The Scene: Steve Freeling is surprised by a massive face that pops through the doorway.
How It Was Done: A clever trick called “force perspective” was used. A “force perspective” shot uses an in-camera trick to alter one’s perception of the distance and/or size of an object, person, or set piece. In this case, a 15 inch-high doorframe was placed in the foreground and was lined up with an actual set, with Craig T. Nelson standing nearly 10 feet away from the miniature. A soft focus, along with a custom lens designed by Richard Edlund, was then used to make the miniature, full-sized set pieces, and the actor appear as if they were interacting.
Modelmaker Paul Huston spoke of his experiences with building and shooting the head model:
“….I started sculpting this large skull with a bunch of rotting flesh on it to match the rest of the graveyard material. I also made a rig on a track that I could wheel forward and back, keeping it in a really predictable position. It could go in and out from behind the door from the same position every time, so we wouldn’t have a focus problem on different takes.
So I ended up doing it all by hand., using the track as a guide while holding the head and the jaw. It gave me a lot more flexibility, The head had one simple neck joint, to seemingly drop down and lunge at Craig. I left part of it open in the back, exposing the plywood armature, and put an I-bolt there just to grab hold of it like a handle. C02 smoke came out of the eyes. Small light bulbs were also in the eyes and lit up as the gas pumped through. “
This was actually the second attempt for this shoot. The original concept was designed by Craig Reardon, who spoke of his design with Cinefex:
“Steven’s concept for the head was something like Mr. Sardonicus- a name that was even mentioned a few times- what with a face sporting an enormous, humorless, macabre grin. Steven wanted it to look pale, slightly blue and bloodless, like a face underwater. Dead, but not decayed.
The smile would pull way back and the upper lip would pull away from the gums. The mouth, which opened very wide in a kind of Lon Chaney ‘Phantom of the Opera’ leer, was made with translucent backing so that a brilliant light could be directed out through it.”
The original shot differed from the final film version. Instead of the profile shot of the face, it was designed to be a head on shot with Steve Freeling in the foreground. It was an “in-camera” composit shot utilizing a beam splitter to combine two separate images. The camera was in front of a breakaway door and the head, on a track with specific curtains to make the head “appear” and “disappear,” was positioned to the side, at a 45 degree angle. “
Steven Spielberg had a change of heart for the scene. Richard Edlund spoke of this decision:
“Craig had done a wonderful job on the head; but suddenly, it became apparent that it looked too human. Steven wanted it to be scary. But in that original shot, you were looking straight into the doorway and no matter what you did, you were going to telegraph the punchline- because you saw it coming. As a result, the shot softened whatever scariness a close up would have offered. “
The beam splitter shot was traded in for the force perspective shot because it was quick and effective.
