In-Camera FX

I was interested to hear that Joe Wright tried to do as many of the complex scene changes in Anna Karina as possible as in-camera FX.  I have a lot of respect for directors who are willing to look at other options before resorting to digital FX.

Two of the most successful examples of shots that were achieved using practical means are the zero gravity shots from 2001 and the corridor fight scene from Inception. Both involve complex rigs that move the entire set and the camera to achieve their goal.

2001//Zero Gravity Shot

Inception//Corridor Fight

Some of the solutions used in the past for shots that would nowadays involve expensive CGI were incredibly simple.  In Terence Malick's Days of Heaven the plague of locusts were actually hundreds of peanut skins dropped from a helicopter.  The actors were made to walk backwards through the shot so that when the film was reversed it gives the impression of swarms of locust taking to the skies.