Dry-for-wet

Dry-for-wet describes a process of film art in which film scenes recorded over water are changed through technical manipulation in order to give the viewer the impression of an underwater recording.

Action

With the dry-for-wet technique, the water is simulated through clever lighting, the use of colored filters and suspended particles by filming in a dry room filled with light fog or smoke. The use of fans or the use of slow-motion effects can be used to create the impression of flowing movements of the hair and clothing. Rising air bubbles or animals living under water can be added as a computer effect in post-production to increase the realism of the footage.

Reasons for using the technology

There are many reasons for using this technology. If an actor cannot swim, as in The Spirit , for example , or if he is unable to shoot underwater for health reasons, as in James Bond 007 - On a fatal mission , for example, the dry-for-wet technique can be used in the production of a film Find.

Furthermore, the recordings under water are usually associated with more expensive equipment, since special underwater housings are required for the cameras, which can be obtained between a few hundred euros and prices of up to 30,000 euros, and safety aspects must also be taken into account when diving . The lighting is also much more difficult for underwater photos, since unwanted light reflections have to be avoided. Due to the refractive index of water of 1.33, the angle of view is narrowed by 20 degrees , which means that recorded objects appear 25% larger than they actually are. Depending on the type of color and the type of water, colors are absorbed to different degrees by the water . In addition, the brightness of the light in the water does not decrease linearly with increasing water depth, but in different ways depending on the respective color, which makes filming under water even more difficult and requires the use of high-resolution and light-sensitive cameras. The best shooting times for underwater shots are limited to the noon hours, when the sun is vertical above the water and thus ensures the best possible illumination. In heavy seas, the brightness decreases significantly, so that when diving six meters or more, underwater spotlights must be used.

Use in feature films

The dry-for-wet technique has been used in various television series and feature films since the 1960s.

• 1964: In the television series Stingray , underwater scenes were realized in which models of submarines and puppets of divers were filmed through glass water tanks containing fish and equipment for generating air bubbles.
• 1981: During the production of James Bond 007 - On a fatal mission, Carole Bouquet was unable to perform stunts underwater for health reasons , which is why the scenes were created in the dry.
• 1989: Many of the underwater scenes in Abyss were shot using dry-for-wet technology.
• 1989: In Leviathan , many of the underwater sequences were realized using the dry-for-wet technique.
• 1990: The exterior shots of the submerged submarine in the hunt for Red October were recorded using dry-for-wet technology, using a model of the submarine suspended on twelve wire ropes, which could be tilted in three dimensions.
• 2001: In AI - Artificial Intelligence , the amusement park on Coney Island submerged in the sea was filmed with scaled-down models and dry-for-wet technology.
• 2001: In the last scene of the film The Lord of the Rings: The Companions , the dry-for-wet technique was used, in which Sam sinks into a river.
• 2003: The scene from Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life , in which the diving scooter is used, was created using dry-for-wet technology.
• 2008: All underwater scenes in The Spirit were created in the dry because Eva Mendes could not swim at the time of filming.

Similar film techniques

The opposite technique of dry-for-wet is called wet-for-dry , in which a performer is filmed in a water-filled tank to create a supernatural representation that defies gravity . Chromakey or comparable techniques are usually used here .

Similar to conveying the illusion that a film shot made in the dry was shot underwater, there is a film technique to make shots shot during the day look like night shots. This is called day-for-night in film art .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} movie-college.de: Unterwasserfilme
2. ↑ Background information on James Bond 007 - On a Deadly Mission according to the Internet Movie Database
3. ↑ Background information on Leviathan according to the Internet Movie Database
4. ↑ Background information on the Hunt for Red October according to the Internet Movie Database
5. ↑ Background information on The Lord of the Rings: The Companions according to the Internet Movie Database
6. ↑ double negative visual effects: Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life ( Memento of the original from July 10, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
7. ↑ Background information on The Spirit according to the Internet Movie Database