The scene is a common one in older movies: actors bobbing along in a train or
car while projected scenery whizzes behind them, creating the illusion that the
actors are in a moving vehicle. The effect is often obvious, calling attention
to itself. The process photography, or rear screen projection effect, is
commonly associated with a bygone area of clunky special effects. But in today’s
world of blue and green screen technology, the process photography method is
still surprisingly common in modern productions.
Process photography shots, the technique of filming a scene in front of a
projected image, was invented in the 1930s as a way to create the illusion of
filming on location. A projection of a jungle scene, for instance, might be
projected behind actors who were pretending to be on safari. Or, actors might be
filmed inside a picture car, with a projection of a moving street visible
through the rear window.
And then came the blue screen technique—filming in front of a screen (usually
blue or green, although other colors are sometimes used) and then marrying what
has been shot with other footage, paintings or CGI. This technology has led many
notable special effects. With the advent of digital filmmaking, background
imagery can be employed for a variety of realistic results that are especially
impressive in feature films. Films such as Apollo 13, Death Becomes Her, the
latest King Kong movie and virtually all recent Academy Award winners for s
pecial effects have used the blue screen process.
Although the technique of blue screen has generated much excitement in the
filmmaking world, it has not completely deleted the role of the projectionist
for background effects. Many of these productions demand nothing less than the
most advanced blue screen digital effects. However, for certain projects,
technical and artistic issues that arise have kept rear screen projection an
attractive alternative. Certain commercials and TV projects, for instance, might
not require the blue screen technology for background special effects. In such
cases it makes more fiscal sense to choose the traditional method of rear
projection.
“We’re cheaper than green screen,” said veteran rear projectionist Bill
Hansard of Hansard
Projection. Time spent on a shoot affects the cost of a production and,
according to Hansard, blue screen shoots can prolong production. “Every time you
change a lens or change position in green screen, you have to make a new matte,”
said Hansard.
In order for blue screen to work, the director of photography must have
sufficient knowledge and experience of the technology, but, according to Bill
Dedes of Cutting Edge
Productions, such DPs often cost more than producers are willing to spring
for. “The experience level of some of the DP’s isn’t where it needs to be,” said
Dedes.
Hansard also touted the flexibility allowed while filming in front of a rear
projection. “It gives you more freedom,” said Hansard. “What you don’t want is
to tie the director’s hands.”
These considerations have led some producers to still use rear projection.
Dedes recently worked on an award-winning Adidas commercial that used it for a
screen representing a garage door. Concerts, awards shows and other stage
productions also keep rear projectionists like Dedes busy.
Even when expense is not an issue, process shots are also commonly preferred
over green screen for artistic purposes. The stylistically evident use of it in
“Kill Bill Vol. 2,” which Hansard did, was director Quentin Tarantino’s
deliberate decision. And the campy retro comedy “Down With Love” employed it as
a throwback to the 1960s.
The technique has undergone a number of changes and advances over the years.
Improvements in methods, camera lenses and film quality have led to a better
looking product.
Front projection, a method that used a system of mirrors to project the image
onto the actors as well as the screen, became common in the 50s, but not
everyone embraced its use. When it came out in the '50s, veteran projectionist
Bill Hansard purchased the equipment, but found its results unsatisfactory. He
said of it, “I have more equipment sitting around collecting dust now than
anything. I haven’t used that in 15 years.”
Modern day front projection may mean something different, such as the
projection of film onto something shiny, such as a car or window pane, to create
a reflection. While being interviewed, Dedes was on set for a Mazda commercial
in which he will be using the projection technology to project dream-like
footage of a racecar workshop onto the car, suggesting that the
anthropomorphized vehicle is dreaming of a life on the track. And for a recent
Hummer commercial, Dedes used rear screen projection to reflect nighttime
footage of metropolitan L.A., giving the effect that the
vehicle was driving through the city at night.
The terms to describe it also vary. The term process photography is
associated with an older time, but is still employed by modern technicians, who
usually refer to it as rear projection. “It really depends on how old the
individual is and how long they’ve been in the business,” said Dedes about the
usage of the terms. Young newcomers, for instance, might think that the term
process photography refers to developing film. Therefore, many people find that
rear screen projection to be more useful, as it is a more descriptive phrase.
As for the future of this technology, he discussed the eventual demise of
film for video. “There’s a big push to put film in the toilet,” said Hansard. He
fears that the push toward video is going faster than availability of adequate
and cost-effective technological developments. “They don’t have the light and
they don’t have the black,” he said, referring to the visual quality limitations
of video. Quality also suffers at the hands of inexperienced technicians.
But even when inexpensive, quality green screen effects do become readily
available, rear projection methods will likely remain as an available
alternative for the creative preferences of filmmakers. And there will always be
a market for it among die-hard purists, who fervently reject digital filmmaking
techniques in favor of their beloved celluloid.
