Tarkovsky's Stalker end scene

[Rafael Ayuso]

Hello everyone,

 

I am trying to film (copy) the ending scene of Tarkovsky's Stalker when the girl moves some glasses on a table by telekinesis.
Anyone has any idea about how this effect is made? I am shooting in 16mm so no CGI.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Regards

 

Rafael

 

Here is the link (the last 4-5 minutes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyFLUJ4kmXQ

[Jay Young]

I believe it's done by something like a thin piece of tape, maybe fishing line. You can see that the feathers get caught in whatever is pulling the glass.

You could use some sellotape or other thin, clear single sided tape with adhesive face up. Attach it to the bottom of the glass and pull very gently.

As long as you don't get any reflections off the tape with your lighting, it SHOULD work...

 

Test it out!

 

Edit: Also MAGNETS! Or telekinesis. Maybe it wasn't fake?

Edited August 18, 2015 by Jay Young

[Adrian Sierkowski]

Big enough neomydium magnets would work pretty well; depends on if you have to see in the glass or not. If it's something like a box moving you could build a little remote controled car into it or something--- kind of depends on if you want an exact copy of that scene with glasses of see-through liquids or just something similar.

DoF is your friend here as you'd need the tape, if you went that route, to be out of focus the whole time-- though even in that shot as mentioned you can see the feathers caught on it when the glass moves.

[Lance Soltys]

For flying effects in stop-motion we used tungsten wire. Super thin and very strong, just have to be careful not to kink it. That might work for the glass.

[Rafael Ayuso]

Hi guys, thank you very much.
I'm going to try the all options suggested. My DoP is not completely sure about what they are using and our first thought was the fishing line.
It is a pleasure to post in this forum.
Will post the results.

Thanks again.

 

Rafael

[KH Martin]

Assuming you could rotate the table AND the lighting setup ... just tip everything and let gravity do the work.

[Gregg MacPherson]

Does anyone know definitively how they did it?

[Tyler Purcell]

It's wires for sure, you can see the feathers move… whoops! Just noticed that.

[Gregg MacPherson]

How would magnets work? How is the iron hidden in the glass?

There must be someone who knows how this was actually done.

[Adrian Sierkowski]

You'd put another magnet in the glass I would assume if you went magnets.

[Tyler Purcell]

Drill a small slot into the bottom of each glass and glue a wire into it. Piece of cake.

[Rafael Ayuso]

This is getting interesting. First of all, thanks for everyones contribution.

I must be pretty stupid to get it.

So, you drill a small slot into the bottom of each glass and then...where is the wire? Some of you say that you can see the feathers getting trapped in the wire...I don´t see it! (the trick works perfect with me)
What wire? Is there any thin enough metal wire that can move an object with a small magnet attached to the object while not see in the image? Is it the neomydium magnet that Adrian mentioned?

[Tyler Purcell]

Ohh crap, I can see the feathers getting trapped! HOLY MOLY! I didn't see that my first time watching, my bad! It's in the first part of the move, you can see the feathers following the cable as the first glass moves, plain as day!

 

Umm… so yea I'd use magnets, forget about the wire. Getting the right wire and making it work, is probably more difficult then it's worth. Magnets are a lot easier, you can simply throw one in a cup and have one under the table, operated by one person. You do need a nonmetallic surface however, but that's pretty easy to find.

[JD Hartman]

For flying effects in stop-motion we used tungsten wire. Super thin and very strong, just have to be careful not to kink it. That might work for the glass.

 

You mean perhaps, piano wire?

[Lance Soltys]

Actually, I think it's different. Piano wire is steel and tungsten wire is, actually, tungsten. I'm sure piano wire would work similarly, but tungsten would be thiner for the same strength. You can purchase it at McMaster-Carr at what ever thickness you want.

 

By the way, Mr. Hartman,I've been meaning to ask you about a post you made awhile back about how to coil cable. It's probably best if I start a new thread so this one doesn't go off the mark, but please respond if you have the chance. Thanks.

[JD Hartman]

Yes it is different.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#tungsten-wire/=ymivt5 No tensile strength listed.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#piano-wire/=ymiwpa Available in Stainless and plain steel, 281,000psi tensile strength or use the soft 1065 alloy.

[Jay Young]

As the resident professional musician in the room, piano wire may be actually easier to get in a sufficiently thin gauge. You can get harpsichord wire made of bronze or brass or whatever alloy you wish but it may not actually be strong enough for these purposes. Pressures on a harpsichord are generally in the "not a lot" range. Pressures on a piano however are sufficient to make it literally implode. Altho in the upper register, those wires are pretty thin, but bending them might present a challenge.

 

I still vote for plastic/poly wire (fishing or otherwise). 10 pound test line should work well, AND it's mostly translucent so it will cut down on reflecting any lighting.

[Adrian Sierkowski]

If you did wire I too would look towards monofilament (fishing line).

[JD Hartman]

Wire will be stronger in a thinner size (gage) than the fishing line, less visible and won't stretch like the plastic line.