Tricks of the Trade

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John Dykstra, ASC

There is a tendency in contemporary film to use complex visual effects as the rule. My preference is to always review traditional "practical" solutions to see if the same image can be done "in camera" without compromising it's quality or storytelling impact. An example of this simplification was the use of a Pani projector for profile traveling backgrounds in action sequences in Batman and Robin.

The projector uses a single strip of film 7 inches wide and 30 feet long that can be driven through the projector at a broad range of speeds. The light source is bright enough to easily fill a 20' by 20' screen with a usable taking stop. The optics are sharp enough to allow full frame composition of one half of the projected image area. Because the image is a continuous strip there is no sync needed between the taking camera and the projector and the speed of the background can be changed simply and quickly even during the shot. This technique works for backgrounds that need to travel in profile, across or top to bottom. It does not work for plates that need to travel directly toward or away from camera.

When using this or any rear projection the most accurate way to balance the color and brightness between the foreground and the projected plate is to eyeball balance a foreground white against a white in the projected image — using color correction and ND filters in the projector's beam. Fine brightness adjustments can also be made by adjusting the lamp power on the projector.