Split screen test

For one of my scenes within the day dream sequence of my short film I aim to create the illusion of a split screen editing effect. The main character and his love interest are either side of the split supposedly in two separate locations. They proceed to do things in unison, such as take a sip of a drink. A third person then comes in and physically picks up the partition revealing it is just a trick of forced perspective. I need this shot to look like two separate shots placed next to each other during editing. But in reality it is one shot with a physical partition within the scene.

For the partition I have decided to use a piece of pipe. After a lengthy search in B&Q I found some guttering that would more than do the job, and at £3.99 it was within my budget. It was quite a challenge to get the pipe to stand upright when filming but weighing down the bottom with a full two litre bottle works fine. For less that five pounds I'd say it looks rather good.

I had to make the two sides of the split screen look sufficiently different to fool the audience into thinking it is actually two different locations. To achieve this I need to dress the two sides of the set in contrast to each other. To do this I used a blanket with the corner folded over. The blanket should spill over to the other side of the partition but this way it looks like two separate locations. In order to make this more effective I will add more props to each side, of course I will also have my actors (the main character and his love interest) on either side.

I am so pleased with how this test has worked out. I was not sure how this would look on screen but I am more than happy with the effect created. The next shot I need to test is the spinning scene where in the female character vomits on the main character.