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Special F/X: Gravity Schmavity

by Chuck Peters
November 1998

We all know that, generally speaking, "up" is toward the sky and "down" is toward the ground. From your camcorder's perspective, however, "up" is whatever you frame at
the top of your viewfinder. As TV viewers, we have come to expect that "up" is at the top of the screen and "down" is at the bottom. This means that by turning your camcorder upside down or on its side, you have the power to trick the eye, fool the mind and (in the video realm) make "up" any direction you like.

What's the Use?
One of the most practical uses of this effect is to make people appear to be climbing mountains, walls or the sides of buildings, when they are in reality, on level ground. In fact, this very effect was used regularly on the old Batman TV series starring Adam West. Let's set the scene. Batman and Robin are climbing up the outside of a building to get to the Joker's top-floor hideout. Once they arrive, POW! BAM! BIFF! They'll beat up the bad guys and foil the Joker's evil plot. But first they need to climb that high-rise. Here's how it was done, and how you can create the same effect.

Up We Go
Needless to say, the caped crusaders weren't really scaling scyscrapers. The shows producers simply tilted the camera on its side and had the dynamic duo fake it. All you need to pull off this feat is a tripod, some rope and a backyard deck or patio made of brick, concrete or wood. By placing your camcorder on the tripod and rotating it so that the tilt lever is on the side, you can tilt your camera 90 degrees to make the deck or patio appear to be a wall.
Attach the rope to the ground several feet out of the frame in front of the actor, so that when your talent holds it, the rope appears to be fastened to the roof of the building. Next, have your actor hold the rope (keeping it pulled taught), crouch forward and pretend to climb the deck as if it were the side of a building. Have an assistant hold the end of the rope off the ground behind the talent so that it looks like the rope is hanging down and not stuck to the building. For the illusion to work, you'll need to pay special attention to framing. Be sure your talent is climbing "up" not "down" the wall and crop out or remove anything that would give away the illusion (weeds growing out between the bricks, for example, might suggest that this is not actually the side of an apartment building).

Sell it to the Viewer
While this illusion may look obviously fake to some viewers, there are ways to make it more believable. The best way is to cut the scene into a sequence with an actual building whose wall resembles the deck that you'll use. Have your talent run up to the building, throw up a rope, tug it so see that it's secure, then have your actor put a foot on the wall as though beginning to hoist himself upward. Next cut to the climbing scene we've just described. You might end the sequence by showing your actor standing on the roof of a tall building (hint: a low angle can make even a single story building look gigantic).
There you have it. A simple "Which way is up?" effect that Hollywood has used for years. Tune in again, same Bat Time oh, you get it.

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