Glass and filters: how to create special effects during the silent film era

On Reddit there is a section of Silent Movie Gifs, in which users share gifs of silent film. They have recently made a compilation of gifs to explain how almost a hundred years ago created the special effects.

"Security presige!" (1923)

In the frame of the actor Harold Lloyd hanging on the clock face, holding hands. Dial slowly breaks away from the hull, and the hero Lloyd hangs over the city.

In 1923, yet it was not possible to use rear projection for the filming. Instead, the operators used the tricks with perspective — building sets on the roof and shot a frame at a certain angle.

"New times" (1936)

Charlie Chaplin roller skating in the Department store and drove up to the edge of the balcony, where there is no balustrade.

Some of the scenery (in this case the lower floors) was drawn on glass, which was placed in front of the camera.

"Ella Cinders" (1926)

Eyes actress Colleen Moore spinning in different directions.

Again, the trick with the glass! Half face Moore closed with glass, part of which was painted over with black paint. After the first scene was filmed, the film was rewound, the glass moved to the other half of the face, and shot again.

"Ben-Hur: The Story Of The Christ" (1925)

The scene where Jesus heals the leper girls.

To this effect the operator Carl Struss used color filters. When the filters were changed, the makeup of the Actresses playing the lepers were no longer to be seen on film.

"Little Lord Fauntleroy" (1921)

Actress Mary Pickford "forks" in the frame.

"Little Lord Fauntleroy" is not the first film in which the actor "forks" in the frame. A few years before the release of pictures filmmaker Georges Méliès has found that appear in a single frame several times, you can use frosted glass and double exposure.

The camera was placed in a metal frame that kept her moving. First scene was shot sitting Pickford. At the same time, the silhouette of the actress drew on the frosted glass. Then the film was rewound. In the new stage Pickford kissed his drawn silhouette placed in front of the camera.

Translated by «Yandex.Translator»