. Characters apparently standing next to each other would be displaced by several feet in depth from the camera. This, in a still shot, makes some characters appear much smaller in relation to others.
A new technique developed for the enhancement of this principle which could be used in moving shots. Portions of sets were mounted on movable platforms which would move precisely according to the movement of the camera, so that the optical illusion would be preserved at all times for the duration of the shot. The same techniques were used in the Harry Potter movies to make the character Hagrid look like a giant. Props around Harry and his friends are of normal size, while seemingly identical props placed around Hagrid are in fact smaller.
The techniques developed center around a nodal point axis, so the camera's panning axis is at the point between the lens and aperture ring where the light travelling through the camera meets its axis. By comparison, the normal panning axis would be at the point at which light would strike the film. The position of this nodal point can be different for every lens. However, on wide angle lenses it is often found between the midpoint of the lens and the aperture ring.
Forced Perspective in Architecture
In architecture, a structure can be made to seem larger, taller, farther away or otherwise by adjusting the scale of objects in relation to the spectator, increasing or decreasing perceived depth. For example, when forced perspective is used to make an object appear farther away, the following method can be used: By constantly decreasing the scale of objects from expectancy and convention toward the farthest point from the spectator, an illusion is created that the scale of said objects is decreasing due to their distant location. In contrast, the opposite technique was sometimes used in classical garden designs to shorten the perceived distances along a path.
Builders of ancient structures like the Pantheon, built stone columns curving slightly outward in the middle. This gives them the illusion of being straight and longer than they actually are. Symbols on temples were made larger the higher they were off the ground. This made all the writing appear to be the same size from the ground.
The Statue of Liberty is built with a slight forced perspective so that it appears more correctly proportioned when viewed from its base. When the statue was designed in the late 19th century, there were few other angles from which to view the statue. This caused a difficulty for special effects technicians working on the movie Ghostbusters 2, who had to back off on the amount of forced perspective used when replicating the statue for the movie so that their model - which was photographed head-on, would not look top-heavy. A similar effect can also be seen in Michelangelo's statue of David. Forced perspective is extensively used in theme parks or other post modern architecture often to make structures look larger than they are in reality. The technique is used in instances where physically large structures may not be feasible or to provide an optical illusion for entertainment value.
REFERENCE:
Kay, N. 2006-2010. 15 Forced Perspective Techniques Example [online]. Available at: http://www.digital-photography-school.com/forced-perspective
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forced_perspective. [Accessed: 12 May 2011]
50+ Forced Perspective: Just Incredible Photography [online]. 2010. Available at:
http://desigg.com/forced-perspective-just-incredible-photography/. [Accessed: 12 May 2011]
Ninomiya, K. 1999-2011. What is Forced Perspective [online]. Available at:
http://www.ehow.com/about_4588026_what-forced-perspective.html. [Accessed; 12 May 2011]
No comments:
Post a Comment