Cinematography technique · used in 2 films
Building a physical set, such as one that rotates or stands for extra dimensions, to make an impossible space readable on camera. The engineering is visible in the result.
Examples
Stanley Kubrick · 1968
The Discovery One centrifuge set was a real rotating drum, 38 feet across, and it cost $750,000 to build. Kubrick and cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth filmed Gary Lockwood jogging through a complete rotation. The camera was fixed to the set and turned with it, so the actor appears to walk on the ceiling.
Where to see it: Frank Poole jogging through the centrifuge. The camera rotates with the set to show a full 360-degree turn.
Christopher Nolan · 2014
Production designer Nathan Crowley built the Tesseract as a physical set of stacked bookshelves stretching in all directions. The camera and Cooper move through it as a place that has both space and time as directions. It turns love and gravity into a structure you can see.
Where to see it: Cooper navigating the Tesseract. He uses the bookshelf to communicate with Murph across time.
Questions
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