30 Photos That Reveal The Tricks That Filmmakers Used In Their Movies
On-screen, everything looks picture perfect. From close-up shots to elaborate fight scenes, it seems there’s no room for error in our all-time favorite movies. And although it’s true, that doesn’t mean it’s a given.
In fact, many A-list filmmakers have been putting all their best effort, ingenuity, and talent into coming up with something as good as the iconic rooftop scene from The Matrix.
So this time, Bored Panda has compiled a list of the most incredible behind-the-scenes photographs that reveal all the big and small cinematographic tricks. Get your popcorn ready, we’re about to find out how on earth do they do this!
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The Phantom Menace (1999)
Model maker Michael Lynch created this miniature set for Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. To fill the stands, 450,000 Q-tips were cut, painted and inserted into a mesh. By blowing fans from underneath the model stands, the Q-tips appeared as a live crowd moving around in their seats
Wow! That must have been a lot of work, but the results are quite stunning. It was one of my favourite movies growing up and I've never realized these are not actually extras.
Michael Lynch: It's over stupid filmmakers! I have the high ground! || Stupidfilmakers: you underestimate my stupidity!
7+ scariest moments in marvel movies: https://wiinchannel.com/scariest-moments-in-marvel-23-movie-collection/
Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)
Imagine being the man in the green suit in movies that just sits and gets petted lol
Yes, it is! Sean Gunn provided the motion capture for Rocket, but he was voiced by Bradley Cooper.
Load More Replies...When you hear someone talking about visual effects, movies like Star Wars, Blade Runner, or Jurassic Park often come to your mind. But VFX aficionados often find their passion not exactly in the entire movies (like film critics), but rather in particular shots that blow their minds in their complexity.
A great example of one is the mirror shot in Robert Zemeckis’ film Contact from 1997, where young Ellie races to a medicine cabinet, with the camera right in front of her face. As she finally comes upstairs, the viewers realize we have been watching her reflection in the mirror.
According to visual effects and animation journalist Ian Failes, this scene embodies all that good VFX should have. “Not only is it a shot considered a milestone in invisible and seamless visual effects, it is a scene that even VFX pros regularly admit they have no idea how it was pulled off.”
Jurassic World (2015)
It never occurred to me that people played the velociraptors. Now I wish I could do it!
Forrest Gump (1994)
I always wondered HOW they did that..he could not be sitting on his legs on a wheelchair. So convincing !!
when I was child and I watched other of huis films I thought he had prothesis because I thought it was real
What's even more impressive is the scene where he's on the floor and swings his legs around, THROUGH a table. (There's only barely enough clearance for his amputated legs, nowhere near enough for his real legs - watch the "how the did it" for that scene - it's amazing!)
Several years ago, I read about that and how difficult that scene was....I can't pretend to remember all the ins and outs of it but it was challenging yet seemed very realistic!
Load More Replies...The VFX Supervisor Ken Ralston, who worked on the mirror shot in Contact, said that initially, the mirror shot wasn’t going to be that at all.
“One of the things that we were starting to pursue was a very, very early version of what is now called ‘bullet time,’ shooting something with stills and using those, like in The Matrix [which came out in 1999]. At the time, we were looking at The Rolling Stones' music video that had been done,” he told animation journalist Ian Failes in the interview.
Exterior Of The Sewer Set In It
Agreed, looks very similar to the "alien" set.
Load More Replies...Heh-heh... though an image my mind didn't really need! 🤣
Load More Replies...its big, see the person on top of the structure on bottom right
Load More Replies...I read that too fast. I thought it was the sewer set in it. Had to read it three times to figure out it is "It". I'm old.
So much work goes into creating sets for movies..that replicate reality or not!!
This is quite amazing, considering how much craft has been scrapped in favor of CGI.
Star Wars
Grant Imahara (RIP) and Tory Belleci from Mythbusters working on Trade Federation battleship from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
NO WAY! MYTHBUSTERS WORKED IN STAR WARS???!!!! Did not know that!
I think they all worked for Lucasfilms or ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) -Lucas 's offshoot
Load More Replies...so sad about Grant Imahara. so talented, and he seemed like such a positive, sweet guy on Mythbusters.
Oh my god, I didn't even know until I read this. He seemed like such a good guy. I'm so sorry.
Load More Replies...E.T The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Simple fixes are smart. why complicate things. Think like a child zooming in the moment. Rita Parvey
The Godfather (1972)
Wasn't it because the character 's jaw had been broken? Brando auditioned with cotton in his mouth to show that, I think?
It was even Brando's own idea. When he was auditioning he stuffed cotton balls in his mouth to give himself the look of a bulldog.
Load More Replies...Back To The Future Part III (1990)
Great effects. Loved how they did special effects "back in the day" before CGI. It was done using real objects and real camera tricks rather than using a mouse and keyboard.
True, but notice some of the other posts here on more recent films (eg BB-8 or blade runner 2049) it is still usually cheaper to use models where you can.
Load More Replies...Fast forward to today, and people are still mesmerized by the scene without a clue of how the team pulled it off. But when it comes to visual effects, Ralston believes that it all comes down to being presented in a simple way. “The beauty of it is, anywhere else, there’d be cutaways, of course, to show what you need to know.”
A shot like that one, according to Ralston, “just gotta be right or it’s not going to work.” “You have to be grounded somehow in a movie, or believing in what you’re seeing, or it just doesn’t mean anything.”
Pulp Fiction (1994)
What was inside the glowing briefcase in pulp fiction
Some movies are just great... they don't even have to pay off the thing that drived the story
Did seeing this make anyone else sad? Silly right? I just wanted to 'believe' a little longer...
The Hunt For Red October (1990)
I think this device is called a gimbal. It was used to great effect in "The Perfect Storm. That one rotated like a gyroscope.
And now you know why films have big budgets. You can't fully appreciate the amazing workmanship that goes into the sets and fx behind the scenes.
The Call Of The Wild (2020)
but...but...that's a dog and u r donkey boi.
Load More Replies...The original film from the 90s did. Go watch that one and skip this atrocity
Load More Replies...I agree. This is a shame since the rest of the movie is not so bad, but the dog was too much comic like.
Load More Replies...Star Wars: BB-8
Now I'm curious, when BB-8 is at full speed running away from gunfire, is there a guy just running fast pushing bb-8
He could have just kick bb8 to appear as if it is running. Just thought so. 😂
Load More Replies...Want to be in Star Wars? "Awesome!" You'll be in the desert. "Great" Running fast. "OK" Wearing a full body raincoat "Oh"
That poor guy must have been absolutely *baking* in that suit while filming in the desert.
Now I want to watch this again. I so often chalk things up to CGI in newer films.
Baby Driver (2017)
How the car was driven in Baby Driver when the actors were busy acting inside
Way cooler than the “Old School” stationary car and moving screen! 👍🏽
Also a lot more expensive and I think in many cases it's just not worth it, old school trick does fine.
Load More Replies...This car was AWD. Ah, I love the Subaru WRX STi Sedan. I think it dominated the WRC championships of somethin'
Imagine being on the highway and seeing that zoom by with 10 cops behind.
I liked that movie and now one can see who was really driving the Suberu
A bunch of camera equipment setup to cover all the angles another out of the box realistic but simple idea! Rita parvey
Essentially, visual effects have allowed filmmakers to transcend the limits of the screen and create impossible worlds. Sometimes it’s motion-capture footage blended with hand animation as in The Dawn Of Apes (2014).
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
You can use either green or blue screen in filming and then mark in editing which colour is replaced. So if you film with blue screen you can have Gamora in green and she won't be see-through
Load More Replies...I think the triangle-print bodysuit that he has on is interesting. I wonder what additional data that adds to basic green(or blue)-screen suit and process.
Fun fact for any gamers out there, the actor that plays Yondu is the voice actor for Harper from Call of Duty Black Ops II
Shutter Island (2010)
Even when CGI exists, it's still great to see filmmakers make props like this.
Besides that, less work for the animators and 3d modellers. ♡
Load More Replies...Great movie too..when you see this was a model after all it still thrills and chills
Life Of Pi (2015)
if you dont know it: its a great watch. If you prefer reading: based on a great book.
Load More Replies...A charming movie I thought the tiger was a trained one ..well almost but this is also revealing
It's a Bollywood Movie in hindi. Here is the link to know more about it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_of_Pi_(film)
Well, it's just showing how it was made...
Load More Replies...Avengers Endgame (2019)
I have a similar one, and it's even more perfect than Thor. Oh yes, and it doesn't come off..
Load More Replies...Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Spider-Man, War Machine, and Hulk behind the scenes Avengers: Endgame
The complexity of all the patterns to create special effects is just astonishing
Those modesty flaps 😂 Does it have a purpose other than "men don't wear tights/yoga pants"?
Other times, it takes never-before-used solutions to come up with something very creative, like the iconic bullet shot in The Matrix where Neo dodges a bullet. This frozen shot was executed by the VFX Supervisor John Gaeta, who worked with the directors and cinematographer to place 122 still cameras around Keanu Reeves before triggering them one by one
The Invisible Man (2020)
Man, I hate it when green men just comes into my house and lift me up like that. Has this ever happened to you?
He wore ..green.. mint green she had to jump and hold for the rest of the affect and hold her breath?
Titanic (1997)
In the making-of of the movie (in the DVD or Blu-ray's special features) they show you that the breath coming out of the actors' mouth was actually captured at a later time from people who were really shot in a cold environment and was later keyed into the final picture, this movie is technically awesome (yes, I do like it very much :D)!
I watched a documentary on it. It's pretty good and you all should watch/read about how they made it bc it was impressive. This water scene was made in the same tempered water that the people drowned in. Everyone was not joking about how cold the water was during the making of this film.
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Is that the "Back to the Future" car? Then it really would be back to the future.
Knives Out (2019)
In Knives Out, Matt Mania (Key Grip) cleverly sculpted mattes to reshape the lighting equipment into scenery you'd realistically expect to see reflected in the glasses.
It annoyed the heck out of me that everyone wasn't sitting centred with those knives... I get that was the point, but the OCD in me was crying the whole time
Please don't joke about OCD like that. It has nothing to do with liking stuff to be in order etc.
Load More Replies...Good attention to detail putting a window behind the camera for the glasses reflection
Men In Black (1997)
Same here! I wonder why they made it so big. Seems like even if they needed details, a model about a fourth of this size would be plenty. Now I wanna know!
Load More Replies....Another iconic VFX shot from The Matrix is the code onscreen, which hadn’t been done before. Gaeta’s idea was to give the audience an impression of what it’d be like to think in code. The team surely succeeded in doing so by making some of the most memorable visual effects ever shown on screen.
I Am Legend (2007)
They should've kept the guy in green, he's more terrifying than the badly CGI dog.
That is actually amazing CGI for the time the movie was made.
Load More Replies...I'd be terrified too, of a green man with a dog glove puppet on his hand...
Avengers : Infinity War (2018)
Space Jam (1996)
My face would be like Mike's if somebody in a green suit comes to me like that.
Mulan
This one reminds me of that time I brought my Mongolian friend to Robot World (a big robotic expo in Ilsan, S. Korea). There was a horse robot and she was like "meh, I rode a real one". I found it funny, but, yeah, it did make me think about the differences between a live animal and a machine built to respect safety measures.
The actress and credits expressed thanks towards a place where people die. Disgusting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulan_(2020_film)#Controversies
Now you could say that it was unnecessary to chainsaw a real horse to make the prop, but I think it added realism.
The Matrix
so, the part where they time-stopped everything, and shifted around was done by assembling a rig with multiple cameras, that took images at the exact same time. the cameras were spaced along a rail, basically along what the final movie shows as the camera motion. the spiny/floplike a fish/kung-not-quite-fu parts were all done on wires. the rest was just CGI.
Load More Replies...Harry Potter
I think it's so amazing for actors do act even without a real set and things to actually see
The amazing variety of the magical effects in this series is out of this world.. literally but wonderfully
Batman Returns (1992)
Danny Devito makes every movie better. He should be the new Wolverine - for starters.
Load More Replies...Die Hard (1988)
Fun fact: when Alan Rickman was about to be dropped, the Director said that he's gonna count to 3 and then drop Alan, but they dropped him at 1 instead.
I'm Going To Count To Three. There Will Not Be A Four - a quote from the film lolz
Breaking Bad
Tiger In Westworld (2016)
The Mandalorian
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Aladdin (2019)
Hannibal
Makeup team: "We should pin one of his eyelids back! ...no, bad idea; he'd never go for it." Gary Oldman: "Hey guys, I've got a great idea - let's pin back one of my eyelids!" True story.
The Shining (1980)
''Wendy? Darling? Light, of my life. I'm not gonna hurt ya.'' A behind the scene photo of the horror movie The Shining
that movie confused the frick outta me till i realised it was just about insanity
I got to stay at this hotel one weekend in 2009. I was disappointed that nothing haunting happened while I was there.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
I don't see why that needs to be CGI. They can easily do that type of make-up instead.
Alice In Wonderland (2010)
Yeah, but it just looks so uncomfortable.
Load More Replies...Avengers: Endgame (2019)
The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013)
The Walk (2015)
Glad that got cleared. For a second, I thought they had rebuilt the Twin Towers just to do the movie. ;)
Lmao that definitely would’ve been in the news!
Load More Replies...Matrix 4 (2021)
Matrix 4 in the making .. above San Francisco!
Why? It’s only two black blurs on top of a building.
Load More Replies...The Matrix 4 (2021)
not so sure about that. Not the biggest fan of all the reboots of every childhood film i love (Star Wars, Indy...).
Load More Replies...Why? We know those 2 actors were cast in the movie and this pic has zero context.
Load More Replies...The Mandalorian ( 2019 )
I absolutely loved how they used "the volume" instead of green screen for so much of The Mandalorian. I find it so much more convincing and realistic.
The Truman Show(1998)
Rampage (2018)
Fun fact. Whenever Dwayne is signing to the gorilla and he says "it's me", he signs "rock".
The Call Of The Wild (2020)
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
Mike Myers In Makeup As Fat Bastard In "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me"
Oh, is that all the thanks I get for the night of hot sex? I'm dead sexy, you were crap!
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Goldeneye (1995)
Sad that the telescope where the movie finale was shot literally collapsed a few months ago due to underfunding
I understand it was severely damaged by Hurricane Maria.
Load More Replies...I don't know what's harder, lying down & pretending to be upside down or standing up & pretending to be lying down.
The Mask (1994)
Inception (2010)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
I think it would have been fun, (but too $$$) to rebuild that section of NYC on a studio (like in Back to the Future) to get trashed!
Then you'd have one take. If it didn't work...welp.
Load More Replies...Alfred Hitchcock (1948)
Fun fact: In the movie "Dial M For Murder" he wanted to get a close-up of a finger dialing the telephone but for some reason, he couldn't so he ended up making a giant phone and a giant finger.
Game Of Thrones
Blade Runner 2049
Alice In Wonderland (2010)
I am replying so I can see the photo without clicking it.
Load More Replies...X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
Yea, that's Quicksilver. Watch WandaVision, this actors in it too.
Load More Replies...Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)
1917 (2019)
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
The Great Gatsby (2013)
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Opening Scene - Inglourious Basterds - LaPadite Farm
Inception (2010)
Space Odyssey, 1968 (2001 )
You messed up the years a little. The movie was made in 1968, and its plot takes place in 2001.
Clearly posting for likes if you can’t get the movie title right. They probably haven’t even seen it. Sad.
Jurassic World (2015)
John Wick (2014)
Non-Stop (2014)
Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015)
I have a huge crush on her. She visited my country in 2018 for her birthday, i missed her... :'( ba2c06610a...8b3c73.jpg
Baby Driver (2017)
La La Land (2016)
I have great respect for good actors / actresses, even more so when you see the reality, and sometimes the absurd / silly context, that they are acting within.
True. Sometimes, for the fear of leaks and spoilers, these actors don't even know exactly what they're supposed to be doing. Like, they're acting "blind".
Load More Replies...Most of the pictures are good, but some of them are like 'hey, actually there were CAMERAS where the scene was shot!'
Right? Emma Stone dancing, with lights and cameras pointed at her. Incredible effects!!!!
Load More Replies...There's a quality youtube channel with experts discussing good and bad cgi in movies. One of the most interesting bits i learnt was that often the motion capture suit stuff is useless to the artists because they are put on completely computer generated backgrounds anyway, so they just need to design it all from scratch. They also point out that a lot of directors don't know how to set up shots for cgi addition later, which is often why you get really shonky cgi in big budget movies. That and in many cases the cgi houses are only given a small window to do the work, which is why you end up with situations like Black Panther end fight scene being hilariously low rent - they only finished it a week or so before it was due to be released.
I didn't know special effects were used so much, even in situations that I thought they weren't needed?
Wait until you learn stunt doubles don't do only stunts either. ♡
Load More Replies...In the movie “Children of Men” there is this scene inside a car full of people, where the camera keeps on turning 360 degrees. If you see the scene your reaction is “how the bleeb did they film this?!” No CGI was used, but a clever combination of a moving camera on top of the car, and actors moving down off-camera to let the camera pass at exactly the right moment.
One of my first jobs was as a model maker for a sci-fi movie. Myself and my partner spent 5 months building a 2 metre long space trawler, complete with lights, engines that fired, and moving parts inside. The film makers packed it with explosives and blew it up as part of the filming soon after we completed it, after about a day of filming. A little part of me died too that day. Thank **** for modern CGI is all I can say.
I thought that the harry potter one was the best, by far, because they had absolutely nothing to look at except a green screen, and the movies is awesome!!! : )
I admire the creativity of the people whose craft is special effects, set design, makeup and costuming. Just as important as the actors.
I have great respect for good actors / actresses, even more so when you see the reality, and sometimes the absurd / silly context, that they are acting within.
True. Sometimes, for the fear of leaks and spoilers, these actors don't even know exactly what they're supposed to be doing. Like, they're acting "blind".
Load More Replies...Most of the pictures are good, but some of them are like 'hey, actually there were CAMERAS where the scene was shot!'
Right? Emma Stone dancing, with lights and cameras pointed at her. Incredible effects!!!!
Load More Replies...There's a quality youtube channel with experts discussing good and bad cgi in movies. One of the most interesting bits i learnt was that often the motion capture suit stuff is useless to the artists because they are put on completely computer generated backgrounds anyway, so they just need to design it all from scratch. They also point out that a lot of directors don't know how to set up shots for cgi addition later, which is often why you get really shonky cgi in big budget movies. That and in many cases the cgi houses are only given a small window to do the work, which is why you end up with situations like Black Panther end fight scene being hilariously low rent - they only finished it a week or so before it was due to be released.
I didn't know special effects were used so much, even in situations that I thought they weren't needed?
Wait until you learn stunt doubles don't do only stunts either. ♡
Load More Replies...In the movie “Children of Men” there is this scene inside a car full of people, where the camera keeps on turning 360 degrees. If you see the scene your reaction is “how the bleeb did they film this?!” No CGI was used, but a clever combination of a moving camera on top of the car, and actors moving down off-camera to let the camera pass at exactly the right moment.
One of my first jobs was as a model maker for a sci-fi movie. Myself and my partner spent 5 months building a 2 metre long space trawler, complete with lights, engines that fired, and moving parts inside. The film makers packed it with explosives and blew it up as part of the filming soon after we completed it, after about a day of filming. A little part of me died too that day. Thank **** for modern CGI is all I can say.
I thought that the harry potter one was the best, by far, because they had absolutely nothing to look at except a green screen, and the movies is awesome!!! : )
I admire the creativity of the people whose craft is special effects, set design, makeup and costuming. Just as important as the actors.
