Editing Forced perspective (section)

==In filmmaking==
Forced perspective had been a feature of German silent films, and ''[[Citizen Kane]]'' revived the practice.<ref>Kevin Brownlow, David Lean, p.209</ref> Movies, especially [[B-movie]]s in the 1950s and 1960s, were produced on limited budgets and often featured forced perspective shots.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Booker|first=Keith M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y04MQEgHbZsC&q=what+were+the+budgets+for+B-movies+in+the+1950s+and+1960s%2C&pg=PA48|title=Historical Dictionary of American Cinema|date=2011-03-17|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-7459-6|language=en}}</ref>

Forced perspective can be made more believable when environmental conditions obscure the difference in perspective. For example, the final scene of the famous movie ''[[Casablanca (film)|Casablanca]]'' takes place at an airport in the middle of a storm, although the entire scene was shot in a studio. This was accomplished by using a painted backdrop of an aircraft, which was "serviced" by [[dwarfism|dwarfs]] standing next to the backdrop. A downpour (created in the studio) draws much of the viewer's attention away from the backdrop and extras, making the simulated perspective less noticeable.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Larsen|first=Darl|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DX0xBwAAQBAJ&q=Casablanca+using+forced+perspective&pg=PA95|title=A Book about the Film Monty Python and the Holy Grail: All the References from African Swallows to Zoot|date=2015-03-06|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4422-4554-9|language=en}}</ref>

===Role of light===
Early instances of forced perspective used in low-budget motion pictures showed objects that were clearly different from their surroundings, often blurred or at a different light level. The principal cause of this was geometric. Light from a [[point source]] travels in a spherical wave, decreasing in intensity (or ''[[illuminance]]'') as the [[inverse square]] of the distance travelled. This means that a light source must be four times as bright to produce the same illuminance at an object twice as far away. Thus to create the illusion of a distant object being at the same distance as a near object and scaled accordingly, much more light is required. When shooting with forced perspective, it's important to have the aperture stopped down sufficiently to achieve proper depth of field (DOF), so that the foreground object and background are both sharp. Since miniature models would need to be subjected to far greater lighting than the main focus of the camera, the area of action, it is important to ensure that these can withstand the significant heat generated by the incandescent light sources typically used in film and TV production.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/ztc297h/revision/7|title=Scientific calculations - Direct and inverse proportion - Higher - Photosynthesis - Edexcel - GCSE Combined Science Revision - Edexcel|website=BBC Bitesize|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-04-22}}</ref>

===In motion===
[[Peter Jackson]]'s film adaptations of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' make extended use of forced perspective. Characters apparently standing next to each other would be displaced by several feet in depth from the camera. This, in a still shot, makes some characters ([[Dwarf (Middle-earth)|Dwarves]] and [[Hobbit]]s) appear much smaller than others. If the camera's point of view were moved, then [[parallax]] would reveal the true relative positions of the characters in space. Even if the camera is just rotated, its point of view may move accidentally if the camera is not rotated about the correct point. This point of view is called the 'zero-parallax-point' (or front nodal point), and is approximated in practice as the centre of the entrance pupil.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Allain|first=Rhett|url=https://www.wired.com/2012/12/how-to-make-a-hobbit-with-forced-perspective/|title=How to Make a Hobbit With Forced Perspective|date=2012-12-04|magazine=Wired|access-date=2020-04-22|issn=1059-1028}}</ref>

An extensively used technique in ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' was an enhancement of this principle, which could be used in moving shots. Portions of sets were mounted on movable platforms which would move precisely according to the movement of the camera, so that the optical illusion would be preserved at all times for the duration of the shot. The same techniques were used in the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' movies to make the character [[Rubeus Hagrid]] look like a giant. Props around [[Harry Potter (character)|Harry]] and his friends are of normal size, while seemingly identical props placed around Hagrid are in fact smaller.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna39080739|title=Size matters: Bird uses illusion to wow a mate|last=Choi|first=Charles Q.|date=2010-09-09|website=msnbc.com|language=en|access-date=2020-04-22}}</ref>

===Comic effects===
[[File:Europe 2007 Disk 1 340.jpg|thumb|upright|Use of forced perspective with tourist attractions like the [[Leaning Tower of Pisa]] is popular in tourist photography.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/italy/articles/best-way-to-take-a-funny-photo-of-leaning-tower-of-pisa/|first=Hugh|last=Morris|date=2016-09-07|title=Man reveals genius new way to take photos of the Leaning Tower of Pisa|website=The Telegraph}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/pictures-of-people-holding-the-eiffel-tower-2014-3|first=Jennifer|last=Polland|date=2014-03-28|title=8 Pictures That Tourists Love Taking With The Eiffel Tower|website=Business Insider}}</ref>]]

As with many film genres and effects, forced perspective can be used to [[Visual gag|visual-comedy]] effect. Typically, when an object or character is portrayed in a scene, its size is defined by its surroundings. A character then interacts with the object or character, in the process showing that the viewer has been fooled and there is forced perspective in use.

The 1930 [[Laurel and Hardy]] movie ''[[Brats (1930 film)|Brats]]'' used forced perspective to depict [[Stan Laurel|Stan]] and [[Oliver Hardy|Ollie]] simultaneously as adults and as their own sons. An example used for comic effect can be found in the slapstick comedy ''[[Top Secret!]]'' in a scene which appears to begin as a [[close-up]] of a ringing phone with the characters in the distance. However, when the character walks up to the phone (towards the camera) and picks it up, it becomes apparent that the phone is extremely oversized instead of being close to the camera. Another scene in the same movie begins with a close-up of a wristwatch. The next cut shows that the character actually has a gargantuan wristwatch.

The same technique is also used in the [[Dennis Waterman]] sketch in the British [[BBC]] sketch show ''[[Little Britain (sketch show)|Little Britain]]''. In the television version, larger than life props are used to make the caricatured Waterman look just three feet tall or less. In ''[[The History of the World, Part I]]'', while escaping the French peasants, Mel Brooks' character, Jacques, who is doubling for King Louis, runs down a hall of the palace, which turns into a ramp, showing the smaller forced perspective door at the end. As he backs down into the normal part of the room, he mutters, "Who designed this place?"

One of the recurring ''[[The Kids in the Hall (TV series)|The Kids in the Hall]]'' sketches featured Mr. Tyzik, "The Headcrusher", who used forced perspective (from his own point of view) to "crush" other people's heads between his fingers. This is also done by the character [[Sheldon Cooper]] in the TV show ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'' to his friends when they displease him. In the making of Season 5 of ''[[Red vs. Blue]]'', the creators used forced perspective to make the character of Tucker's baby, Junior, look small. In the game, the alien character used as Junior is the same height as other characters. The short-lived 2013 [[Internet meme]] "baby mugging" used forced perspective to make babies look like they were inside items like mugs and teacups.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/baby-mugging-newest-trend-taking-over-180631673.html|title=Baby Mugging: The Newest Trend Taking Over the Web|last=Knowles|first=Melissa|date=2013-05-30|website=Yahoo|access-date=2019-06-24|quote=Baby mugging participants take pictures that make it look like their babies are sticking out of a coffee mug.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://fox4kc.com/2013/04/26/baby-mugging-latest-internet-craze/|title=Baby Mugging latest internet craze|last=Tryon|first=Barrett|date=2013-04-26|website=Fox|access-date=2019-06-24|quote=The latest craze of the internet — baby mugging. The idea is to take a photo to make it look like your baby is inside a mug.}}</ref>