Model Seas

The filming of model ships in studio or improvised tanks should not be undertaken lightly as these scenes are among the most difficult to create with satisfactory realism. Clever editing and subliminal views do much to make the best of unconvincing material, but there is no doubt that a bad model shot can destroy a dramatic situation rather than support it.

Miniature sea

A seascape comprising a placid lagoon or the view of a distant desert island is not too difficult to create. This type of miniature can be set up in a shallow plastic-lined tank erected at camera lens height and filmed in a studio. Where the script calls for complicated action, however, such as a ship foundering in a storm or a submarine surfacing, the model must be operated in a robustly constructed tank situated on the floor or in a proper studio tank.

In all cases where the scene is supposed to take place in daylight, the tank must be backed by a light sky cloth or a back projection screen. Without such an area of flat light to reflect on the surface of the water, the scene looks like a night shot.

Waves

Waves can be produced simply by paddling flat boards fixed to the ends of poles. These should be manipulated on opposite sides of the tank, the cross-modulation producing credible miniature waves, but filming has to be at high speed to slow the waves down.

Horizon

In model tanks the waves must not disturb the horizon, which should of course appear as a straight line. One way of overcoming this problem is to have a sloping board at the back of the tank on which the waves spend themselves. To hide the board the tank must be kept filled with water, the overflow taking place at the back of the tank over the sloping board.

Model boats can be filmed on outdoor ponds and lakes, but in these cases, if the viewpoint is a low one, the horizon presents even more trouble. A solution may sometimes be found in putting down a layer of smoke over the water in the background. The smoke blends with the sky and gives the impression that the horizon is much lower than it really is.

MODEL SEAS

1. Studio tank

Model ships being tested on the outdoor tank at Pinewood Studios, England. Their sizes can be gauged from the men working on them. The sky is painted on a huge cyclorama permanently erected at the back of the tank.

2. Hiding the background

Troublesome backgrounds can sometimes be eliminated if it is possible to lay down smoke. Blending with both water and sky this falsifies the horizon level giving the model ship a more realistic scale.