BACK TO THE FUTURE: The filmmaking technique of "Forced Perspective".

Forced Perspective is a visual effect that can make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is.

They followed a simple formula to get our 1/24th & 1/15th scale Delorean to match our backdrop.

Distance from Camera (ft) x Scale of Model =
Distance between FG model & BG

We were shooting on a Canon 5d Mark II with a 17mm wide angle lens. This formula may change with different type of lenses used. This formula is a good guide to get you close to where you need to be, but tinkering will always be necessary.

Part 3 will go into how we created our miniature Hill Valley, and also some composting techniques used in post production.



Video and text via  Shanks FX  in association with PBS Digital Studios