Superman flying thanks to the Zoptic System
The tagline for SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE (1978) was “You’ll Believe a Man Can Fly”. The challenge director Richard Donner and his crew faced was making Christopher Reeves convincingly and realistically appear to fly. CGI and digital effects were not yet options.
They tested numerous older filmmaking techniques but nothing satisfied Donner or his talented team of filmmakers. If Superman looked fake while flying, the illusion would be ruined and the audience would disconnect emotionally from the film.
By using only practical filmmaking techniques including:
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- The Zoptic system (explained below)
- Wire work
- Blue screens
- Front projection
- Matte paintings
- Miniatures
- and a 200-foot crane…
Superman flew for real. They did such a convincing job that the film won the 1978 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.
On the 40th anniversary of the film’s release…I’ve created this chronological video that includes every frame of Superman flying in the movie. Enjoy!
Here’s a deep dive look at the Zoptic system invented by Goran Perisic:
fxphd article
BONUS VIDEO: The Magic Behind the Cape
Until next time…
