The last movie I saw in theaters was The Invisible Man. Thank god it was good. This exciting and trippy film felt Hitchockian and really packed in the excitement and scares. It felt like everyone involved was at the top of their game.
The story had lots of twists and turns.
[SPOILERS AHEAD!]
In addition to shifting the main character, the filmmakers used a number of innovative techniques, clever cinematography, and visual effects to make us get to know and fear the man who was never there.
So how did they really do it?
Check out this video from The Insider and let's talk after the jump.
How Do You Create an Invisible Man?
There are many things that go into perfecting the visuals for a movie. But on a budget of only $7 million, director Leigh Whannel had to get creative. So, what led him to shoot with someone who was invisible?
The first lesson was the framing.
Whannel used a ton of negative space to imply the man was in many shots.
This creative framing kept the budget down because no effect was needed.
He played off audience anticipation and the history of cinema. Every pan to nothing or no one implicitly planted in our mind that there was someone else in the room.
But if you've seen the movie you know there's way more than just framing.
They used this person to toss characters around, create impressions in carpets and legitimately haunt scenes. Aside from just editing him out, they actually spent a ton of time stitching shots together.
So, you'd shoot one take with the guy, the next without him, and then cut them together in the edit.
The other hidden star of the film is the robotic arm on which the camera was placed.
This arm had movements programmed into it to offer a unique perspective that mimicked the POV of an invisible person.
Because of this advancing tech, the actors had to learn quickly, too. See, a ton of pressure was now on Moss and company to hit their marks, because the camera was programmed to hit its marks.
This involved a lot of trial and error but led to some of the most fun scenes in the film, like the escape from the mental ward and attack on the policeman's home.
All in all, it's fun to see how these options all were able to come together on a tight budget and deliver an excellent movie.
What were your favorite parts of the Invisible Man?
Let us know in the comments.
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