First, watch this.
The end result in Modern Times (1936), looks like Chaplin is really in danger of going over the edge pic.twitter.com/2qjjzU04WX
— Silent Movie Gifs (@silentmoviegifs) January 6, 2017
Now, watch this.
How a background was added to a shot from Modern Times using a glass matte painting shot pic.twitter.com/4EddbfTOh8
— Silent Movie Gifs (@silentmoviegifs) January 6, 2017
Clever, no?
Via @noellejoyeuse
Chaplin was actually a special effects pioneer. He figured out a way to show a moving train by moving a piece of wood with square holes cut out past a fixed light.
But the most amazing effect of the silent era has to be Mary Pickford kissing herself in “Little Lord Fauntleroy.”