How to pull a sword out of a stone at Fantasy Basel like in Hollywood
29.4.2017
Translation: machine translated
Fantasy Basel, a trade fair for comic fans, film lovers and cosplayers, not only thrives on cosy get-togethers, but also on direct contact with celebrities from film and television. So that you too can get a whiff of Hollywood air, we have teamed up with the film distributor Warner Bros.
The scene is legendary and no film adaptation of the myth of King Arthur can do without it: The young Arthur steps up to the sword stuck in the stone. Only those who are worthy of the king's crown are able to free the sword Excalibur. Mighty warriors have tried their hand at it, the strongest of the strong. None have succeeded. But the gaunt young man, who no one has ever heard of, pulls Excalibur - a sword that makes its wielder invincible - out of the stone in front of an astonished crowd. The man becomes a legend, the youth becomes King Arthur.
At Fantasy Basel, you too can try your hand at pulling the sword out of the stone. I can tell you from well-informed sources that there's a good chance you'll be able to do it. I am also almost certain that the sword is not the real Excalibur.
Just like in Hollywood. The film distributor Warner Bros. wants to recreate this perfect illusion at its stand. Warner Bros. is relying on technology from the digitec shop.
Metal, canvas and iPads
A Hollywood atmosphere is the order of the day at the film distributor's stand. We don't want you to feel like you're in the Middle Ages. Or like in Camelot. Or like surrounded by knights. The stand creates the illusion of a film shoot. You stand in a circular frame with a screen hung on it. On the screen is the print that makes the background look like Camelot.
The stony floor? Flooring.
The sword? A dummy
The stone? Plastic
You have to stand exactly in position, on an OrcaVue platform, which is advertised by the manufacturer as the "ultimate selfie platform".
Then the command: "Action!"
You pull the sword out of the stone, a camera rotates around you, operated by a stand employee with a lever and an iPad. The whole thing looks a bit weird and totally fake. I notice one thing in particular: actors have to be pretty good at it to make themselves believe that this is real and then to convey it authentically.
The magic in post-production
But at the end you get a video of you pulling the sword out of the stone.
The backdrop? Convincing
The sword? Looks real
The stone? Like in the forest
Your performance? Could probably be better because you still don't think it's going to be anything. But Hollywood cameramen know what they're doing. And so you become a little bit Arthur. If only for a moment, as you watch yourself doubting the whole thing. But you have to take your own pictures of yourself marvelling at the fact that it actually looks like you're in the film. But the video of you and your Arthur move is guaranteed to end up on Twitter and Facebook, because Warner Bros. has set up an official channel for it.
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.