1. Foreground and hanging miniatures.
In the early years of the cinema the pioneers of this new art developed
tricks and techniques to achieve some daring and spectacular images in
motion.
The construction of miniatures instead of building full scale sets
has been in used from the silent movies until nowadays.
One of the most common techniques was the foreground or hanging miniature.
This trick is very simple and ingenious, but requires a high sense of perspective
to match the miniature with the real elements.
The idea is similar than the glass shot, but instead of painting
the miniature on the glass, a model built in three dimensions has to be
positioned in front of the camera matching the real set, hanging
from the top or hold from the sides.
Some examples of this technique:
"The Black pirate" (Albert Parker, 1926, played by Douglas
Fairbanks)
Swiedish-American art director Carl Oscar Borg made use os this hanging
miniature to create the treasure islad set, at the back lot of the Pickford-Fairbanks
studios.
They create the shore of the island using a flooded tank to simulate
the ocean. The miniature was hanged in order to hide the other sets at
the back lot.
Masters of foreground miniatures.
Arnold Gillespie ( visual effects and miniature supervisor)
Eugene Lourie ( art director)
Emilio Ruiz del Rio ( miniature effect./ matte painter)
Derek Meddings ( visual effects and miniature supervisior)
2. The World in miniature.
From the silent era to the digital ages, miniatures and models has been used to recreate, burn, explode, and flood any kind of environment. Everything is built in miniature, there is not real elements to match, unlike the hanging miniatures.
Some examples of worlds in miniature.
"Logan´s run" (1976)
Masters of miniatures
This is a list of some of the most recognized masters of miniatures.
I have include, model makers, art dir Derek Meddings / Visual effects supervisorectors,
aBrian Johnson / visual effects supervisornd directors of photography.
| Howad Anderson Jr / miniature effects photography | |
| L.B. Abbott / visual effects supervisor / miniature photography |  |
| Enrique Alarcon / art director | |
| Charlie Baker / model maker | |
| Martin Bower / model maker | |
| Richard Conway / supervisor miniature effects | |
| Art Cruickshank / Miniature photography | |
| John Dykstra /visual effects supervisor | |
| Richard Edlund / visual effects supervisor | |
| John Fulton / visual effects supervor | |
| Paul Huston / Supervisor miniature effects | |
| Don Jahraus / miniature supervisor | |
| Gordon Jennings / supervisor visual effects |  |
| Greg Jein / model maker | |
| Brian Johnson / visual effects supervisor |  |
| Phil Kellison / visual effects supervisor | |
| George Melies / visual effects pioneer | |
| Grant McCune / model maker supervisor | |
| Derek Meddings/ visual effects supervisor |  |
| Dennis Muren /visual effects supervisor / miniature photography | |
| Howard and Theodore Lydecker / supervisors miniature effects | |
| Ned Mann / miniature effects supervisor | |
| Brian Smithies / Miniature supervisor |  |
| Robert and Dennis Skotak / Supervisors miniature effects |  |
| Paul Wilson / miniature photography |
| Miniatures Gallery
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