Forced perspective is a visual technique that manipulates human perception by making objects appear larger, smaller, closer, or farther away than they actually are. 

It’s commonly used in photography, filmmaking, architecture, and theme parks to create optical illusions.

Films have been using forced perspective for decades to cross the boundaries of traditional perception to create optical illusions that subvert the human eye’s comprehension of depth, spacing, and size.

The technique has had a profound impact on film through the ages and has been looked at as a key to transporting audiences out of their own reality into a fully imagined cinematic universe.

While there are many ways to achieve it, there are 4 types of forced perspective:

1. Making an object appear smaller
2. Making an object appear larger
3. Merging several subjects
4. Contorting gravity

Forced perspective in film began during the 1920s and 1930s. It was most often used by silent film stars to make their heart-stopping stunts look more dynamic and dangerous than they actually were.

One of the most famous examples of forced perspective in early, silent films is the unforgettable scene of Harold Lloyd hanging from the clock-face in Safety Last. Take a look…

To go behind the magic here for a moment, the effect was achieved by building a fake wall on top of a tall building and tilting the camera so the people and vehicles on the street below looked to be miles and miles away. While it looks like Lloyd is dangling dangerously, in reality, he was only a few feet above solid ground.

Another example of a classic film that used forced perspective to (at the time) draw-dropping results is the rollerskating scene in Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times.

So let’s take a closer look at how this effect was accomplished.

While Chaplin appears to be skating a bit too close to some perilous falls in this scene, those imposing drops are actually matte paintings on sheet glass that were situated close to the camera. The set itself was marked so Chaplin knew where to position himself in order to convincingly execute the effect.

There are a number of factors that go into achieving a forced perspective shot, but the basics are…

• Bring the subject closer or further from the camera, depending on your intent
• Use a wide-angle lens
• Utilize a small aperture

Let’s step these ideas out a bit further…

Changing the spacing between subjects and their relativity to the camera (and one another) is crucial when it comes to forced perspective. If you’re looking for a larger effect, bring your subject closer to the camera.

Want smaller? Try moving the object in question to a further distance from the lens.

Wide-angle lenses help maintain a larger depth of field while simultaneously manipulating the sizes of people and objects farther from, and closer to, the lens. Make sure there’s ample lighting.

Lots of light is necessary to maintain focus on a smaller aperture that will provide you with the greatest depth of field.

More light in the composition will also aid in creating a more conspicuous relationship between the objects within your frame.  A narrow aperture, like f/16, is most preferable when trying to achieve forced perspective.

There are many examples of forced perspective (some on films you may not have even known were using the technique), across a range of cinematic genres and decades.

Let’s take a look at a few…

Director Steven Spielberg used miniatures when he created the ship in the desert scene in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The moment is crafted to be a jaw-dropping one and would’ve been ridiculously expensive had it been tried practically. The filmmakers instead came up with an ingenious solution…

While appearing gargantuan, the ship in the foreground is actually a twenty-foot model placed close to the camera equipped with a wide-angle lens employing deep focus. The helicopters and actors were situated a quarter mile away to enhance the shot. The effect is seamless and entirely believable.

Forced perspective is used to enormous success in Michael Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind.

Although the sequence we’re focusing on is meant to feel dreamlike, it was still necessary to create believable visuals in order to keep the audience engrossed in the moment. Given the need to make the character Joel (Jim Carrey) appear childlike in size, the filmmakers were able to create a scene that’s both surreal and convincing all at once.

And for a fun, deeper dive in this sequence, here’s director Gondry talking (and walking us through) about how the effects behind scenes were achieved…

In Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker’s wild comedy Top Secret!, forced perspective is utilized to a tremendous (and hilarious), almost post-modern effect with a simple telephone.

The moment manages to make a statement on forced perspective while also providing a terrific joke.

Forever known for being an innovator of a range of trailblazing special effects, the Star Wars films employed nearly every type of technique to achieve their aesthetic, both old and new.

While there are numerous examples to illustrate the varied uses of forced perspective throughout the franchise, this one from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, of the Jawa sandcrawler moving across the Tatooine desert, represents a terrific example of using forced perspective.

Bear in mind the filmmakers used this old-school technique despite having access to the most cutting-edge computer imaging technology (this is a movie that had entire characters comprised solely with CGI).

In this iconic scene from director Jon Favreau’s Elf, the audience is given a look at Buddy (Will Ferrell) in elf class. Forced perspective is working on narrative and emotional levels here.

The visual effect is accomplished simply and without any computer enhancements, adding to the charm of the scene. Nothing in the frame is manufactured in post-production.

It should come as no surprise that The Wizard of Oz has made profound use of forced perspective.

Most notably, the classic film utilized the technique when it was building its illusion of the fantasy world Dorothy (Judy Garland) woke up in after her fateful encounter with a tornado. Take a look at this shot to see forced perspective at work in a truly iconic piece of cinema…

Once again, the use of a static (but impressive) matte painting transforms the perspective of the scene into something fully realized out of L. Frank Baum’s vivid imagination.

No discussion about forced perspective in cinema would be complete without mentioning Peter Jackson’s The Lord Of The Rings films.

Hobbits, smaller in physical size than humans, play an enormous role in the series and pulling off their believability was essential to bringing J.R.R. Tolkein’s timeless series to life on the big screen.

But how was this achieved?

When we pull back the curtain, we find a simple answer: the cart is actually split into two pieces. The piece with Frodo (Elijah Wood) is set further back than the side with Gandalf (Ian McKellen). Once that’s achieved, it’s a matter of lining up the actors in position to appear as though the size difference between them is real.

For more on how The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring achieved so many of its effects through the use of forced perspective, watch this video…

As with the Star Wars franchise and its access to the most high-tech visual effects, the filmmakers of The Lord Of The Rings movies understood that the impactful (and money-saving) method of forced perspective was the most effective way to accomplish the visual effect they were intending. The most expensive solution isn’t always necessarily the best one.

In an age of ever-increasing possibilities with CGI, forced perspective continues to be utilized as an efficient and realistic-looking method for creating visual effects in film. It’s a reminder that oftentimes, the simplest, most practical solutions are the most successful ones.

Effects from a century ago have proved they can still hold an audience’s attention and sweep them up in the world of a fictional film. And finally, forced perspective is a lot more cost-effective than any image a computer can manage, so keep that in mind as you’re planning out your next project.