10 More Bizarre Ways Directors Tricked Audiences

10. Children In Spacesuits Made The Space Jockey Look Bigger - Alien

One of the easiest ways to cheat scale in a movie? Use children.

That's precisely what Ridley Scott did in the original Alien when he wanted to convey the awe-inspiring scale of the Space Jockey discovered by the crew of the Nostromo.

Rather than build a large model comparable to the movie's adult cast, Scott had his two young sons and also the son of cinematographer Derek Vanlint work as stand-ins wearing smaller spacesuits, as was surely both the cheaper and easier option.

And you'd certainly never guess it from the end result - the sense of scale is manipulated quite perfectly with smart use of camera perspective, in turn leaving audiences mesmerised by the Space Jockey's gigantic skeleton.

Fun fact: the suits were extremely hot to wear, enough that the children almost collapsed from wearing them for hours a day on set. As a result, oxygen systems were subsequently fitted into the suits to help them breathe.