SCALE: CAMERA

Camera scale was something I didn’t start noticing until I came to ILM. Scale has such an importance in selling the overall shot, and that extends to the camera.

SPEED

The most interesting aspect of scale I learned at work is how speed affects our size perception. Example 1 below.

Example 2: if we take the same camera movement and slow it down x4, the object feels much larger.

This technique is also used in practical miniature photography, especially in Blade Runner.

I made a mini cut of exterior shots from the film as examples:

DEPTH OF FIELD

In order to sell a large scale, another thing I learned at work is that wide shots must be in deep focus in order to remove any feelings of the digital set seeming small or like a physical miniature. Deep focus is used to help scale was also used in Blade Runner:

On the flip side, to sell small scale, The Lego Batman Movie uses shallow depth of field on wide shots to reinforce the scale. Notice how the foregrounds are out of focus: