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Gun effects! Exploding drywall, glass, and tile.

Hattori Hanzo

Hattori Hanzo

It's simple to do a blood splatter effect and it's about the only thing I can find when I search around. Does anyone have any experience with say for example the drywall behind a character exploding as he runs from a hail of bullets? (This isn't something I want to do digitally)

Thank you!
 
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Digital effects and good sound will do wonders is my thought. That way you can get the debris where you want it. Sounds complex, but an experienced FX person can do it best digitally. that way no harm shall come to the talent or crew. Good FX can make look very real, bad FX will be bad...

You can do the bulk of the FX digitally and then have chunks landing being tossed by hand ? More people on this board know more than me so you should get some better answers to come. GOOD LUCK !
 
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Sweeney balls are pretty sweet , fairly budget friendly and don't require a pyro liscense. Basically Dirt/dust/fullers filled plastic balls you shoot with a paintball gun. They sell shells you can fill too. We experimented with different colors and filling our own with drywall chunks and dust, flour, etc. their premade ones are way better (white for drywall) and easier too.

Hard plastic shells though, would either really, really hurt or possibly injure an actor if accidentally hit an actor. Not for use in real close proximity.

They put holes in the drywall too (obviously) do it ruins the wall.

Google them to find the seller, can't remember off the top of my head.

Hope that helps!
 
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Drywall + holes with hose in it... then a complex series of solenoids and release valves that can be triggered to release air from a compressor...

Then spackle over the holes after loading them with powder and painted foam (safety).

Build into a false wall with enough room between the actual wall and the false wall to run the hoses.
 
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Hattori Hanzo said:
No. I actually want to blow stuff up. It will look better.
Click to expand...

When you get yourself a licensed pyrotechnician (along with permits and insurance), he'll make it happen.

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I was going to suggest a false wall, as Knightly said. I would probably get 2 or 3 people standing behind it with compressed air cans in both hands (or an air compressor) to blow flour out of the pre-drilled holes. You could even use a Mask around your actor, so that you can separately cut portions of the background wall image as fast as you want, so that 50 holes appear in a matter of seconds.



If you have a change of heart about post-digital, you can composite elements from DetfilmsHD.

Bullet Holes
Plaster & Wood hits
Sparks
Masonry Hits
Glass Shatter

The key is to use the right mix of effects together - and, as some above have said, if you want it to look really good - mix in some practical FX like slingshoting drywall balls/pieces (aim above the top frameline), use fishing line to knock down objects like pictures and breakaway shelves, etc.



We used real pyro on my short THE CONTINGENCY PLAN. The backyard ground and wall was squibbed and we physically blew up a dummy of my wife. However, the inside wall hits (at the 2:40 mark) were harmless composites, as was the glass. I'm quite happy with how the digital composites looked and it was safe to do. That's coming from a guy who loves blowing stuff up.....

28789_1290757036323_1452157702_624469_3166483_n.jpg


Wall Pyro

More Wall Pyro

Dummy

Dummy Blown Up
 
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Think in terms of the actor's safety. Look what happened to Calaco during the filming of The Crow with Brandon Lee. Calaco let their license pyrotech go home early the day Brandon Lee die and the gun that killed him got loaded by a handyman.

Actors' safety is jjob one.

Post effects are the safest bet.
 
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Wow this is such a great forum; I need to come back here more often. All of these ideas are awesome. I never would have thought of using an airpump to blow out holes from behind. I bet you could get a really great looking shotgun effect on a drywall this way, especially with a little blood thrown in. I'm a student shooting a monster movie on super 8 so I really have no budget to hire anyone who actually knows what they're doing. (I barley have the $ to develop the cartridges haha) That's really awesome you got to work with a pyrotechnic scoopicman! I really liked the guys reaction when he pushed the button. "ahhhhh ahhhhh ah god!" lol

Besides dialouge I've just been writing different scenarios and situations for this script. I think a few well done DIY effects can really add a lot to the movie. It's exciting to read how people have actually done them in the past.

I've had more than a few people tell me that shooting on film is just an waste of time and money and that it's impractical but I'm looking at this as a personal challenge. I bought a working canon 814 at an antique store for $25 a couple months back and I love the way it shoots. Super 8 is perfect for what I want to make.

Thanks for all these posts guys.
 
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I really liked the guys reaction when he pushed the button. "ahhhhh ahhhhh ah god!" lol
Click to expand...

Thanks. For that reaction shot, my wife had some fake blood in a cooking pot. She just flung it on to my face, while my son hit the button for the fog machine, which made it look like smoke from the blast. I think getting hit with the wet stuff helped sell my reaction.


That's cool that you are shooting Super 8. I used to shoot on it.

Remember that editing can really sell your compressed air sequence. Aside from getting a wide shot of your actor running along the wall, get several closeups of wall blasts, along with medium closeup front on (and panning side follow) shots of your actor getting pelted with bits of drywall. When edited all together it can look really dynamic and cover for the fact that you can only air blast a few holes at a time. I would have the actor run by the wall a few times - once for the first few holes, second for the next batch of holes, third for the final wave of holes. (You can change up the angle or go a little closer each time.) Get a few shots of his feet running, along with the gun and gunman's face while firing and some shells hitting the floor. Should be enough angles to really edit something together.
 
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I saw a video years ago on low-tech drywall hits. The guy attached a washer to piano wire, punched holes in the sheetrock with a small nail and threaded the wire through the holes so the washer is flush with the back of the sheetrock. He cut all the wires a few inches longer than the previous one and ran them horizontally to a table or (some type of frame?). The wires were all attached to a weight. He dropped the weight and it pulled the washers through the sheetrock in sequence.

I imagine you would need thin drywall to do that.....
 
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