Early Special Effects and A Trip to The Moon

A Trip to The Moon

Georges Méliès 1902 film A Trip To The Moon is a staple of special effects history and a great example of how early special effects were implemented. The film uses a wide range of effects that would be continued to be used, some of which are still used today. Miniatures, substitution, double exposure, painted sets, props, studio mechanism and much more can be seen in the film. Méliès is famous for popularizing many of these effects especially the use of substitution, or stop motion, an effect he would in almost all of his films after accidentally discovering the trick early on in his career. 

The film follows the story of a group of scientists who explore the moon. After they are shot  into space they land on the eye of the man in the moon. This is an iconic image of not just early film but of science fiction and popular culture in general. Also the scientists encounter a group of savages aliens and must fight them making them explode into smoke, then the explorers must return to Earth and travel through space and into the ocean. A very ambitious story especially considering it was made over 110 years ago, however Méliès pulled it off. Without the use of special effects a story such as this couldn’t have possibly been realized. So Méliès and his crews expertise with effects was essential. 

The use of substitution entailed shooting a shot then stopping the filming, then adding or removing a subject or object from the frame then resume filming. This was particularly effective and convincing for early audiences, and none excelled at it like Méliès. The technique of multiple exposure needs two different shots to work. A certain part of a film strip would be covered or block on each individual frame in the sequence, then once the shot of the painting or set you need was complete then you would reverse the process. You would block the already exposed film, then reveal the previously covered parts of the frames, then run the film through the camera again. Now this time usually you would place an actor in the frame so in A Trip to The Moon (1902) an example of this is the man in the moon, the painted moon and the set of space will have been shot first. Then the actor in the moon make-up will have been shot secondly and his face will be place in the previously unexposed center of the frames. This technique was an early precursor for front and rear projection as well as blue and green screen projection.

So it’s fair to say that this film is a special effects masterpiece and has inspired filmmakers for over 100 years since.