A miniature acquires apparent full-size surroundings through its relationship to the camera and the rest of the image. Building a small object and making it belong to a larger setting are separate production tasks.
Scale and viewpoint
Scale describes the relationship between a model’s dimensions and the dimensions it represents. It does not specify the technique used to photograph or combine that model.
GoldenEye’s dish model was one-twentieth scale and still 50 feet wide. A model can therefore be physically large while remaining a miniature relative to its fictional or real-world subject.
The film’s miniature runway used a perspective relationship to the real Leavesden control tower. That example concerns how model and existing structure align from a chosen viewpoint. It should not be used to label every miniature shot as forced perspective.
Backgrounds and integration
A model can be photographed against scenery that supplies the rest of its apparent world. The Empire Strikes Back photographed Hoth stop-motion models directly in front of painted backgrounds. The combination occurred in the photographed setup, so the presence of both model and painting does not by itself establish use of an optical printer.
Other shots combine separately recorded elements. GoldenEye’s dish action included actors photographed on a Leavesden recreation with greenscreen. That work addressed a different production requirement from building the large dish model.
Describing the complete shot
A useful account identifies the model, the photographed background or environment, and the method used to combine any separate elements. Perspective, miniature photography and compositing name related but different operations.
What changes is the integration method. The consistent problem is to make dimensions, viewpoint and surroundings communicate one setting. Naming only the miniature leaves much of that explanation unfinished.