Introvision was a variation of the front-projection process that let filmmakers view a finished composite of live action and plate photography in real time through the camera's viewfinder. Introduced with the 1981 film Outland, it enabled placing actors 'inside' two-dimensional backgrounds, creating the illusion of walking behind objects on set. This was achieved using a black set, precise lighting, and detailed miniature or photographic backgrounds, as seen in The Fugitive with Harrison Ford amid a train backdrop. Introvision faded by 1994 with the rise of digital compositing and matchmoving, which allowed more complex integration of live action and computer-generated elements.
The Introvision system
The front projection screen - custom made from thousands of pentagonal-shaped Scotchlite pieces to eliminate seam lines which might show on the finished film - sits at the far end of the stage. Despite its formidable size, a four-man crew could mount the screen on its tubular steel frame and erect the system in about two hours. On the opposite end of the stage is the compact projector/camera unit. As with other front-projection systems, Introvision made use of the light reflectance characteristics of the Scotchlite screen, which returns light to its source virtually undiminished, but only directly in line with that source. At oblique angles, the light intensity drops off drastically and the image dissipates. Therefore, in order to apply this phenomenon photographically, both projector and camera must be positioned along precisely the same axis - a physical impossibility sidestepped by the employment of a beam splitter. The beam splitter, mounted at a 45-degree angle to the projector axis, aligns the projected image directly to the camera's focal plane, even though the camera and projector are actually positioned at right angles to each other. The mirrored beam-splitter kicks part of the projected image up onto the screen, but being semi-transparent, also allows the camera to see through it, and thereby record the image reflected back.
Actors and set pieces were placed directly in front of the screen, because the projected image was so brilliant, the intensity of light needed to balance 'live' elements to the screen obliterated the projected image from anything in the foreground. Since the projector and camera were in perfect alignment, the foreground elements themselves blocked any unwanted shadows that they may have cast on the screen.
Origins of the Introvision process
Introvision was created by John Eppolito, who was a stage magician and hypnotist. He spent most of his adult life working as a radio producer and director for ABC, and then in the early 1970s transitioned to film production. Along with USC film student Les Robley, Eppolito set up shop in a garage tinkering with front projection. Introvision International was formed, expanded, and operated from 1980 to 2000 by President Tom Naud, Visual Effects Supervisor William Mesa, and Studio Facility Builder, Set Builder and Studio Manager Issachar Issy Shabtay.
Notable uses
Introvision was used to create the well-known rolling bolder scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).1 It was also used in Army of Darkness (1992) and The Fugitive (1993).2 In Fearless (1993), a scene with an imploding airplane interior was created using a minature set in Introvision's own studios.3
See also
References
Koster, Robert (2013). The Budget Book for Film and Television. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-136-04585-1. 978-1-136-04585-1 ↩
Graham-Lowery, Nathan (2023). "How One Evil Dead Sequel & Harrison Ford Action Classic Revolutionized CGI Explained By VFX Artists". Screen Rant. https://screenrant.com/army-darkness-fugitive-vfx-technique-introvision-experts-response/ ↩
Wolf, Mark J. P. (2000). Abstracting Reality: Art, Communication, and Cognition in the Digital Age. University Press of America. ISBN 978-0-7618-1668-3. 978-0-7618-1668-3 ↩