Tap Dancing Special Effect
I am sure that all of you Royal Wedding connisuers have heard this question before, so here it goes again. How was the tap-dancing sequence accomplished in the movie? Thanks.
shareWhile I'm not sure I think MGM constructed a rotating room. The camera angle rotated along with the room so the room appeared to be motionless and Fred Astair was the one moving. In the parts where he is on the ceiling both the room and the camera are turned upsidedown and Fred Astair is the only thing upright. It's amazing how they did it all in one continuous shot. Fred Astair is a genius!
Dream like you'll live foever, but live like you'll die today~James Dean
After Fred Astaire dances on the walls and ceiling, and then he goes
and sits down and holds a picture up, who is the girl in that picture?
The woman is Sara Churchill. In the movie she is Anne Ashmond, Fred Astair's French love intrest.
Dream as if you'll live foever, live as if you'll die today~James Dean
Sara Churchill is also the daughter of Winston Churchill and I thought she - the character Anne Ashmond - was Fred's English interest.
shareIt was indeed a rotating room. If you want to see an explanation of how they did it, check out the documentary "What a Glorious Feeling" on the 2-Disc DVD release of Singin' in the Rain. It's a great documentary, and it devotes a few minutes to "Royal Wedding."
shareRight DVD, wrong documentary. The special features disc of the 2 disc edition of Singin' In The Rain includes two documentaries. The first one is What A Glorious Feeling and it focuses on the making of Singin' In The Rain and events leading up to it. The 2nd documentary is called Musicals Great Musicals (MGM!) and it tells the story of MGM from The Broadway Melody to Gi Gi. This is the documentary that spends a few minutes dicussing Royal Wedding.
And speaking of Royal Wedding, is there any new news on a Warner Release? I've never seen the film, but I'm very interested in seeing Fred's famous dance on the ceiling in the context of the movie. (BTW, I believe this scene served as inspiration for Lionel Richie's "Dancing On The Ceiling")
I hate to burst your bubble but if you look very carefully you will see there are some very subtle editing going on. But still a great scene to watch.
signed
david G
No I think it is actually a rotating room. You can just tell by how fred moves. Sometimes he even looks as though he is sliding forwards along the wall.
share I am not saying its not a rotating room, i am saying it was done with at least 3 shots not 1 continuous shot
signed
David Guillot
At first, I thought that there were four rooms, each with a different wall on the floor. When I thought this, I convinced myself that I could see the editing when Astaire was between walls. When I learned that a rotating room was used, the editing seemed to be all in my head. There are points when Astaire is on a corner still for a moment when you might say could be an editing point. I don't know. I think that it would be very hard to get this particular technically complex scene as smooth as they did with several takes. Who knows. Stanley Donen is a genius, and he may have pulled a fast one on us all.
share3 pages later...
The rotating room is called a gimbal effect*. And a similar gimbal was used in 2001, only
- the room in question is massive and round
- the room feature two actors, one walking the walls and one stationary in a chair.
- The camera is inside the room
At a cost of over $750,000 the massive forty-foot diameter structure could rotate like a ferris-wheel. With the actors either standing, walking, or even running at the bottom of the set, cleverly thought-out camera angles made it appear that the actors could stand upright at any angle around the circular set.
http://www.andiamnotlying.com/2008/foolproof-and-incapable-of-error-ph oto-of-kubrick-directing-2001/
* I'm utterly indifferent to this dance number. I watch Astaire for great dancing ideas, and there are precious few to be found in this gimmick-driven number. There is no room on any of the surfaces for him to execute any footwork. I find the dance with the coatrack much more impressive.
With respect, I beg to differ. This shot was discussed in great detail in a special on TCM, and they made a special point of saying that it was done in one continous shot, without benefit of editing.
And, the room indeed did move (rotate), all of the props were nailed into place, the camera was centered and mounted, along with the camera operator, in a cage, while revolving along with the room. The room was a 20 feet-in-diameter squirrel cage.
And Fred Astaire danced through the entire scene, appearing to climb walls and dance on the ceiling. He spent quite a long time in rehearsals, and they had to work out the timing with whatever the machine was that spun the room. It had to spin at a certain fixed speed, and match up with the music and choreography, which was painstakingly worked out in advance by Stanley Donen (Director), Fred Astaire and Nick Castle (Choreographer).
I saw this recently, when last it played on TCM. I really love the musical and dance numbers in this movie! Fred Astaire was brilliant!
"If GOD Had Wanted Me To See The Sun Rise, HE Would Have Scheduled It Later In The Day!"