I don't think there's anything like a cheap, simple, safe explosion, unless you count superimposing CGI explosions on video footage.

For shell impacts in war movies I think that Hollywood uses compressed air blasts from under the ground, but I suspect even that can be dangerous if you get too close.

quote:

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Originally posted by MarkG

I don't think there's anything like a cheap, simple, safe explosion, unless you count superimposing CGI explosions on video footage.

For shell impacts in war movies I think that Hollywood uses compressed air blasts from under the ground, but I suspect even that can be dangerous if you get too close.

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OK. What is there on the 'cheap but dangerous if you get too close' front?

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You can't keep 'em out, they're already in!

Probably finding a licensed pyrotechnic guy who'll work for expenses :).

Really any kind of explosive is dangerous near an actor, so it's best not to try to blow things up with no money. What kind of explosions do you need, anyway?

quote:

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Originally posted by MarkG

Probably finding a licensed pyrotechnic guy who'll work for expenses :).

Really any kind of explosive is dangerous near an actor, so it's best not to try to blow things up with no money. What kind of explosions do you need, anyway?

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What I might do is just add sound effects in the background and have people through mud over the actors - you wouldn't actually see the explosion. It would be great fun and good for morale too. Otherwise I may use something off detonationfilms.com for a simple 'in the background' blast.

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You can't keep 'em out, they're already in!

Oh, c'mon... what kind of fun is that? There IS an alternative to using actual explosives, though. I've seen an article or two online (I'd link, but I can't remember where they are) about using buried platforms connected to springs or levers to kick up a bunch of dirt without an explosion. I'm assuming that with the proper rig you could do this on as large or small a scale as needed, and perhaps with some camera flashes and good sound design could be very convincing.

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Andrew Gingerich
Exploding Goldfish Films
Check out my vodcast on iTunes: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=96931870

An old fashioned mousetrap buried in the sand and rigged with a string can make an effective bullet hit in the dirt. Not much of an explosion but a simple bit that can be close to your actors.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

quote:

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Originally posted by agingeri

Oh, c'mon... what kind of fun is that? There IS an alternative to using actual explosives, though. I've seen an article or two online (I'd link, but I can't remember where they are) about using buried platforms connected to springs or levers to kick up a bunch of dirt without an explosion. I'm assuming that with the proper rig you could do this on as large or small a scale as needed, and perhaps with some camera flashes and good sound design could be very convincing.

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Cool, do you know the address of the website. Bare in mind that this is all going to be shot on a farm. It's at the start of the movie were some of the King's men are battling versus guerilla warriors. There's lots of people falling down spear pits, grenade explosions, homemade ballistas, catapults, that kind of stuff.

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You can't keep 'em out, they're already in!

Here's the page:

http://www.angelfire.com/movies/nobudgetsfx/mines.html

It looks like it's been many years since the site has been updated, but it has a lot of useful little low-tech tricks.

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Andrew Gingerich
Exploding Goldfish Films
Check out my vodcast on iTunes: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=96931870

Would making a bomb by filling a tennis ball with gunpowder, sticking a fuse into it, sealing the gunpowder off and lighting the fuse work to make a fairly safe bomb?

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You can't keep 'em out, they're already in!

No.

Gunpowder is inherently unsafe. When in doubt use CGI. I don't think anyones ever been hurt by a CGI blast before.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

What CGI programs can I use to add explosions to video? The program that I use for editing, the free Microsoft Movie Maker 2, does not allow such effects.

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You can't keep 'em out, they're already in!

What program can I use to add the CGI explosions to the video?

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You can't keep 'em out, they're already in!

I should imagine almost any program will allow you to add on layer ontop of another. If you've got that you can search out explosions on the internet and drop them in.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA