Premium/ It’s a Matter of Perspective

My interest in using highly detailed miniature models shot in forced perspective began during the height of the Covid epidemic, when every public event in Canada was cancelled for several years. It occupied my restless mind, and the experience has taught me a few tips that I would like to share.

The technique is well known and was used extensively in film making as an analog based special effect. But even contemporary film directors have come to realize that CGI based effects, despite ever increasing sophistication, are somehow unable to replicate real life. Most recently, The Lord of the Rings film trilogy made repeated use of forced perspective cinematography to make the Hobbits significantly shorter than the other characters. The technique was even refined to allow the camera to move while preserving the size difference between Gandalf and Frodo Baggins during a meal.

There are also many commercial reasons for shooting miniatures in forced perspective, namely the cost savings associated without travel onsite and without using real life subjects, be they automobiles, airplanes, cargo ships or the like. My reasons are more personal, I often use these images to augment the story that I am writing on my blog site. Often this means recreating moments in history that can no longer be revisited.

My first project began with the idea of pranking social media. In celebration of the 2021 release of the last James Bond movie starring Daniel Craig, the Aston Martin car company began hand manufacturing twenty five completely authentic Aston Martin DB5s that starred in the 1964 movie Goldfinger as the definitive Bond car. The car was even made complete with all the Bond gadgets, including twin Browning 0.303 machine guns under the driving lights. Each car quickly sold for a cool $4 million USD. I started a story that I had gotten to know one of these buyers, and he had been kind enough to let me drive his example several times … in the snow during the Toronto winter. It generated a lot of provocative responses on FB, but none doubted the veracity of the images.

My two favourite lenses for this application are the Leica 9mm f/1.7 and the Leica 15mm f/1.7. They deliver important wide field views while also allowing minimum distance focusing. The DB5 is a large 1:8 scale with incredible detail, and most importantly, at this scale renders the car badges as real 3D objects and not just decals. Even at 200-300% zoom, the car illusion is unbroken. It looks real because it is placed in situ, rendering real reflections of the trees on its bodywork and windows that CGI has difficulty replicating. In order to place me to scale, I have to be standing 8 times further away from the camera than the car, Leica 15mm f/10, ISO 200 and aperture priority. If shooting with smaller scale cars, one would have to close the aperture down to its minimum in order to get both a human figure and car in focus as the illusion demands. Here, the smaller M43 sensor has an advantage over a full frame sensor since the former has a deeper field of focus. Pushing the 15mm to its f/16 limit might introduce image softness that can be compensated for by shooting in Hi-Res mode. Rolling the car through the snow and having snow stuck to the tire sidewall subconsciously confirms to the mind that this car was driven to this exotic seaside location (and that I must really be Bond!). An intervalometer automatically shoots multiple exposures, allowing you to get into position without running or to alter poses.

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