Giant People in Confined Spaces: Which Creators Got It Right and How to Depict It Realistically

Good morning everyone,

Over a month and a half ago, blog reader Eom posed a question in the comments of the “Goddess Zilla Returns” from Obey Melanie review. Specifically, Eom stated that lately there has been a lack of “realism” regarding giantesses in small spaces. Eom then asked “Which stories or artists get it right when it comes to the practical reality of giantess/growth art?“

That is a really good question, but a proper reply demanded a full post. Thus, today I will attempt to give that question a worthy answer!

To begin with, the image at the top of this page from the 1993 HBO remake of the “Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman” (AOTFFW), is an example of this concept done correctly. The growth sequence in the remake did an admirable job portraying a woman, Nancy Archer, growing larger within the space of a luxury home. She enlarges more and more until she outgrows the room. Additionally, after her head breaks through the first floor ceiling into the second floor we see a decorated space complete with a rug, electrical outlets on the walls, a dresser, a stuffed animal, etc. That’s to say, it actually looks like people live on the second floor.

(NOTE: Of course, no work is perfect. For example, the AOTFFW growth sequence was not completely realistic as Nancy Archer’s undergarments displayed an incredible elasticity no doubt required by the production to maintain a family-friendly rating. More recently, HBO series like Game of Thrones, which first aired almost 18 years after HBO’s AOTFFW, included nudity and fairly explicit sex scenes. Thus, perhaps if HBO did an AOTFFW remake today they would be willing to include nudity and make a more realistic growth sequence!)

Contrast that to amateur productions like Ludella Hahn’s “Nerd’s GROWING Revenge.” According to the story in that video, Ludella became large enough to swallow a bully, a full-grown adult human being. Yet, she still fit comfortably inside a normal room. How on Earth would that be possible?

An easy retort would be that it is grossly unfair to hold amateurs to the same standard as professionals. And to be honest, that’s a fair point. I do not expect Ludella to produce special effects at the same level of quality as those produced by major movie studios. Even with that fact in mind though, there is a middle ground in which low-budget productions can do more to simulate a giant person in a confined space.

And to be clear, Ludella is far from the only one who has made a giantess video which did not properly present a giant woman. Two more examples are below:

I am not attempting to criticize everything created by those aforementioned performers. I quite like some of their work! Rather, I am merely stating that more could have been done to sell the illusion of giantesses.

Unsurprisingly, it is much easier to produce realistic depictions of giant people using drawings. For instance, check out these three panels created by BustArtist for his grOw #5 / grOwing Appreciation series:

While acknowledging that within the medium of drawing it is much easier to depict an oversized person in cramped locations compared to filming, there are still lessons which could be applied to filming real people. For instance, what about hiring a carpenter to build a self-standing undersized door frame? Standard household doors can range in size from 30 inches to 3 feet 6 inches (0.762 to 1.0668 meters) in width and from six feet six inches to eight feet (1.9812 to 2.4384 meters) in height. So, a creator could hire a carpenter to build a set-up for a four-foot tall (1.2192 meters) door. Zooming in on the model passing through the door frame would give the appearance that the model is larger than a normal person. Just like the effect created by the leftmost drawing above.

Full disclosure: I am not a professional carpenter or woodworker, but I believe that hiring someone to make such a prop would not be prohibitively expensive. Researching online, it appears that on average door frames can be built (and installed which wouldn’t be necessary in this case) for under $500. Five hundred dollars is not nothing, but it is affordable in my opinion. (NOTE: If any carpenters are reading this and believe that my estimate is unreasonably low then please comment below!) The initial cost would be significant, but that prop could be re-used multiple times and shared with other production crews to reduce the expense.

Furthermore, multiple doors could be made. A director could record an initial growth sequence, and then have their performer struggle a bit to squeeze through a four-foot door. Then, the director could plan another growth sequence and repeat the process with a three-foot door, etc. Of course, miniature bathroom stalls, to replicate the middle image above, could also be made.

Point being that steps could be taken without breaking the bank.

Other examples of no-cost measures to provide the illusion of extraordinary stature include simply raising a performer up, by putting them on a chair or table, such as in the following:

Clothing destruction and green screen (a.k.a. chroma keying) also helps sell the illusion of increasing size, like in the next example:

As of 2021, there are multiple methods, in person and online, to gain expertise in chroma key techniques.

Additionally, the more practical effects, such as tiny props, the better!

In order to avoid depicting a growing person indoors, a common tactic is to tear the performer’s clothing or have the performer simply remove their own clothing without damaging it. Then the action cuts to a new scene in which the performer has “grown” significantly and is now bigger than a building. Such a transition occurred in A. R. Tiste Production & Siren Thorn’s “Attack of the 50 Ft. Pussy!”, “Draven sciences himself into a giant and destroys the city” from BattleBeauties, GrowHaus “Elexis’ Surprise,” and many, many other videos.

However, it’s preferable to show performers taking up more and more space within the indoor setting until they destructively burst out of the place. Or to rephrase that: Creators, please don’t take the easy way out!

Returning to drawings, let’s look at some more which portrayed giantesses in confined spaces. The next two images both came from Giantess Club’s “Ascension” series and are good examples of an extraordinarily large woman in a cramped apartment:

The next image came from Giantess Fan’s “Sorority Problems:”

On the topic of wall decorations, I also humbly request that creators try not to duplicate things.

Wrapping things up, I agree with Eom’s statement that there is often a lack of “realism” in the depiction of giantesses in small spaces. The pessimist in me thinks that many folks producing size content today are only willing to make superficial efforts. Minimal exertions like saying “I’m a giantess” while sitting in front of a web cam and eating a gummy bear. That’s it, that’s the maximum level of effort some will make. Again, this is my pessimistic side talking. Nonetheless, I wonder if some creators believe us size-fetish fans will buy anything? Maybe there exists a belief that size-fetish is SO “weird” that making anything at all should be rewarded.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I have no issues with solo creators filming themselves while holding an action figure and calling that a size video. There is nothing immoral about that. It is not bad or evil to make or buy that type of content, but personally that’s not what I want to support. Instead, I’d rather give my hard-earned cash to those people who push the envelope and make never-before-seen content.

Undoubtedly, low to non-existent budgets are a significant hurdle. Still, more can be done, even with little money. Hopefully, this article has provided a few helpful suggestions and also highlighted instances in which giant people were artfully depicted indoors.

The optimist in me knows that there are creators who treat their fans with respect. Artists and performers that can imagine new techniques that I would never have dreamed up. They will devise innovative ways to show giant people in confined spaces, as well as size-changing in general. When they do, I’m going to give them all the support that I can muster!

That’s it for today. Thursday’s review will cover “A Bittersweet Blessing” by Beetlebomb. Until then, keep growing!

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