Imagine Leonardo DiCaprio falling off a building’s roof, getting slowed down by tree branches, landing face down on the ground, and then standing up and running away. In no universe would the producers allow that to happen! Yet it does happen to his character, Bob, in “One Battle After Another.” On top of that, it’s done in a continuous long take. How is it possible? Thanks to an old but gold filmmaking trick called the Texas Switch (or a variation of it). Let’s take a look at how it works and some ways to implement it. The term “Texas Switch“ (also known as “cowboy switch”) most likely originates from classic, gritty Westerns of the early cinema days (hence the name). Yet it is one of the most widely used sleight-of-hand tricks in films to this day. Well, what can I say! We do love practical filmmaking magic, don’t we? What is a Texas Switch? In a classic definition, Texas Switch is an in-camera technique in which an actor is seamlessly and invisibly replaced by a stunt performer (or vice versa) during a single, continuous shot with no cuts. (I write “classic definition” because there are variations nowadays, and we’ll touch on them later.) This allows filmmakers to create an illusion – especially in action-packed sequences – that the actors are doing all the dangerous stunts themselves. As a result, it enhances the sense that everything happening to the characters is real and increases the audience’s immersion. See for yourself: Funny, huh?...
Published By: CineD - Yesterday