A lot of people --including pop culture heartthrobs-- look surprisingly shorter/different in person as opposed to the way they look on screen. Why is this? Are they looking that way due to the way cameras record images? Lenses? The transition from being recorded to displaying on a TV screen/movie screen? Nothing comprehensible? Surrounding choice people with shorter/equally as short co-stars? Why do people tend to look taller on screen versus reality?
Why do people appear taller on screen?
- Thread starter AmateurFilmmaker
- Start date
Lots of reasons. The main reason Id say is focus. The lens of a camera focuses on the star and blurs the background making everything appear smaller. The human eye takes a lot more into account than a camera lens. Sometimes similar sized actors are chosen to make the star appear taller, this is why the female lead in back to the future was recast for example.
I believe the reason is eye level of the camera on the actors or subjects of the film. The camera is adjusted to the eye level of the actor to make them look like the height of the viewers.
Plus, it's incredibly difficult to get a 6'5 actor in a shot with a 5'1 actress, so you either recast one with a shorter/taller person, or you prop the shorter one up on apple boxes. In the final shot, the height difference will be barely noticeable (unless of course you're specifically going for the effect of noticeable height differences), so not only do you not have a frame of reference for how much taller someone might be, shots are generally eye-height, and ones that aren't are often shot on lenses that don't accentuate how tall someone may or may not be.
A lot of shorter actors spend a good deal of time standing on apple boxes and/or wearing lifts/platform shoes too.. 
This is the most accurate answer to the question.
The height of the tripod and/or camera make smaller actors seem "taller" simply by the virtue of the fact that in most movies, the protagonist is looked up to - literally - sometimes being below the eyeline and thus making them seem taller because we look up to Tom Cruise (5'5")
And the apple box comment is also very true. A lot of actors and actresses are placed on platforms to make them see taller than they really are to match the actor they are doing scenes with.
It's all about framing. I was surprised to read how short Eva Longoria actually is in real life, when the camera always made her look taller, for example.
Kiefer Sutherland in 24 looks like the most intimidating man in the room, even though he's a bit shorter than you might think.
Kiefer Sutherland in 24 looks like the most intimidating man in the room, even though he's a bit shorter than you might think.
anyone here watch true detective?
vince vaughn is 6'5"
of course my comment was completely overlooked.
here are some other tall celebrities that you probably thought were shorter.
chris hemsworth 6'4"
bob sagat 6'4"
john mayer 6'3"
jason segel 6'4"
uma thermon 5'11"
ru paul 6'7"
vince vaughn is 6'5"
of course my comment was completely overlooked.
here are some other tall celebrities that you probably thought were shorter.
chris hemsworth 6'4"
bob sagat 6'4"
john mayer 6'3"
jason segel 6'4"
uma thermon 5'11"
ru paul 6'7"
How tall are you with the high-heeled boots in Divinity? lol
