Camera Tricks to Make Older Actors Look Younger and Smaller

[Nexus]

Are there any particular camera tricks that could be used in making older people look smaller/younger? I am wanting to shoot some Seniors in High School, and I was wondering what might help make them look as small as freshmen. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[David Mullen ASC]

Surround them with even taller, older actors playing Seniors?

Height is relative, so it all depends on the frame of reference -- i.e. someone looks taller when they are next to shorter people.

As for age, besides hair, make-up, and clothing to make someone look younger, more "cosmetic" lighting (flatter generally) can reduce any lines in someone's face, or baggy eyes or sagging chins (not that Seniors in High School will have these problems.) But it really comes down to casting -- either cast Freshmen, or cast people who look possibly that age.

 

[MarkG]

I haven't watched much of the special features on the 'Lord of the Rings' DVDs, but I would imagine there may be some useful information in there about using camera tricks to change height (other than the obvious one of having one of the actors stand on a box): if Peter Jackson can make a guy over six foot look like a dwarf, I'm sure you can make kids look a bit taller or shorter!

One thing we did do on one short was just have one of the actors kneel down for a couple of shots where we wanted them to look like a kid for a surreal POV sequence: it can work surprisingly well if you choose the camera angles to make the perspective look believable.

 

[Tyler Emerson]

When the actors are that close in age, it shouldn't matter. For example, the actress who plays the younger daughter of "Seventh Heaven" is actually two or three years older than the girl that plays the oldest sister. Case in point.

 

[laurent.a]

Have a good make up.

You can use filters on the camera, as to "polish" the skin as well. We use Low contrast, Diffusions filters of different sorts, Black Pro mist... Depends on what you can find for your camera, mind it's not cheap. You can even put silk stockings in front of the camera. Make tests before.

Some cameras have a skin tone detail function that does the job in the skin only. Does your camera handle that?

As for looking smaller... I have no idea, unless postproduction work... or forget it!