Not sure where to post this....

[Mark Michaels]

I have been trying to figure out how in films they make actors look younger than they are for flashbacks and photos that were supposed to be taken in the past. One in particular movie that comes to mind is Runaway jury, with Jon cusack and Rachel Weis where they show photos of the two that were taken 10 or so years in the past than when the movie took place. They look very young in the photos.

any help would be appreciated

[Glenn Chan]

Maybe it was done through Photoshop doctoring?

You can get an artist to draw and/or doctor the image so that the people look younger.

Then you could simply print the photo out and make it look old. Or you can do a 4-corner pin to stick the image onto the actual footage.

[Nick Jushchyshyn]

Combination of practicle makeup & hair effects plus Photoshop. Especially for stills. No different than the techniques used for fashion magazine covers.

http://homepage.mac.com/gapodaca/digital/blonde/
http://homepage.mac.com/gapodaca/digital/bikini/

There's a book by Katrin Eismann, Photoshop Restoration & Retouching, that covers many of the techniques used for this work.

[Earl Thurston]

Some elaborate and innovative digital techniques were used for the latest X-Men movie to make Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart look 20 years younger. It mostly involved raising facial droops and lightening shadows in the wrinkles.

[Nick Jushchyshyn]

Originally Posted by Earl Thurston

Some elaborate and innovative digital techniques were used for the latest X-Men movie to make Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart look 20 years younger. It mostly involved raising facial droops and lightening shadows in the wrinkles.

Yup, basically a lot of work by this digital effects company (though Mr. Stewart says that it was mostly in the acting ;) ):
http://www.lolavfx.com/

[Christopher Lefchik]

While I'm sure digital effects can do amazing things when it comes to aging actors, I suspect makeup and lighting are most important. Just look at how Orson Well's character ages over the decades in Citizen Kane, which was made long before digital effects were available.

[Don Donatello]

for photo's - they actually get old photo's of the actors when they were young and then photoshop the faces into new settings ..

[Nick Jushchyshyn]

Originally Posted by Christopher Lefchik

While I'm sure digital effects can do amazing things when it comes to aging actors, I suspect makeup and lighting are most important. Just look at how Orson Well's character ages over the decades in Citizen Kane, which was made long before digital effects were available.

This can often be effective in making a young person look old, but the reverse effect of making an older person look young is much more challenging with practicle effects. Noses and ears, for example, continue to grow even though heads stop growing, and it's difficult to mask this with makeup and lighting.

Even in Citizen Kane (which had an extrodinary number of effects shots for its time) the makeup aging doesn't look quite right ... even without color information.

The re-use of older photos in the retouching process is done occationally, but it can often be easier to create a plot-centric "old" photo by doctoring a new photo shot specifically for this purpose. (with the actors and lighting "done up" to make the post-processing as easy as possible)

[Christopher Lefchik]

Originally Posted by Nick Jushchyshyn

This can often be effective in making a young person look old, but the reverse effect of making an older person look young is much more challenging with practicle effects. Noses and ears, for example, continue to grow even though heads stop growing, and it's difficult to mask this with makeup and lighting.

Ah, true. I can't believe I missed the thread was all about making actors appear younger.

[K. Forman]

What about younger look alikes? I'm sure that technique has also been used.

[Nick Jushchyshyn]

Originally Posted by Keith Forman

What about younger look alikes? I'm sure that technique has also been used.

Yup, pretty much EVERY time there is a scene that calls for seeing someone 20 or more years younger (sometimes less if you're looking to see a teen or twenty-something as a child) :)

Young Indiana Jones anyone?

Not as easy to do when you only want to rewind 10-15 years for a very recognizable actor.

[K. Forman]

You kidding? There's a show that gives people celebrity makeovers, which makes them look like whatever celeb they resemble. So in theory, it would just take a few large auditions for a younger so and so look alike. Weed out those that only think they look like Arnold, then find which ones can act... sort of unlike the real Arnold? Again, in theory, if you can get away with really wide shots, they don't even have to be that close in appearance. Vocal inflections would be harder to mimic though.

[Nick Jushchyshyn]

Originally Posted by Keith Forman

You kidding? There's a show that gives people celebrity makeovers, which makes them look like whatever celeb they resemble. So in theory, it would just take a few large auditions for a younger so and so look alike. Weed out those that only think they look like Arnold, then find which ones can act... sort of unlike the real Arnold? Again, in theory, if you can get away with really wide shots, they don't even have to be that close in appearance. Vocal inflections would be harder to mimic though.

Yeah. I suppose vocal inflections could be handled through ADR with the "real" actor ... but the stand-in would still have to be able to act effectively in front of the camera.