MovieChat Forums > My Favorite Martian (1963) Discussion > How do they make objects levitate?

How do they make objects levitate?

posted 15 years ago by LarryBrownHouston
3 replies | jump to latest

We've just been watching the DVD set of My Favorite Martian season one and we've been enjoying it. We're up to episode 10 (counting the pilot) and I count one boner, one classic, and the rest "entertaining."

I'm puzzled by the levitation effect. Uncle Martin points his finger, an object in the room levitates and moves from one place to another. In some cases the object moves from or to Tim O'Hara's hand, giving a more complicated final impression. For example in one episode Tim & Uncle Martin are doing dishes and Tim holds a wet dish over his shoulder and Uncle Martin levitates the dish over to the breakfast table where he's sitting. In the same scene, Tim throws a dish towel on to the table and knocks off the glass coffee urn, whereupon Uncle Martin levitates the urn as it's falling to the floor and it floats back onto the table.

The objects wiggle in the air as if they are held by a jiggling wire. The effect is smooth and seamless.

I'm just wondering how they did it! I'm guessing that the blue screen process already existed in 1963, but the effect doesn't really look like that. Also if the objects really are in Tim's hand when Martin levitates them, then it's not blue screen.

My guess is that they have the objects rigged to wires and a nifty "flying" rig above the camera frame. But I can't see any wires, so ????

Does anyone know how they do it?

Thanks in advance.

[–] jgs1935 14 years ago

I believe in at least one instance, I saw a hint of the presence of a very thin fishing line. I think it's safe to say that's the primary means...?

[–] escalera-2 14 years ago

I'd say jgs1935 is right on. Some of those wire scenes may have been run in reverse, too.

[–] hockeyhrs 11 years ago

No blue- or green-screen in 1963-66.

MFM does it with wires/fishing line and (most critically!) the proper use of light & shadow.

It's tough to do well, even when you have a great cinematographer: wires can be seen by observant viewers of "The Exorcist" and "The Outer Limits (1963 version)" episode "The Man with the Power", whose cinematographers -- Owen Roizman & Conrad Hall, respectively -- have 3 Oscars and 15 nominations between them.