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Learning it wasn't composited surprised me. I always assumed it was green-screened (or blue-screened or whatever they used for chroma-keying back then) - that's because until ignition, the camera focus makes it seem like he's standing in front of a sheet with a painting on it, and overall, it feels as a very well-made composite.

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I'm guessing they set the camera very far back, which will appear to compress depth. Otherwise, since he must be standing so far from the rocket, the rocket would be too small to see.

(It's not the lens - That's a pet peeve of mine, it's not the lens. The z-divide in any graphics simulation is what appears to compress or expand depth. The lens merely makes a shorter or farther camera distance practical. The lens themselves don't distort anything until you're talking about fisheye effects.)

> (It's not the lens - That's a pet peeve of mine, it's not the lens. The z-divide in any graphics simulation is what appears to compress or expand depth. The lens merely makes a shorter or farther camera distance practical. The lens themselves don't distort anything until you're talking about fisheye effects.)

Yes, thank you. It's quite unbelievable how many people get this wrong, even on specialized photography forums and the like.

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