Filming a movie isn’t just about writing a great script and hiring the most popular actors. Here are some tips and tricks that all filmmakers use to create a film that you won’t soon forget.
Background Actors
All those people you see in the backgrounds of various scenes are there to make the film more realistic. Whether you see them talking or laughing, all they are doing is opening and closing their mouths without making any noise. They won’t even make eye contact with cameras. All sounds are recorded later with powerful microphones.
Secrets to Creating Sounds
When it comes to creating various noises that you hear in movies, a variety of materials are used. Vegetables are a favorite in horror films. For example, snapping a carrot in half sounds eerily the same as snapping bones. Likewise, Nazgul’s roar is from plastic cups scraped across glass.
Children in Horror Films
When using kids in scary shows, everything in a particular scene is treated as a game. They have no idea that they are filming anything scarier, as all of the sound effects that make it scary are added later during post-production.
Movie Sets: Not Always Computer-Generated
Futuristic cities, impressive castles, and other fantasy sets are not always created with computers. In some movies, producers use what are called “bigatures.” These are large models of the places in the film.
Filming Scenes with Mirrors
One of the trickiest things to record is when an actor is in front of a mirror. Cameras are placed in specific locations so they aren’t reflected back. In these cases, the actors look into the camera to appear as if they are looking into the mirror.
Smoking Actors
When filming, real cigarettes are never used because they won’t last long enough for the scene. Instead, producers use herbal ones or simply imitate the gesture.
Clouds Over Cities
Clouds hovering above cities are not there by chance. During filming, a machine called a “cloud tank” is used. Milk is injected for white clouds, while different paints are used to create darker or colored ones.