A miniature effect is a special effect created for motion pictures and television programs using scale models. Scale models are often combined with high speed photography or matte shots to make gravitational and other effects appear convincing to the viewer. The use of miniatures has largely been superseded by Computer-generated imagery in the contemporary cinema.
Where a miniature appears in the foreground of a shot, this is often very close to the camera lens — for example when matte painted backgrounds are used. Since the exposure is set to the object being filmed so the actors appear well lit, the miniature must be over-lit in order to balance the exposure and eliminate any depth of field differences that would otherwise be visible. This foreground miniature usage is referred to as forced perspective. Another form of miniature effect uses stop motion animation.
Use of scale models in the creation of visual effects by the entertainment industry dates back to the earliest days of cinema. Models and miniatures are copies of people, animals, buildings, settings and objects. Miniatures or models are used to represent things that do not really exist, or that are too expensive or difficult to film in reality, such as explosions, floods or fires.
Read more about Miniature Effect: From 1900 To The Mid-1960s, From The Mid-1960s, Largely Replaced By CGI, Techniques, Notable Model-makers, Miniature Effects Companies
Famous quotes containing the words miniature and/or effect:
“To step over the low wall that divides
Road from concrete walk above the shore
Brings sharply back something known long before
The miniature gaiety of seasides.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)
“Where there is not discernment, the behavior even of the purest soul may in effect amount to coarseness.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)