Scully Box
| Synonyms: | Gilly Box, Gilly Ramp, apple box, Gilly Board |
| See also: | |
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The Scully Box (also referred to as the Gillyboard) is the name of a plateau that is about the height of an apple that was used during shooting scenes in The X-Files where stars Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny appear in the same scene.
It's a common tool used for a lot of television and film actors whose different height would lead to odd framing.
"Generally, the boxes are 8"x20"x12", but since the height disparity between the X-Files stars was exceptionally great, Anderson’s slightly higher Scully Box was measured at about “an apple and a half."
Cast & Crew usually refer to the apple box as "Gilly ramp" whereas fans and media usually call it "Scully Box". Ramps are used in scenre where the actor walk towards the camera that ends in a close up.
"First apple box. @thexfilesfox #XFilesRevival"
"It’s official...longest Gillyboard in history! #TheXFiles #bts "
Background
Anderson, whose height according to various sources is 5'2" (ca. 1,62m) is almost 10 inches (around 25 cm) shorther than her co-star Duchovny who claims to be 6'2" tall (ca. 1,83m).
Especially late director and executive producer Kim Manners as well as Rob Bowman loved to show the pair in tight close-ups which requires the actors to both be visible in the same frame.
Trivia
Anderson admittely sometimes forgot about the box she was standing on and many unofficial X-Files bloopers show the actress stumbling down from her box[1].
Links
- The X-Files 25th Anniversary: Inside the Behind-the-Scenes Trick You Never Noticed, IGN
- Little-known Sci-fi Fact: Scully Stood On A Box To Film X-files by Matthew Jackson, Dec 17, 2012
- The Scully Box by Chris Higgins, March 2, 2012 on Mental Floss
- The Story of Gillian Anderson’s “Scully” Box by Jamie Frevele, March 3rd, 2012
- Scully Box on TVTropes
- Scully Box on All The Tropes Wiki