Film Language Tag: miniature

A scale replica considerably smaller than the full-scale object it represents. Miniatures may be made to represent actual objects, such as automobiles, or fanciful objects, such as undersea cities. When properly lit and photographed, miniatures can appear to be full sized. Shots of miniatures may be composited with live action footage of lifesized objects to further enhance the effect. Miniatures are generally filmed in slow motion (with the camera overcranked) so that when viewed, they give the impression of a larger scale. Roughly speaking, the camera speed is the inverse of the square root of the miniature's scale, so a ¼ scale model would be filmed at 2× the normal speed. For objects that one is familiar with in the natural world, 1/16 scale is the smallest practical size. Smaller than that and it is difficult to maintain the illusion of natural size. Fanciful objects, such as spaceships, can be almost any scale because the viewer is not intimately familiar with how such an object should look and move in real life. Natural phenomenon such as water, smoke, and fire do not miniaturize well. Viewers know what they look like and can easily tell the difference between a bonfire and a candle flame. Therefore, special care must be taken whenever miniatures involve such elements. Increasingly, these natural phenomena are added or augmented using digital special effects rather than being filmed as practical miniatures. Kroon, R. W. A/V a to z: An encyclopedic dictionary of media, entertainment and other Audiovisual terms. McFarland, 2014.