exploding car?

Wouldn't the best way to blow up a car be to blow up a minature against a greenscreen and then composite that over a shot of your location? A wide shot would probably work best to mask it.

Yes, explosions are dangerous, even little ones. Make sure you seek the advice of a professional. You can't say I didn't say it.
 
I guess this guy posted a tutorial for bomb making or something along those lines?
He seams to have edited his original post.
 
What gem of a thread did I miss while out drinking for charity?

Blowing stuff up in After Effects is much safer
 
Blowing stuff up in After Effects is much safer

But sadly never as fun.
Seriously though...a car is one of the last things I'd blow up without the qualifications do so.
 
If its any constilation i was going to get a quater scale model. Built. Of a plane. Replica and all that. Then somwhat paint it and design it to the stage of the scene that is required. Then add little..people..models, small glass windows. And before i put the lid on the plane. Sort of. Call a stunt guy to arm it with explosives and such. Get a massive material greenscreen in a sheltered location. Set up lighting. Wire the rig. Explode the top of the plane. Take out the greenscreen.

I mean. Not quaterscale...but, do something that actually fits into the measurements. Eg: 1/10th of the size of a car. And then ring the stunt guy. Pay him some chips. Tell him to explode it and such. I mean i never done this before. But Im going to get a stunt guy called bob with only 3 fingers on his left hand. Bobs cool....

Oh yes. And to cover my sweet ass. Be safe. Dont die. And all that.
 
Maybe it's a difference in UK versus US terminology, but I don't think you want a stuntman, you want a pyrotechnician. Preferably one with the equivalent of a pyro card, which assures you that he knows what he's doing, and will rig the shot properly and safely.
 
Scale models always look...like scale models. In anything but a looong shot. ANd the flames will never look "right", if there are any.
 
3 fingers means Bob sometimes makes mistakes. Make sure none of his crew are also a few digits short. Personally I would trust a pyro guy with tons of experience and no missing limbs more than Mister Sloppy McStump.

You do know that in film you aren't really blowing stuff up because a forcefull explosion without a fireball makes unimpressive footage. You need basically a formula that makes a large amount of smoke and an impressive fireball rather than pure destructive power. In movies when you see a car "blow apart" you are actually seeing a big fireball with alot of frogsplash but no real power, and then a series of small charges to send PRE CUT PANELS (hood, doors trunk etc) flying in the appropriate directions. No matter how much of a charge you put in a car it won't just blow apart dramatically like you want it, and if it does your camera will be way too close to it to survive.
 
GenJerDan said:
Scale models always look...like scale models. In anything but a looong shot. ANd the flames will never look "right", if there are any.
Click to expand...
depends on the scale really. that White House explosion in Independence Day looked pretty sweet as did the Empire State Building verticle explosion. those were scale models...

edit: but you're probably right anyway in the context of this post...
 
Yeap, but those models were the size of backyard sheds, built by teams of carpenters. It's not easy to chase Hollywood with our budgets, but with enough patience it is possible to produce decent results in After Effects.

I'd prefer to combine small model explosion with computer generated effect, but the first part defenitely with professional assistance and hi-speed camera. Safety first!
 
InvisionProductions said:
Stephen Reedy did a pretty great van explosion in his short film "Undercut" using clips from www.detonationfilms.com and keying in a scale model. I'll try to find the link...

Heres a version of it that someone ripped, and put on Youtube. Quality is obviously low, but you'll get the idea...The explosion takes place a few minutes in.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=iydoGooNFDE
Click to expand...

can you tell me more about this film, Undercut? i only watched the first fight scene and it was soooo cooool!!! i wish more ppl would focus on the filmmaking and less on the technology like this dude!!! :beer:
 
Yeah, this is a friend of mine who is going to college in CA right now...He shot "Undercut!" on the DVX for practicaly nothing, with resources he had around him and alot of creative energy. You can buy the DVD now for like 10 dollars, and it comes with a killer BTS of the film, and his reasoning and methods of doing everything in the film. I recommend it! Yeah...
 
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