Because the film's director of photography, Jeffrey Ainsworth, did not want to use complex processing special effects, all the special effects in the film were shot in front of the camera. Because the widely used static backdrops and back-projected dynamic images at that time could not create the real effects Kubrick wanted, this film pioneered the front projection visual effects technology, the African background and the African background in the scene of the orangutan learning tools in the film. A large number of spaceship scenes are masterpieces of this special effects technology. After the film came out, this technology began to be widely used, and it was gradually replaced by the green screen system until the 1990s.
The front projection technology requires the use of a separate projector and a single-sided mirror placed 45 degrees in front of the camera. The projector at a 90-degree angle to the camera projects the background image onto the single-sided mirror, and the single-sided mirror reflects the image to the actors. With the backdrop made of retro-reflective material, the camera then incorporates the actor and the image on the backdrop into the mirror. During this process, the actor will not be affected because the light reflected by the mirror is very weak and far darker. In the light of the scene, and at the same time, the image on the high-reflectivity backdrop can clearly appear in the camera. In order to shoot the vast African scenes, the film crew needed a 40-foot backdrop, which was unprecedented at the time. Such a huge backdrop certainly requires a projector with the largest specifications, but the existing large projectors at the time had too much graininess on the backdrop, so the crew and MGM’s special effects director Tom Howard (Tom Howard) joined forces. Design a projector that uses 8 x 10 inch transparencies and the largest water-cooled arc lamp.
The pictures of the space journey in the film are also taken in front of the camera. The "Discovery One" spacecraft model moves along an orbit and is connected to the camera. During the first shot, the model is in the dark to cover up the starry sky. After that, both the model and the film returned to the starting point, and the second time was taken under light conditions. In the third time, the dynamic image was projected on the model window, thus showing the interior of the spacecraft. Inside the spacecraft is a giant centrifuge used to generate artificial gravity. This machine weighs 30 tons and was built by the Vickers-Armstrong Engineering Group at a cost of up to 750,000 US dollars. In the previous science fiction films, the floating effect in space and the weightlessness effect in the spacecraft were the most troublesome problems for the crew technicians. However, the crew of this film thought of hanging the actors from the ceiling and placing the camera under the feet of the astronauts. Shoot vertically, so that you can hide the hanging line and create a very real and believable floating scene.
