Miniaturizing people isn’t particularly original in Hollywood. There are many works where characters are seen at very different scales, but the question is: How do they pull it off? Jamie Price was the visual effects supervisor for the recent film "Downsizing" with Matt Damon, and he accompanies us on a long journey that begins with a classic like "The Bride of Frankenstein".
Some names come to mind immediately: "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" with Rick Moranis, "Ant-Man" from the Marvel universe, the "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" sagas... all these films present miniature people in their own way, and each project managed to implement a series of very convenient resources to maintain the illusion. Now, the question is: How exactly do they do it? One of the best ways to understand it is by knowing the origins of "miniature people" in films, with the guidance of visual effects expert Jamie Price who worked on projects like "The Two Towers", "Australia", "Pacific Rim", the reboot of "RoboCop", and recently "Downsizing".
A Journey Through Visual Effects History
The video starts with a historical example: "The Bride of Frankenstein". For the scene of people in jars, measurements were taken on set, they modified the scale of the jars, filmed the actors at a greater distance, and the composition was achieved with the help of the Williams method, an "ancestor" of blue screen filming. In the case of "Dr. Cyclops", the Williams method was incompatible because of the use of color, which led to extensive use of rear projection combined with mechanical effects in the foreground like the doctor's hand.
"Darby O’Gill and the Little People" followed the route of forced perspective and manipulation of modified mirrors (removing part of the reflective surface). By the time of "Hook", we enter an advanced use of blue screen, and photographic elements with real miniatures (Tinker Bell's wings). However, all the heavy artillery showed its potential in "The Lord of the Rings", merging forced perspective, compositions, digital editing, robotic assistance, and motion control not only for cameras, but also for actors and set objects. Finally, in "Downsizing", they decided to limit the adoption of giant objects (although there were some), and turned to an old technique, optimized with modern tools: rotoscoping.
