Questions about styles used through films and shows.
37
votes
6answers
9k views
Why is the bride's name bleeped in Kill Bill Vol 1
In the movie Kill Bill Vol.1, whenever someone mentions the bride by her name
Beatrix Kiddo
Her name is censored with a beep. Is this explained somewhere in the movie? Or is it just a signature ...
36
votes
2answers
4k views
How do they film the mirror scenes in movies?
It always makes me wonder how do they place the cameras and crew members while filming a scene which is opposite to a reflecting object, such as mirror. Because, when filming the reflected objects we ...
30
votes
2answers
3k views
Kill Bill colour changes to Black and White
In the movie Kill Bill, why does the colour keep shifting from standard colour to black and white? Is it to keep the gross-levels down?
24
votes
3answers
720 views
Why all the fancy technology in most movies?
In most of the movies and TV-series I have watched, whenever there is some kind of "technology" involved (say, like a tracking device or hacking something important), there is a lot of unnecessary, ...
19
votes
2answers
2k views
Why are 3D films so dark?
Why are 3D films so dark?
I watched Brave yesterday and the film was so dark (light wise) in places that it was hard to make out what was happening.
Why are 3D films darker than 2D films and does it ...
19
votes
3answers
2k views
What techniqes are used by directors to make an actor cry?
I have always wondered what techniques directors use to get amateur actors, specially young ones to cry. How someone surrounded with so many film crew and cameras can concentrate enough and feel so ...
19
votes
2answers
645 views
Do contemporary cinemas really project at 25fps?
In a conversation with a UK film professional, I was told that in order to simplify technical stuff associated with projection, all modern film are projected slightly sped up at 25fps - although they ...
17
votes
2answers
670 views
What is a “performance capture” animation movie?
The recent movie "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn" is a performance capture animated movie. What is a "performance capture" movie and what is the need for this technology when the ...
17
votes
1answer
283 views
Where did the “calmly eating noodles when bad guys walk in” scene first appear?
This scene happens in many martial arts movies:
It usually starts with some hero wandering into a strange town; orders a bowl of noodles; then a couple of bad guys casually sit down and start ...
16
votes
2answers
614 views
Why is director's name shown last in the title sequence?
Why is the director's name shown last in Title Sequence/Opening Credits rather than first?
I've seen this fact not only in Hollywood, but also in Bollywood, Kollywood etc.
16
votes
2answers
375 views
How did they create the hole in Robert Downey Jr.'s chest for the Iron Man movie?
Don't know if this is the right place to ask this, but I'm wondering how they created the hole in Robert Downey Jr.'s chest so they can put the reactor there? Here is the video "Iron Man: Behind the ...
16
votes
2answers
680 views
How are older movies post-converted to 3D?
I went to see Hugo in 3D today, and beforehand there was a trailer for the upcoming re-release of Titanic in 3D. I must say, I was impressed.
How much of the conversion to 3D of a movie that was ...
15
votes
1answer
224 views
What is the first occurence of a sequence of short shots of the same length separated by fade ins/outs?
This technique is used in several movie trailers to give a feeling of stress, anxiety or urgency. It is also used in several movies (mostly thrillers, action or horror movies), sometimes even before ...
14
votes
2answers
570 views
How do they film minors smoking?
Many movies depict children and minors (and non smoking actors) actively smoking a cigarette and blowing actual smoke. How is that done?
14
votes
2answers
509 views
What was the earliest mass-release movie that used Matrix-like “bullet time”?
One of the things that The Matrix was famous for was "bullet time" cinematography.
I'm fairly sure that, while it was the first one to use the technique extensively and become famous for it, it ...
13
votes
1answer
238 views
How can a movie from 1987 be better in HD than SD?
How can a movie from 1987 be better in HD than SD? Does that apply to all movies that were recorded on old-style film?
12
votes
2answers
1k views
Are real guns used in movies?
For example, in "Matrix Reloaded", we see that the agents fire on the car driven by Morpheus. We see that the bullets penetrating the body of the car.
If the gun is not real, how did it happen?
If ...
12
votes
2answers
732 views
How is 2D movie created from 3D?
There is a lot of 3D movies out there in these days, but they are also released in 2D (dvd, blu-ray, ...). I think, they are originally captured as 3D movies (with stereo camera). So each frame has 2 ...
12
votes
1answer
725 views
How do they make horses fall down in war movies?
I have seen horses falling down many times in war movies while running. How do they make horses fall down in war movies? Are they highly trained to know fall down at some place or some barriers are ...
10
votes
2answers
902 views
Is Hulk a pure CGI being?
In The Incredible Hulk and The Avengers, the Hulk is an obvious CGI character.
However, I am unclear as to how much of him is actual CGI vs motion capture or if his face is a real person's face or ...
10
votes
2answers
372 views
How do they film money in TV or movie?
Money shown in movies or TV shows before 30-40 years was looked fake. Is there a law that prohibits was showing real money (bills and close ups of coins) in a TV commercial, show or film? How do they ...
9
votes
1answer
128 views
Why are there different audio levels for different languages?
I was watching the Star Trek Into Darkness trailers on Apple's trailer site. I watched the Announcement in english (US) and then the UK and AU versions and I noticed that background audio was at ...
9
votes
1answer
223 views
Identification : Film where colour fades throughout to represent dying protagonist
Ok, I can usually find things using Google but no luck this time!
This is a film from around mid-90s I think, but could be +/- 10yrs.
Male lead, who I think gets a kind of lethal injection which has ...
9
votes
1answer
257 views
Kid's pictures in Clint Eastwood's True Crime (1999)
Around 0.02.24 (hh.mm.ss) into this movie there's a close-up of the picture just drawn by Gail Beechum (daughter visiting her father Frank on death row. It's just your bog-standard green field, fence ...
8
votes
4answers
240 views
Is a helicopter used to shoot such scenes?
Often in movies we see moving vehicles from above. Personally, I think they are shot using helicopters. But if so, why can't we hear the noise of the helicopter? It can't be a balloon, can it? Because ...
8
votes
3answers
8k views
Do the actors really go nude in the shooting of the movies?
I often wonder if actors really go nude for certain scenes in films.
I am not talking about those movies where we can see the sexual body-parts or genitals of the actors/actresses, but instead less ...
8
votes
1answer
5k views
How are the Iron Man suit scenes filmed?
In all three movies, you see Downey Jr (as Tony Stark, and occasionally Cheadle as Rhodes/War Machine) in the namesake suit, either completely covered, or with the head open or having the suit put ...
8
votes
1answer
387 views
How do they show a tooth-less mouth?
So today I was watching Grown-up again and saw the tooth of Lenny's daughter fell and we can see she had no teeth. Similarly, I remembered a scene with a missing tooth in the Hangover part 1. So I ...
8
votes
1answer
326 views
How is dialog between two people filmed?
I was always wondering how dialog between two people is filmed.
Suppose there are two people talking. The screen is switching between faces of the characters while they talk.
How it is done in ...
8
votes
1answer
231 views
Why are most scenes in a car recorded with chroma?
I'm aware of "How do they film scenes with the actors driving in a car?" in this site, but I'm more interested in the "why", not the "how".
Is it illegal to just drive a car recording/action without ...
8
votes
1answer
362 views
First Hollywood movie with “flashbacks within flashbacks within flashbacks”?
In Super (2010), I noticed the weird concept of flashbacks within flashbacks within flashbacks.
Which was the first Hollywood movie with the same concept?
8
votes
1answer
197 views
Is Dogville inspired from Hitchcock's Rear Window?
Watching these 2 movies I found similarities between them. The visual city in Dogville reminds me of Rear Window, where the hero is watching to everything from his window.
Is this a case of an ...
8
votes
1answer
164 views
Was this movie the first usage of screen projection?
"The Forbidden Planet" came out in 1956, and there is a particular visual effects shot in the movie that was ground breaking at the time. Projecting live action onto a painted background, and I've ...
7
votes
2answers
262 views
Why do they always close the eyelids of dead people?
You have seen it hundreds of times in movies. Someone dies and the doctor, priest, cop or someone else, moves their hands over the dead person's eyes and the eyes magically close. It's as if the eyes ...
7
votes
2answers
4k views
Did Spiderman filming halt so Tobey Maguire could bulk up?
Spiderman 1 with Tobey Maguire tells the story of how Peter Parker acquired his abilities.
Most of the time he is fully clothed. However, we are privy to at least one scene (the day he gets bit) ...
7
votes
1answer
588 views
How do they film “flying human” scenes?
I am watching Chronicle (2012) and this question just popped into my mind. What technics are used for filming flying human scenes? Do they always use Chroma Keying or are there other technics?
7
votes
1answer
528 views
How do they shoot fight scenes without causing harm to performers?
What are the techniques to create a realistic fight/combat scene without injuring the actors?
7
votes
1answer
533 views
Subconsciously influencing the audience with embedded single frames
Is it considered a filming technique to get one-shot frames unnoticeably embedded in movies to subconsciously affect the viewers' mind?
7
votes
2answers
97 views
Is it a highly trained mouse?
The mouse used in Mousehunt, the mouse is shown extra ordinarily clever. Was that a real mouse used in that movie or another computer created bug? Whatever it is, it seemed very real!
7
votes
1answer
97 views
Why do films have more cuts than they did 20 years ago?
The "20 years" is an arbitrary figure but I have noticed that films tend to have way more cuts than they did in earlier days of film making. Sometimes there will be a conversation in the room and ...
7
votes
1answer
215 views
Actors acting the real actors inside a movie?
In the TV show Supernatural, Season 6, Episode 15, Sam and Dean find themselves pushed into an "alternate reality" where they are two actors acting in a TV show called Supernatural. And their names ...
6
votes
3answers
800 views
Do they really drink or eat when shooting movies?
Many times in movies and TV shows characters are showed as eating or drinking activities (water, beverages, alcohol). If a shoot takes many retakes, then the actors will not want to eat after going ...
6
votes
3answers
200 views
Why is it a common trend to pan the camera past an object then back to it?
The title might have been vague so let me clarify. I have see this in many movies and television series over the years, even cartoons. Let me create a scenario since I can't visually remember one to ...
6
votes
1answer
2k views
How are underwater scenes in movies filmed?
In some movies, for instance the Jaws series, it's a wonderful feeling to see sharks underwater and have it feel very realistic.
I'm curious to know how they film underwater scenes in movies. Not ...
6
votes
1answer
87 views
What does the television-esque film style in the episode “I Am Anne Frank, Part II” represent?
In the second season episode of American Horror Story, "I Am Anne Frank, Part II", we're told that Anne Frank is actually Charlotte Brown, delusional and obsessed wife of Jim Brown, a new character to ...
5
votes
4answers
513 views
The hobbit, how is it possible that 48 FPS is better than 24 FPS
I have a question about the movie the hobbit. People claim that the quality of the movie is way better because the movie is recorded and displayed in 48 fps. Normally this is 24 fps.
My opinion is ...
5
votes
2answers
446 views
Is this mask really possible?
Sometimes we see a mask is used by an actor of a film by which he drastically changes his face. I was under the impression that only after plastic surgery one can change his face. I stumbled upon this ...
5
votes
1answer
815 views
What was the first movie to use a cross-cutting technique like The Hours?
The Hours is a very good cross-cutting film because throughout the film it jumps back and forth between three different stories in three different time periods.
According to wikipedia,
...
5
votes
1answer
102 views
Where did flatlining come from?
A standard sign of death on TV and film seems to be someone's heart rate machine flatlining with a long, drawn out BEEEEEEEEEEP.
However, this is not what actually happens - apparently this noise ...
5
votes
2answers
195 views
Would special effects for early movie patrons seem real?
When I watched The Walking Dead on my 1080i HDTV, the special effects looked seamless. In other words, I knew what I was watching was fake, but it was hard to tell.
When I upgraded to a 1080p ...
