How did they film the silhouettes in MST3K?
January 13, 2023 10:51 AM
I was watching a marathon and finally realized that Joel/Mike and the robots would have been filmed in front of a green screen so wouldn't be seeing the film projected the way we do as the audience. I also now realize that this is obvious.
My question is, the TV show is presented as if they are facing away from the camera and looking at the screen. If that's true, there must be a TV off to the side/below them showing the movie so they can time the riffing.
It occurred to me that it would actually make more sense if they were facing the camera with the green screen behind them. Everything behind/beside the camera wouldn't be visible and so it would be easy to stage everything, including cue cards/scripts.
Since everyone is in silhouette, you can't really tell which direction they're actually facing. Does anyone know which it is?
My question is, the TV show is presented as if they are facing away from the camera and looking at the screen. If that's true, there must be a TV off to the side/below them showing the movie so they can time the riffing.
It occurred to me that it would actually make more sense if they were facing the camera with the green screen behind them. Everything behind/beside the camera wouldn't be visible and so it would be easy to stage everything, including cue cards/scripts.
Since everyone is in silhouette, you can't really tell which direction they're actually facing. Does anyone know which it is?
Here's a behind-the-scenes explanation I found. The camera is behind them and they're facing a white screen, which is chromakeyed out.
The video doesn't show much more but it looks like the camera is angled up slightly which gives the actors room to look down as they do the lines.
posted by JoeZydeco at 11:01 AM on January 13, 2023
The video doesn't show much more but it looks like the camera is angled up slightly which gives the actors room to look down as they do the lines.
posted by JoeZydeco at 11:01 AM on January 13, 2023
I found this picture of them filming which unfortunately is from the wrong side to say definitively, but from which end of the "seats" they're sitting on and the relative positions of Crow and Tom Servo, it looks like they do film from behind.
posted by traveler_ at 11:18 AM on January 13, 2023
posted by traveler_ at 11:18 AM on January 13, 2023
They called it "Shadowramma." If you search for that you'll find more information.
posted by sevenless at 11:57 AM on January 13, 2023
posted by sevenless at 11:57 AM on January 13, 2023
Chiming in to confirm that they are filmed from behind -- the reason why some people perceive Crow as facing towards the camera has to do with the phenomenon of multistable perception.
Here's another behind the scenes photo, I believe this one is from when they shot MST3K: The Movie, which was done on a larger soundstage than the one used for most of the original series. Note that the bots are painted black here, to present a more consistent silhouette against the greenscreen background.
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:59 AM on January 13, 2023
Here's another behind the scenes photo, I believe this one is from when they shot MST3K: The Movie, which was done on a larger soundstage than the one used for most of the original series. Note that the bots are painted black here, to present a more consistent silhouette against the greenscreen background.
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:59 AM on January 13, 2023
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posted by The otter lady at 11:01 AM on January 13, 2023