How do they make people shorter in movies?

Question

I've been wondering this for a while. I finally remembered to post this question since I'm watching Lord of the Rings, and saw all the Hobbits.

Answer 1

Lord of the Rings used a variety of tricks to make the hobbits appear small. In some scenes, the hobbits were shot on a big set, the other people on a small set, and the two combined digitally. Other scenes used forced perspective, where the hobbit would be further away but the set and camera angle trick you into thinking he's right next to the "big" character. They also used stand-ins . When you see Frodo's back listening to Gandalf, it's actually a very small person standing in for Elijah Wood. Then they reverse the shot and you see the back of a very tall Gandalf stand-in. The extended edition DVD of Fellowship of the Ring has a feature on how a lot of this was done.

Answer 2

Well if the hobbits are actually alone then eveything is made bigger proportion to their size. If they are with someone then the trick called forced perspective is used where the closer the thing is the bigger they are although the limit is that the camera could not move because the trick will be revealed.

example the scene where Gandalf and Frodo are riding the caravan to Bilbo's house. Actually Gandalf is siting a few feet apart from elijah (frodo) which is sitting a little bit behind.

The other thing is editing where they edit the size of the character digitally.

And if the character's face is not scene then probably they'll use a scale double who is shorter or taller than the actual actor

Answer 3

There is a technique called "forced perspective". Do this little experiment to check it out: Take two objects that are the same size, like two cups. Place one on the counter in front of you and one on the far side. Get down to eye level with them and line them up so that they look like they're standing next to each other. Close one eye and they will look side by side but the one at the back will be shorter. This technique has been used for decades. It produced the leprecauns in "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" and was used part of the time on LOTR. Small actors, children, and oversized props also played a role.

Answer 4

i'm not sure about Lord of the Rings considering all the sets, but here's some good examples:

Bedazzled: when he's a basketball player.. the camera is shooting up at him instead of from the front. That makes him appear larger.

also a lot of movies use stands (wood structures) in shots where there are multi sized people. the taller people will stand on the stands to make them look bigger.

Answer 5

It's all about the position of the camera. When you watch the extra features on Elf, they show how they made Will so large and the others elf size. In a scene where they are sitting at a desk, it looks like they are side by side but they aren't. One's further back then the other.

Answer 6

For most films that don't want to spend money on digital editing, they make the props larger so the person seems smaller compared to it.

Hope that helps :]