10 More Bizarre Ways Directors Tricked Audiences

2. Digital Camera Shake Was Added To The Practical Plane Stunt - Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

Mission Impossible Rogue Nation
Paramount Pictures

The fifth Mission: Impossible film, Rogue Nation, kicks off with a mesmerising feat of practical stunt work in which Tom Cruise hangs off the side of a plane as it takes flight thousands of feet into the air.

While Cruise was obviously safely tethered to the plane at all times, it was nevertheless a breathtaking stunt sold entirely on its practical, in-camera achievement - aside from Cuirse's tether being digitally removed in post-production, of course.

Yet a comparison between the raw footage shot on the day and the final completed image reveals a most curious difference - the version of the shot featured in the movie contains a ton of camera shake that wasn't in the original shot and therefore must've been added digitally.

The reason for this? The raw version of the shot is butter-smooth to the point that audiences might actually be suspicious that Cruise was simply digitally composited into the background and hanging from a plane on wires.

But by adding some subtle-yet-effective digital camera shake to the shot, it cleverly sells it as more real, that we're watching a camera reacting to wind resistance and jostling around a little in the air.

Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.