Amazing Effects in Classic Films - How Did They Pull It Off?

Summary by Krater

An analysis of practical special effects and camera tricks used in classic films like Safety Last, Metropolis, Wings, Buster Keaton comedies, and 2001: A Space Odyssey, revealing how filmmakers achieved complex visuals before modern CGI.

From the video

Answers: How were special effects done in classic black and white films without CGI?

• Practical special effects in classic cinema
• In-camera visual effects and forced perspective
• Glass shots and mirror techniques in old movies
• Miniature models and rear projection history

What it concludes

• Harold Lloyd's famous clock dangling scene in Safety Last! used a clever in-camera perspective trick with a set built on top of a building.
• Metropolis used a mirror shot technique to seamlessly combine live-action actors with miniature city models.
• Wings used an inverted overhead wooden cart rig and specialized tracks to create dynamic cafe tracking shots without moving tables across the set.
• Buster Keaton's collapsing house stunt in Steamboat Bill, Jr. relied on precise mathematical calculations rather than camera tricks.
• Carl Struss won an Academy Award for Sunrise and utilized colored makeup and matching filters to make actors' makeup appear and disappear on camera.
• The iconic tornado scene in The Wizard of Oz was created using a 35-foot muslin cloth funnel on a gantry crane combined with Fuller's Earth and rear projection.