Forced perspective

Forced perspective is a technique that employs optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is.

A downpour (created in the studio) draws much of the viewer's attention away from the backdrop and extras, making the simulated perspective less noticeable.

When shooting with forced perspective, it's important to have the aperture stopped down sufficiently to achieve proper depth of field (DOF), so that the foreground object and background are both sharp.

If the camera's point of view were moved, then parallax would reveal the true relative positions of the characters in space.

Portions of sets were mounted on movable platforms which would move precisely according to the movement of the camera, so that the optical illusion would be preserved at all times for the duration of the shot.

The 1930 Laurel and Hardy movie Brats used forced perspective to depict Stan and Ollie simultaneously as adults and as their own sons.

In The History of the World, Part I, while escaping the French peasants, Mel Brooks' character, Jacques, who is doubling for King Louis, runs down a hall of the palace, which turns into a ramp, showing the smaller forced perspective door at the end.

One of the recurring The Kids in the Hall sketches featured Mr. Tyzik, "The Headcrusher", who used forced perspective (from his own point of view) to "crush" other people's heads between his fingers.

[9][10] In architecture, a structure can be made to seem larger, taller, farther away or otherwise by adjusting the scale of objects in relation to the spectator, increasing or decreasing perceived depth.

In contrast, the opposite technique was sometimes used in classical garden designs and other follies to shorten the perceived distances of points of interest along a path.

The Statue of Liberty is built with a slight forced perspective so that it appears more correctly proportioned when viewed from its base.

This depends solely on the angle created by the rays coming from the topmost and bottommost part of the object that pass through the center of the lens of the eye.

The use of camera angles and trick scenery and props creates the illusion of a much greater difference in size and height.

With the support of curator Frank M. Chapman, Akeley designed the popular habitat dioramas featured at the American Museum of Natural History.

Combining art with science, these exhibitions were intended to educate the public about the growing need for habitat conservation.

Some notable examples of forced perspective in the parks, used to make the objects bigger, are the castles (Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Belle, Magical Dreams, and Enchanted Storybook).

[22] One of the most notable examples of forced perspective being used to make the object appear smaller is The American Adventure pavilion in Epcot.