Miniatures

Ever since man began bringing stories to life, there has been some sort of physical art involved. In Shakespearian times, art direction began to play a huge role in his productions. The art in bringing a story to life has evolved throughout centuries, becoming more about catching the viewer's eye, rather than aiding the progression of a plot.

The first special effects in film's recorded history are from the early 1900s was a simple animation of numerous drawing put together in a sequence, titled Humorous Phases of Funny Faces. Films like Metropolis (1927), or A Trip to the Moon (1902), used numerous techniques to create new worlds for their audiences. 
A common technique was to use miniatures, scaled replicas of larger objects, to easily film what they were going for. This is highly evident in the film Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958), where a miniature of a city was built to look like the giantess, played by Allison Hayes, was of extreme size. Here in this video, the process of filming with miniatures and their effects are explained.

The purpose of filming with miniatures is to easily film something otherwise nearly impossible to film otherwise, such as the scene in the Death Star trench in George Lucas' Star Wars: A New Hope. Having these unique structures allow for a more visually interesting film and more freedom with story writing, thus attracting viewers.