Here is what you need to know when shooting with miniatures.
Miniatures are often overlooked when we talk about cinematography and filmmaking, yet they have been a staple in filmmaking since Georges Méliès’s A Trip to the Moon in 1902. They have been used to the stunning landscapes of Middle-earth in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, background imagery in Interstellar, and cinema’s most memorable effects like the tornado in The Wizard of Oz.
No matter your level of filmmaking, miniatures are a great resource to use when you want to shoot a location that doesn’t exist or when you need a budget-friendly solution that cannot be solved with computer-generated effects.
While building a miniature is one thing, shooting the downsized set or effect is another challenge. Joshua Little states that there are three things you have to consider when shooting a miniature—depth of field, focal length, and camera angle. Understanding these three things is essential to make a miniature set look life-sized.
Author: Alyssa Miller
This article comes from No Film School and can be read on the original site.
