Mondo Knows Facts
Motion control rigs repeat a move exactly
A computer records the camera path so separate passes line up frame for frame Industrial Light and Magic built motion control rigs for Star Wars in 1977 so a miniature could be filmed several times with identical camera moves. The takes were combined into one shot. The same technique lets one actor play twins in a single frame. It sits in Mondo's movies & tv collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.
Where this comes from
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
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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More facts like this
Wire removal erases the cables holding actorsRiggers fly a performer on thin cables and post-production paints them outFront projection threw the backdrop onto the actorsA beam splitter sent a background image onto a screen behind the castGo motion blurred puppets while the shutter was openA computer nudged the armature during each exposure so the frame carried blurSquibs fire the blood hits on cueA small charge taped under the costume bursts a bag of fake bloodFilm rain falls from towers and nozzlesHoses on tall frames spray water downwind so it lands inside the shotFilm stock is rated by speed and grainA fast stock needs less light but shows more grain than a slow one
๐ฌ Movies & TVfact 170 of 200
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Tags: effects, cameras, miniatures
Motion control rigs repeat a move exactly: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- A computer records the camera path so separate passes line up frame for frame. The figure is taken from Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 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.