How to make this look real?

G

gusthebus3250

Member
Well I'm filming a short and hoping to get it into some film festivals. But the ending that i will be doing is someone being hit with a wooden baseball bat, in the head. Now you might be saying "Why is this under Cinematography"? And its because I've seen a few movies that used only cleaver camera shots to accomplish this. I don't want to use a fake bat, I want 100% camera tricks. Of course sound fx are greatly needed. Thank You

Also there is a great example of this in the movie, Disturbia. (the guy hits the kid with a baseball bat) done with camera tricks only.
 
There are many ways to shoot it and will depend on the composition of the shot itself.

Is it a wide ? An OTS from one or the other ?

Most shots like this depend on angle and distance to create an illusion of contact and then heightended by a good sound effect.
 
For the final shot, I'd do it POV if the rest of your shooting style permits it. Just be sure the camera is safe!
 
J.R. Hudson said:
There are many ways to shoot it and will depend on the composition of the shot itself.

Is it a wide ? An OTS from one or the other ?

Most shots like this depend on angle and distance to create an illusion of contact and then heightended by a good sound effect.
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Yea thanks for the tip its going to be a little hard to find a sound effect for this shot though
 
I would have like a mid-range shot of Actor A with the bat approaching Actor B, probably a long-ish moving shot if he's moving through a maze-like structure. Maybe even handheld, to show the shakiness of the scene (if a character is about to beat somebody, the situation has probably gotten "shaky" already, plus the "shake" is en vogue these days.)

Then a close up of Actor B turning around and seeing him, then a QUICK reaction. The speed is important (I'd say) because he wouldn't have much time after his first reaction. Maybe a quick cut to just his eye opening wide.

Then a sort of over the shoulder shot, with Actor B's head to the left of the frame and Actor A toward the right of the frame. The scene starts with Actor A already swinging the bat. If Actor B's head is far left of the frame you can have a pad to the left of Actor B's head (which would obviously be hidden) and Actor A hits the pad.

Then I'd cut to a wide shot of Actor A holding the pose with the bat at Actor B's head level and Actor B falling to the ground.


Just a suggestion, I'm not editing your movie or anything.

Speed of the cuts and sound effects are crucial.
 
ffaf07 said:
I would have like a mid-range shot of Actor A with the bat approaching Actor B, probably a long-ish moving shot if he's moving through a maze-like structure. Maybe even handheld, to show the shakiness of the scene (if a character is about to beat somebody, the situation has probably gotten "shaky" already, plus the "shake" is en vogue these days.)

Then a close up of Actor B turning around and seeing him, then a QUICK reaction. The speed is important (I'd say) because he wouldn't have much time after his first reaction. Maybe a quick cut to just his eye opening wide.

Then a sort of over the shoulder shot, with Actor B's head to the left of the frame and Actor A toward the right of the frame. The scene starts with Actor A already swinging the bat. If Actor B's head is far left of the frame you can have a pad to the left of Actor B's head (which would obviously be hidden) and Actor A hits the pad.

Then I'd cut to a wide shot of Actor A holding the pose with the bat at Actor B's head level and Actor B falling to the ground.


Just a suggestion, I'm not editing your movie or anything.

Speed of the cuts and sound effects are crucial.
Click to expand...


WOW! Best suggestion yet thank you!!!
 
You can record the Sound Effect yourself; I'd suggest hitting a bat against leather (wrap a leather jacket around a pillow)
 
ffaf07 said:
Thanks man, just trying to help a fellow dvxuser.

I'd love to see the short when all is said and done either way, if it doesn't infringe any copyright hocus pocus or anything.
Click to expand...

I plan on posting the short in the User Films section of the site or on youtube either way ill send you a link to it. But i warn you this is going to be my first serious short. I studied a lot about film making by books, articles and movies themselves but never actually put into play what i learned so with this short I'm hoping to do so.
 
Check out the 15 minute film school on Sin City. Elijah Wood and Mickey Roarke were never actually filmed together, but there's a shot of Elijah cracking Mickey with a sledge hammer. I believe they shot Elijah swinging at a marker on a stick, and then they had Mickey sit so that his head was in the same location as the marker was. Then they composited them together. You could do a silmiar trick with two shots and some simple roto in something like After Effects. Not necessarily a 100% camera trick, but I'd say it's about 80% camera trick, 20 percent compositing.
 
Study animation or comic book hits. You do not need to show the actual hit. The most important images are the fist or bat cocked and ready to swing, and the follow through on the other side.

Use a camera trick (angle, foreshortening) to get Character A swinging at Character B. You want them close enough to be believable, but far enough apart that Character A can swing the bat with force and not risk hitting the other Actor.

You then film a close-up of Character B, or some sort of reverse shot, right after the hit. You see Character B reacting to the shot, and the bat following through after the hit.

You cut shot 1 right before it looks like the bat will hit Character B, and cut to shot 2 with Character B reacting to the hit and Character A following through with his swing.

There is no need to have a point where the hit actually looks like it is taking place. It is unneeded, and you risk people saying that it looks unrealistic. It should be quick and brutal.



The great sound effect of you hitting a melon with the bat is where the hit is actually created.
 
I know people have suggested it, and to no knock on their credibility...

But I'd say keep the POV's out of it, they tend to be hard to look real/believeable.
 
sound effect: in foley hit a watermelon with a bat for the thud and splatter part, mix in the the sound of celery being hit for more high end crunch and then twist a cabbage with your hands for some meaty crunches you can control.

mix those 3 sounds in post and you have what most foley artists use for a bat to the head

from wikipedia:
  • Foley artists break stalks of celery into a microphone to simulate the sound of breaking bones.
 
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