Schüfftan process

Despite its use in numerous films, including works by Alfred Hitchcock and Peter Jackson, the Schüfftan process has largely been replaced by matte shots and chroma key.

The process was refined and popularized by the German cinematographer Eugen Schüfftan while he was working on the film Metropolis (1927), although there is evidence that other film-makers were using similar techniques earlier than this.

[citation needed] Over the following years, the Schüfftan process was used by many other film-makers, including Alfred Hitchcock, in his films Blackmail (1929) and The 39 Steps (1935), and as recently as The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), directed by Peter Jackson.

The Schüfftan process has largely been replaced with matte shots, which allow the two portions of the image to be filmed at different times and give opportunities for more changes in post production.

[citation needed] The Schüfftan process's use of mirrors is very similar to the 19th century stage technique known as Pepper's ghost.