10 Amazing Movie Practical Effects And How They Did It

I know what you are likely thinking at first, it looks impressive, but its' just a big very detailed model, that's not very unusual. But think just how large that set would have had to be in order to appear that size next to our suited protagonists. The studio was unwilling to pay for such an expensive set to be used for just a few shots in one scene.

Ridley Scott shot the scene under budget using two extremely unorthodox methods. The first is that only one wall of the set was built, and the Space Jockey was built on a rotating platform. This allowed the actors to film multiple angles with the model and give it the appearance of being in a real ship.

The second is far more creative and arguably one of cinemas best solutions to problems of budget. Ridley Scott actually substituted his own children for adult actors in the space suits. This allowed the set to be built to a far smaller scale, thus saving tremendously on the cost, and allowing the scene to impress upon us early in the film just how out of their depth our human explorers are.