Toys

A surrealistic scene in "Toys" shows a limousine driving up to a formless cube perched on an velvety smooth green hillside. The limo driver hits a button, and the front of the cube unfolds to reveal the facade of the house, as if it were a 40 foot tall pop up card. This pre-digital composite was photographed entirely on the original camera negative to maintain image quality. The only portion of the shot that is real is the limousine and the driveway area.

A wonderfully detailed motion control miniature house was created by Mark Stetson Visual Services.
Steve Reding and I photographed this model in front of an 8 x 12 sky background
I painted as just enough background for the house to move in front of.

This footage was then married up with a smaller matte painting depicting the surrounding
hills and skies. Soft split screens were run between the painted clouds,
allowing the clouds to move across the frame at different rates. This was tricky, because
they had to match the speed of the large sky background photographed behind the miniature house.

A stop motion replacement animated flag was added, as if it were
being raised up the flag pole to commemorate the house opening.

(click to view a quicktime movie)