practical levitating effect

[John Shand]

The hover board chase on Back to the Future (see link). Is the type of effect I want to pull off when they cut to the top half of their body.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkyLnWm1iCs

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[Mark Suszko]

But if you don’t show a full body at any point, how do we *know* it’s a levitation?

[John Fishback]

I’ve not done this exact kind of effect, but I’d suggest you experiment with shooting on a green screen. Suspend the guy with a wire or two so you can orient him the way you want. Shoot him full frame and CUs as desired. Also, a large fan so his hair and clothes move in the “wind.” You’ll need to remove the wires in post. Plan out your shots so he’s looking in the right direction and “noticing” things in the park. Maybe he waves a couple of folks. Be sure to test (from green screen through post) before shooting for real.

John

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[John Shand]

Thanks John, that is some great advice.

Mark, we plan to show the feet floating along the floor then cut to the upper body when he is passing people etc.

Do you know the best way to show the feet rising from the ground? We want the opening shot to be the feet walking through the park then they start to float off the floor. Is there a device or something we can build that will help our actor into this transition?

Appreciate the advice so far.
Thanks
John

[Mark Suszko]

If you only need to see the legs/feet, then a simple zipline he can hang from, that gradually slopes up, can get you that effect on site.

A famous “practical” floating effect was the close-ups of the land speeder in Star Wars, which was suspended on a large jib-like arm that rotated it into the shot. In “Dark Star”, dangling beneath an elevator was hysterically yet concincingly done by tilting the camera at a dutch angle in a corridor made to look like an elevator shaft. A forklift drove back and forth up and down the corridor, with a fake elevator “floor” attached to the front tines area. A stiff board attached to one tine is what the actor rested on with his pants covering the board. The overall effect was dangling dangerously, in a 13-story shaft, going up and down, while never being more than 2 feet from a real floor.

The “wireless” way to do flying green screen is to shoot down from above, towards a green floor, with the actor standing on one foot, looking up into the camera and pantomiming zero-gee. The actor could also lay on a green box or other support.

[John Shand]

Zipline! Genius, Thanks Mark really appreciate the advice.