How Were the Old Sci-Fi Movies Made?

Time Lapse Photography

In many old science fiction films, a character undergoes a slow transformation from human to monster. Although a more elegant way of accomplishing a radical change in appearance could be done with lighting and makeup, the preferred method was time lapse photography in which images dissolved over each other to give the appearance of a slow transformation or de-evolution of the character.

Stop-Motion

The use of miniatures in stop-motion animation has been used throughout film history and across a broad range of genres, but the film that really defined the use of stop-motion was the 1933 sci-fi classic "King Kong." The 1950s and 1960s were perhaps the golden age of miniatures in sci-fi due to the groundbreaking work of Ray Harryhausen in films about dinosaurs, flying saucers and mythological creatures like the Hydra.

Matte Painting

Matte painting is the process of literally painting a background on a sheet of glass. This process is especially useful for creating scenes on other worlds that obviously cannot be created here on earth. Matte paintings are also used to create fantastic landscapes in sci-fi films against which miniatures are used to make them look much larger in perspective.

Rear Projection

Rather than using a fake miniature to create a giant creature, some makers of classic science fiction would instead shoot an actual creature like a spider or ants and then project them onto a screen behind the actors. The result was that these small insects and bugs would take on the appearance of enormity, usually as the result of nuclear radiation exposure.

Forced Perspective

By placing one object in the distance and another closer to the camera and framing them just right, the filmmakers can trick the audience's perspective. The object in the front seems to be far larger than the object to the rear. This device was very useful for sci-fi movies featuring gargantuan beasts roaming across the country.