How some cool silent film effects were done

[chicot60]

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Harold Lloyd hanging off a clock in Safety Last! (1923)

http://i.imgur.com/uxOodZL.gif

When Safety Last was made, it wasn't feasible to insert a fake background using rear projection or a green screen, so they used a trick of perspective. The set was built at the right height for Lloyd's climb, but on the roof of a building across the street. As Lloyd climbed higher, the set was moved to taller buildings.

http://i.imgur.com/z6AJFjJ.gif

Charlie Chaplin roller-skating in a department store in Modern Times (1936)

http://i.imgur.com/Wq82hVw.gif

A good example of the classic movie making technique of glass matte painting. Part of the background was painted on a piece of glass, which was placed in front of the camera.

http://i.imgur.com/VQhiLw9.gif

Colleen Moore's eye trick in Ella Cinders (1926)

http://i.imgur.com/lVJPM20.gif

The two halves of her face were filmed separately, using a matte shot. Basically, a piece of glass with half the frame painted black was placed in front of the camera, so only one side the film was exposed. The film was then wound back, the glass was switched for one with black on the other side. The key was to avoid having either the camera or the Moore's face shift in position while shooting, or the effect would be ruined.

[chicot60]

http://i.imgur.com/Ea80gNS.gif

Douglas Fairbanks slides down a sail in The Black Pirate (1926)

http://i.imgur.com/JwIcThw.gif

The method for achieving this much copied shot was figured out by Fairbanks's brother Robert, an engineer. The camera and the sail were both placed at an angle. Fairbanks's knife was connected to a hidden pulley and counterweight. Airplane propellers were used to make the sails billow.

http://i.imgur.com/lfmKHTZ.gif

Buster Keaton rides over a broken bridge in Sherlock Jr. (1924)

http://i.imgur.com/9uH3Qg3.gif

Another matte shot. The bottom of the frame was blacked out, lining up with the top of the bridge, and Keaton was filmed riding while the bridge was still intact. The footage of the trucks was filmed separately with part of the bridge removed. Getting the timing right must have been tough.The part at the end isn't a camera trick, Keaton actually did that.

http://i.imgur.com/FLbvONX.gif

Jesus heals some lepers in Ben-Hur (1925)

http://i.imgur.com/sbDcZU9.gif

Karl Struss, another famous cinematographer, developed a technique using a colour filter to achieve this effect. When the filter was adjusted, the women's leper makeup was no longer visible on film. Struss used the same technique, in reverse, for the famous transformation scene in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931).

[The Noof]

And the effects were no less believable than the cgi crap today.

[wattso99]

Yep, computers do it all today..