Tag Archives: Lord of the Rings

Special Effects you won’t believe were done for real

Here at The Filmsmith we have a great love for all the hours that go into practical special effects, those pieces of wizardry that aren’t created by computer animators.  These guys have to battle the restrictions of the real world (time, space, gravity) in order to do their job well, because when they do, you feel the term movie magic.  So here are some of the highlights from Cracked’s, “8 Special Effects You Won’t Believe Aren’t CGI.” Continue reading

Simon Pegg, Andy Serkis, and John Landis Filming Dark Comedy

John Landis (An American Werewolf in London) is filming part of his latest film, Burke and Hare, in Edinburgh this week.  Andy Serkis (Gollum) and Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead) star, with imdb describing the film as:

A black comedy about two 19th century grave robbers who find a lucrative business providing cadavers for an Edinburgh medical school.

Looks like Landis is returning to his roots.  Below are pictures I snapped of the set as they’re getting ready to shoot this evening.

Trucks and lighting equipment.

Rustic carts and hay for that turn of the century look.

Dressing the set to hide the new. They also installed old wooden signs.

This is how you light a set when you can't get a cherry picker lighting kit in: it's a balloon with lights inside.

This is probably the angle they'll shoot the scene from, since there's a restaurant in the opposite direction.