10 Amazing Movie Practical Effects And How They Did It

1917 is visually beautiful and emotionally gripping from start to finish, it will likely go down as one of the greatest films ever made for decades to come. Unusually for a modern film it was shot with extremely low amounts of computer generated effects, being used almost exclusively to smooth the transition between scenes.

Arguably the most beautiful sequence of the entire film is seen when the camera passes through a window to show the ruined city of Ecoust, lit only by periodic flares flown overhead. Watching our protagonist sprinting through the intermittent darkness is a visual delight that looks genuinely authentic.

The shot was created by having lighting rigs attached to wires suspended over the set. These lights could be dimmed and brightened to simulate a flare, and were moved steadily across the sky above the set in order to control the lighting to perfection.

Interestingly the window that the camera passes through was actually split in two, and the left half was pulled away when the camera passes through, allowing it to be transferred to a rig outside without a cut. This allows a Seamless transition between the enclosed interior of the buildiing to the wide exteriors of the ruined city.