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52-405: Actors stand in front of a screen while a projector positioned behind the screen casts a reversed image of the background. This requires a large space, as the projector needs to be placed some distance from the back of the screen. Frequently the background image may initially appear faint and washed out compared to the foreground. The image that is projected can be still or moving, but is always called

104-581: A projectionist . He was hired as an assistant camera operator by the Pathé company in 1925 and eventually moved to Hollywood, where he continued to work for Pathé until 1929. His early contributions in this capacity were for film serials such as The Green Archer (1925), Snowed In (1926), Hawk of the Hills (1927), and Queen of the Northwoods (1929). He was then hired by RKO Radio Pictures as

156-489: A black background), with those two elements then photographically combined with the unmoving image of the floor and walls that surround the creature in the final composite. During the brief 3-D craze and the more permanent shift to widescreen processes such as CinemaScope , Dunn pioneered the use of optical composites using these developments, inventing and refining new equipment to achieve it. Dunn worked for Desilu Productions , founded by Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball , and

208-413: A cinematographer and as head of the photographic effects department, where he would work from the late 1920s until 1956. His early contributions in camera work and special effects at RKO included films such as The Case of Sergeant Grischa (1930), Danger Lights (1930), and Cimarron (1931), an Academy Award -winner for Best Picture, and The Monkey's Paw (1933). This early experience led to

260-417: A leopard were photographically combined by Dunn. Dunn's work became so highly sought after by other studios that he formed his own company, Film Effects of Hollywood, in 1946. He served as the company's president until 1980, working that business at the same time as working at RKO. Eventually, Dunn sold his company to Francis Ford Coppola , who absorbed it into Zoetrope . Production on The Outlaw (1943)

312-413: A new building specifically designed with the features and to bear the loads is required, which often is the less expensive alternative to retrofitting an existing structure because of engineering issues. Buildings without soundproofing still are referred to as silent stages and may be used where the dialogue and other sounds are recorded as a separate operation. This separate operation usually involves

364-403: A typical green/blue screen for chroma keying by displaying the solid color behind the performers. Having a physical space where actors can see their environment and inform their performances accordingly is something that most greenscreen sets lack. The controlled visual environment also allows directors and cinematographers the ability to better create mise-en-scène , with greater control over

416-484: Is front projection , which uses a special screen material to allow the plate to be projected from the front of the screen. This results in a much sharper and more saturated image. Although the technique had been used experimentally for some time, it was during the filming of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) that the modern version was fully developed. In this case it was used to avoid costly on-location shots in Africa during

468-406: Is a stage that is surrounded (in varying degrees) by screens that extend the set. These screens, most commonly large arrays of LEDs , show a version of the set that was constructed in 3D (using software such as Unreal Engine ) that tracks its motion in real time with camera movement. A static display can function similarly for a still camera, given there is no parallax . However, these volumes allow

520-783: The San Francisco Art Institute , and received several similar awards from various arts and technical colleges, and other technical organizations. Dunn shared an Oscar win for special effects in 1949 for his work in collaboration with Willis O'Brien for the original Mighty Joe Young . In 1984, he received the Gordon E. Sawyer Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as well as Honorary Membership in The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers—their highest honor. Twice elected president of

572-406: The plate. One might hear the command "Roll plate" to instruct stage crew to begin projecting. These so-called process shots were widely used to film actors as if they were inside a moving vehicle, who in reality are in a vehicle mock-up on a sound stage . In these cases the motion of the backdrop film and foreground actors and props were often different due to the lack of camera stabilizing in

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624-611: The Acme-Dunn optical printer to be mass-produced out of a request from the United States' military. The printer was revolutionary in both the production process and the post-production process, as it had numerous capabilities. For example, it was used at the end of Citizen Kane for a final zoom-in shot of Rosebud, the sled, and in Hawaii for shooting against a blue background and adding in details, such as rocks and water, after

676-639: The American Society of Cinematographers, he was also elected a governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in two different branches, and was instrumental in the formation of the academy's Visual Effects branch. He also served as the AMPAS's treasurer for one several-year term. The Linwood Dunn Theater at the academy's Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study in Hollywood was named in honor of Dunn and his innovations and contributions to

728-610: The Beginning... (1966), Darling Lili (1970), and Airport (1970). In some cases, his work was not given credit. For example, he was consulted for the special effects in The Exorcist (1973), and numerous correspondences indicate his role in the production of the movie. His contributions to this movie include several stylistic choices that display the demonic possession of Regan MacNeil , including levitation and facial transformations. During World War II, Dunn developed

780-569: The TV image, to create the most clear and deep 3-D images ever produced. The system was originally built for hospitals. Surgeons in many facilities are now using the system as a key aid in sorting out the nerve-endings during micro-neurosurgery. A consumer version of the system is now sold with 3-D Blu-ray players and TV sets in most video equipment stores. The system was profiled on an episode of Alan Alda 's TV series Scientific American Frontiers . Always keenly interested in technology, Dunn participated in

832-711: The TV production required the occasional use of optical effects, especially for increasingly elaborate title sequences, and Dunn's Film Effects of Hollywood was one of several optical houses that supplied them. From 1965, Dunn became one of four optical houses that supplied visual effects for the company's (later Paramount) Star Trek . It was mostly Dunn who photographed the 11-foot large Starship Enterprise model, designed by series creator Gene Roddenberry and Matt Jefferies and built by Dick Datin, Mel Keys, Venon Sion, and Volmer Jensen at Production Model Shop in Burbank, California. Dunn also generated footage that could be used by

884-464: The World War II development of the first practical commercially manufactured optical printer , a device consisting of cameras and projectors allowing for the accurate compositing of multiple images onto a single piece of film. Dunn photographed the rotating RKO radio tower trademark used at the beginning of all RKO films. In the early 1930s, Dunn became part of the effects team responsible for

936-548: The airplane-wing-dance sequence in the first Astaire-Rodgers musical Flying Down to Rio (1933). The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) and Orson Welles ' Citizen Kane (1941) were other well-remembered RKO films on which Dunn worked before America entered the second world war. In Citizen Kane , Dunn's composites open the film and many of cinematographer Gregg Toland 's deep-focus shots utilize Dunn's skill for creating optical composites. For Bringing Up Baby (1938), separate footage of Cary Grant , Katharine Hepburn , and

988-674: The amount of tedious rotoscoping work required in post-production to cut out what was not picked up by chroma keying. The downside to this setup is that unlike with greenscreen, whatever was filmed is final in terms of visual environment (as is the case with filming on any normal set or location). By contrast, a greenscreen film segment can essentially be swapped to anything at any point in post-production. Linwood Dunn Linwood G. Dunn , A.S.C. (December 27, 1904 in Brooklyn, New York – May 20, 1998 in Los Angeles, California)

1040-410: The correct lighting for every shot. Television production generally uses multiple cameras, and cinema production generally uses a single camera. This is not universally true because the choice varies very much on what the director is trying to achieve. Rental of a sound stage entails an expensive process, but working on a sound stage saves time when setting up for production as long as access to all of

1092-602: The crash of the dropship , as well as for several sequences in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) such as the car escape from the mental hospital and the T-1000 hijacking the police helicopter; Cameron has been described as one of the few people in Hollywood still able to understand and use process photography as an effective technique. The Austin Powers film series (1997–2002) frequently used rear projection to help recreate

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1144-452: The creation of the original King Kong (1933). He advanced his special effects techniques through extensive cutting between a miniature Kong model in full shots and fully-scaled body parts in close-ups, a technique he would repeat for later movies, including the sequel, Son of Kong (1933). Dunn worked under model animator Willis O'Brien and would go on to work with O'Brien on other projects. Dunn did optical/photographic composites for

1196-422: The crew of a production to design and build the sets to exact specifications, precise scale, and detail. The art director of a production makes an architectural plan and carpenters build it. On a film, the head electrician is credited as the gaffer and the assistant as the best boy , regardless of gender. After a set is painted, the set dresser furnishes it with everything that the set designer , under

1248-561: The development of digital projection for theaters. Dunn was first recognized for his optical printer in 1944 with a citation of technical excellence from the Motion Picture Academy and later was recognized in 1980 by the academy with an Oscar in technical merit. Dunn was the recipient of the Golden Hugo from the 8th Annual Chicago International Film Festival, was given an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree by

1300-457: The direction of the art director , has selected for the interior. On a sound stage, the camera may be placed exactly where the director wants it. Achieving the desired lighting is easier because each stage has a metal framework with catwalks and lights suspended from the ceiling . This makes it easier for the cinematographer to have the grips position each flag or bounce and the lighting technicians to position each light to get exactly

1352-476: The feel of old spy movies, while Natural Born Killers (1994) used the technique extensively throughout to emphasize characters' subconscious motivations. Rear projection was conceived long before its actual usage; however, it was only made possible in the 1930s due to three necessary technical developments. The most important was the development of camera and projector motors that could be linked up for synchronization of their shutters, which were developed out of

1404-501: The filming from the moving vehicles used to produce the plate. This was most noticeable as bumps and jarring motions of the background image that would not be duplicated by the actors. A major problem with rear projection use was that the image projected on the screen was always slightly less crisp than the action in front of it, an effect which was especially noticeable in sequences where footage with rear projection alternates with non-projection shots. A major advance over rear projection

1456-430: The first facility in Hollywood that could do optical composites in the ultra-large IMAX film format. He co-wrote (with George Turner) a book on his career and the history of visual effects, The ASC Treasury of Visual Effects published in 1983. In the 1990s, while in his 90s, Dunn joined with Japanese engineers in the development of a 3-D television system that used electronic dual-polarized glasses that auto-synced to

1508-436: The images. The recordings are known as production sound . Because most sound in movies, other than dialogue, is added in post-production, this generally means that the main difference between the two is that sound stages are used for dialogue scenes, but silent stages are not. An alternative to production sound is to record additional dialogue during post-production (known as dubbing ). Structures of this type were in use in

1560-456: The jobs. In fact, he was the first person to blow up a film from 16mm to 35mm color internegative. Dunn did optical composite for several special 70mm films shown at World's Fairs , including the multi-panel tour-de-force film A Place to Stand , made for Expo 67 . It was Dunn who did what his associates said was impossible, cleanly blowing up 16mm negative to 70mm prints for George Harrison's Concert For Bangladesh . Dunn's company later became

1612-434: The light starts blinking, it means shooting is in progress . Anyone who opens the door at that point will introduce external sound and light and ruin the take in progress. When a studio is home to multiple sound stages, they tend to all look alike from the outside: giant beige box-shaped buildings. Sound stages are marked on the exterior with large numbers to help distinguish them. An enclosed stage makes it easier for

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1664-407: The listener's involvement in the recording, but also their overall perception of the stage. The latest technology and software can render basic previsualisation effects into scenes in real time while recording, before post-production , with the use of sensors detecting the position of actors and elements, in the staging of the frame. The director during filming can view what the composition of

1716-400: The motion picture industry before the advent of sound recording . Early stages for silent movies were built, either as a three-wall open-roof set, or with large skylights, until electric lighting became powerful enough to expose film adequately. With the advent of electric lights, enclosed stages were built in Hollywood and rapidly converted to sound stages with many mattresses placed on

1768-418: The necessary technical equipment, personnel, and supplies is readily available. As all the scenes can be filmed on the sets inside the sound stage, using it also eliminates having to move the production from location to location. With the use of bluescreen or greenscreen techniques (whereby backgrounds are inserted electronically behind the actors in the finished film) and a sound stage, extensive control of

1820-711: The opening scenes of the movie, but the effect was also used throughout the film for a variety of shots into the windows of spacecraft. 2001 also used rear projection to produce computer screen effects. As front projection and bluescreen effects became more widespread and less costly, rear projection has been rendered largely obsolete. Quentin Tarantino used the process for the taxi ride sequence in Pulp Fiction (1994). James Cameron also used rear projection for several special effects shots in Aliens (1986), including

1872-404: The picture is with basic digital objects and surfaces included and how it appears, assisting the creative process. A newer form of set being used in both the production of films and television shows is the virtual production "volume". Different from the volume of a conventional motion capture stage (where often no physical image is being recorded for the final product), a virtual production volume

1924-445: The principal actors doing synchronized dialogue replacement voice recordings over a working cut of the film, specialized language actors doing a secondary language dubbing or for the filming of special effects. A sound stage, unlike a silent stage, requires caution to avoid making noise anywhere within range of the audio recording equipment. A sound stage traditionally has a large red light above or next to each exterior door. When

1976-475: The production process is achieved. In audio recording , the term soundstage refers to the depth and richness of the recording, and usually relates to the playback process. According to audiophiles , the quality of the playback is very much dependent upon how one is able to pick out different instruments, voices, vocal parts, and such exactly where they are located on an imaginary, two- or three-dimensional field. The quality of this soundstage can enhance not only

2028-473: The rear projection screen brighter and thus more properly exposed. In 1930, Fox Film Corporation was the first to use the rear projection technique, with their films Liliom and then Just Imagine , and were subsequently awarded a technical Oscar for their work the next year. Shortly after this debut, Farciot Edouart ASC, at Paramount Pictures , refined the technique, starting in 1933, and developed several new methods such as syncing three projectors with

2080-487: The same background plate for more even and bright exposure. Linwood Dunn ASC, at RKO Radio Pictures , expanded on this with the use of traveling matte with films like Flying Down to Rio (1933). The first ever full-scale rear projection was created by famed special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya for Arnold Fanck 's German–Japanese film The Daughter of the Samurai . In the late 1940s, David Rawnsley introduced

2132-442: The same scene as the creatures. Sound stage A sound stage (also written soundstage ) is a large, soundproof structure, building or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or television studio property. Compared to a silent stage , a sound stage is sound-proofed so that sound can be recorded along with

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2184-483: The scenery to adaptively move and distort according to how the camera ought to see it if it were moving in a real environment. Benefits of such a setup include total control of a scene; dusk and dawn can last all day. Not only can time of day or number of light sources be manipulated at will, but portions of the volume off-screen can be turned completely white to add fill lighting from a given direction, or they can be turned off to darken that area. They can also function as

2236-408: The set, and the ability to see the final image as they are creating it. Where these volumes are especially beneficial is in having light behave perfectly realistically on transparent, translucent, and very reflective materials. These types of objects, such as eyeglasses, glassware, and shiny armor, are often very difficult to deal with in a conventional chroma key work flow. This technique also minimizes

2288-410: The shooting was complete. Dunn produced the lightning-electrocution scene at the end of The Thing from Another World (1951) by scratching the lightning, frame-by-frame, on a strip of black film and then compositing the best of that footage with live action footage of the monster burning and shrinking (done by Dunn via pulling back the camera on a track while filming the monster image element against

2340-530: The studio. After RKO had ceased to exist as a film production company, Dunn did the optical composites and title sequence for West Side Story (1961) and the elaborate fire-ladder sequence at the end of Stanley Kramer 's It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), which required 21 different all-color elements to be composited into final images. Other later large-format and/or high-profile films Dunn's company did opticals for are My Fair Lady (1964), The Great Race (1965), Hawaii (1966), The Bible: In

2392-465: The technique in four minor British films, when it was heavily criticized. Alfred Hitchcock was a master at using process screenshots, mixing them with location shots so that the slight artificiality of the process screen shots does not distract from the action. He used the process to show Cary Grant 's character being attacked by a crop duster plane in North by Northwest and throughout the film, but it

2444-489: The three other optical houses involved with Star Trek—the Howard Anderson Company, Westheimer Company, and Van Der Veer Photo Effects —all necessary due to the large number of effects shots and tight weekly production schedule. Dunn continued to work on the series until its cancellation in 1969. Dunn also specialized in optical work for special and large format films, creating the equipment necessary to do

2496-461: The unrelated needs of "talking" movies whose timing had to be carefully controlled. Secondly, Eastman Kodak 's introduction of panchromatic film stock in 1928 allowed for the camera to expose the projected background more than orthochromatic stocks, making it look less faint than it did before. Finally, the larger film gauges beginning to emerge in the late 1920s demanded more powerful projection lamps, which were subsequently available for making

2548-405: The walls. With the coming of the talkies in the late 1920s, it became necessary to enclose and fully soundproof these stages to eliminate noise and distractions from outside, including limiting access. The ceilings and walls of the building containing the sound stage must be heavily soundproofed, so the structure must be sturdy and capable of accepting such additional features and loads, or

2600-491: Was an American pioneer of visual special effects in motion pictures and an inventor of related technology. Dunn worked on many films and television series, including the original 1933 King Kong (1933), Citizen Kane (1941), and Star Trek (1966–69). Dunn is noted as being very interested in cinema from as early as age 14, going so far as to compile his own rating scale for the movies he watched. This interest initiated his career, which began in 1923 in his home state as

2652-470: Was criticized when he used it extensively in Marnie . Fantasy filmmaker Ray Harryhausen pioneered a variation of rear projection in the 1950s and 1960s with Dynamation, whereby the rear screen was placed on a miniature set along with stop-motion creatures. Harryhausen figured out a way to synchronize the movement of the miniature figures with the background projection as a way to insert live-action humans in

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2704-406: Was halted owing to a controversy over how much of Jane Russell 's bosom would be visible. Dunn resolved the situation by rephotographing Russell's close-ups with a tiny scrim inserted between the projector and camera, so as to soften the line of her cleavage. Dunn gained a technical Oscar (along with machinist Cecil Love) in 1944 for his work. Dunn continued to work at RKO after Howard Hughes bought

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