Where does this come from, and can I check it?

A beam splitter sent a background image onto a screen behind the cast. The figure is taken from BFI, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a movies & tv fact?

Yes. It sits on the Movies & TV shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Front projection threw the backdrop onto the actors

A beam splitter sent a background image onto a screen behind the cast Front projection bounced the background through a half-silvered mirror onto a screen of beaded Scotchlite material, which reflected light straight back to the lens. Actors stood in front without casting shadows on the backdrop. Stanley Kubrick used it for the African vistas in 2001. It sits in Mondo's movies & tv collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

BFI

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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Movies & Television trivia Technology trivia

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Tags: effects, projection, technique

Front projection threw the backdrop onto the actors: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: A beam splitter sent a background image onto a screen behind the cast. The figure is taken from BFI, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a movies & tv fact?: Yes. It sits on the Movies & TV shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.