10 Movie Moments Which Aren’t What They Seem
When a simple mirror isn't a mirror at all...
Filmmaking can be a tricky old business.
Sometimes what eventually looks like a fairly standard shot can take the longest amount of time to perfect and pull off convincingly. Even then, a production team's days or even months of meticulous hard work can often be overlooked, as fans tend to be more interested in a film's larger than life action set pieces or highly dramatic emotional confrontations between Oscar hungry Hollywood A-Listers.
Yet, it's within these finer details and seemingly straightforward moments that the genius of a production crew can truly be found.
What at first appears to be nothing more than a typical use of modern CGI or audio work can quickly become something else entirely once you scratch the surface.
You've been convinced by inflatable crowds, accepted a stunt double staring through a whole in a wall and winced at the sound of plastic cups being rubbed together and you didn't even know it. Which is probably the biggest compliment you could pay to the brilliant minds behind these pieces of movie magic.
You may have thought you had all the answers, but there are still some Movie Moments Which Aren't What They Seem...
10. The King's Speech - The Inflatable Crowd
Colin Firth may have gone on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2011 for his performance as King George VI in The King's Speech, but he has sadly been overshadowed by his background artists in this particular entry.
During the opening scene of the Oscar winning flick, Firth can be seen wandering out in front of a crowd to give the speech for the official closing of the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Stadium. His very obvious stammer may have been the focus of the scene, but that covers up the fact that Firth is actually performing in front of 1,500 blow up dummies!
Filling a scene with inflatable audience members is actually a whole lot cheaper than using CGI to add extra members to the crowd outside of the actors whose faces can clearly be seen in shot.
The Inflatable Crowd provided the unmoving extras and they've also hired out their airheads for films like Iron Man 2, Blades of Glory and The Fighter.
So, bare that in mind the next time you see a big crowd in a feature film, as they may be a little more lifeless than they first appeared.