How to safely set someone on fire?

znowboarding

znowboarding

Active member
Hi there,
So I'm in a bit of a pickle. I've had this grand idea of how to shoot production credits involving someone on fire. But therein lies a problem in the whole fire part.

Does anyone know how to have some inexpensive way to have some one safely set on fire? I know thats an oxymoron but Its been done before.

Maybe our good friend asbestos could work, or some alternative hopefully? I have limited AE skills but i don't think doing it in post would look very realistic.

All i need for the shot is someone running across the frame, maybe ending with a jump into a body of water.

Suggestions and techniques will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a ton.

Equipment I have.
Getting my DVX100b tomorrow!
Premiere Pro 1.5
AE 7
Photoshop CS2
Some stupid friends (i.e. willing to be set aflame)
 
I'm thinking if you have to ask how to do it... then it would be highly, highly recommended not to try it in the first place :thumbsup: At least not if you want it done safely...

The "safe" way to do it, would be to hire someone who was trained and qualified to do such a thing in the first place. And, that doesn't mean any ole' joe who says "Oh, yeah... I can do that" :)

Late,r
Jason
 
if your talent has to do more than stand there for a minute then roll on the ground screaming because the nomex, etc., et., didn't quite cut the mustard I'd be thinking of finding someone with AE skills . . .

Or (again, dependent on what you expect of a person on fire to do), find a dummy (not a live one). Set it on fire and shoot. A fire extinguisher is much cheaper than skin grafts (or funeral expense).
 
You also have to remember that most things you would use to set people on fire are not going to give you clear, defined flames. Gas wont, alcohol burns with an almost invisible flame, and most other "off the shelf" flammable liquids will do the same.

You would need that gel they smear on people that not only flames like ma (it's kin of like napalm a bit), but also produces a lot of dense black smoke.

I could give you two or three recepies from household combinations that would do just that, but I think I will keep them to myself, lest be banned.

And safety really is the key. You need something to burn dirty and hot, and five guys with full balls out fire extinguishers to step in immediatley to put out the fire on the actor.

Problem is finding an actor. Most of the guys you see on TV and the movies are specially trained to be lit on fire, so unless you have one of those, and all the guys withe the extinguishers, it's really not safe.

I would look into using either a particle based fire system, like Illusion, a 3D particle setup to hold sprites you can attach video to for nice control over their behavior, or using stock footage and compositing it.
 
"How to safely set someone on fire?" This title really caught my eye and almost seems like an oxymoron. :)

and no, I don't have any advice. Good luck!
 
Ok, thanks everyone for the suggestions on my somewhat ridiculous post...

hire someone who was trained and qualified to do such a thing in the first place
Click to expand...

I think even though this is the best option, the financial burden of that would be too much.

I do have some fire stock video pre keyed, maybe ill give that a try and post it soon. I doubt it will look very real, any suggestions in AE, Does Andrew Kramer have any tutorials of compositing fire on people, or something similar enough?

I have heard of particle based 3d fire simulations, but i don't have any experience using anything like it.

Would you suggest a green screen shot and then add a background and the fire or just composite the fire onto the talent?

Thanks for all the comments
 
dregenthal said:
if find a dummy (not a live one). Set it on fire and shoot. A fire extinguisher is much cheaper than skin grafts (or funeral expense).
Click to expand...

I like this idea too...
I get my DVX today :happy: , Ill try and post something related to this thread.

If anyone has done this, or something similar, techniques and advice would be very helpful

Thanks
 
Alright I'm going to stop posting so much on this thread but another question,

How could a flaming arrow be achieved that said (talent dummy) be shot with?

I have a compound bow and arrows, and some longbows that not only look sweet but are really awesome to shoot.

would soaking something in a substance such as kerosene and putting it on the tip of said arrow work?

What should the dummy have on his back to quickly ignite, gas, kerosene, other flammable substance that looks good.

Should I shoot close to sundown or darken in post?

Thanks again
 
The chances of someone involved with this thread dying just keep growing don't they.

As far as I am concerned, fire = hire professional, live weapons = hire professional, fire +weapons = all the more need to hire a professional. Be safe please.
 
i remember seeing this on a behind the scenes doc. i forget which movie. they had a dummy that they lit on fire and they had a piece of glass infront of the actor. the fire of the dummy was then reflected in the glass over the actor and the result looked pretty good. man i wish i remembered which movie so i could watch it again and tell you more.
 
Ok with about an hour or so of work i whipped this Ninja Dummy up. Its not too good but it does not have to, Suggestions?

photo

photo

photo


Hopefully the photos work.

Thanks
 
DivotDan said:
The chances of someone involved with this thread dying just keep growing don't they.

As far as I am concerned, fire = hire professional, live weapons = hire professional, fire +weapons = all the more need to hire a professional. Be safe please.
Click to expand...
Trained Professionals= Big paycheck
Low/No budget+ trained professionals= not likely to happen.

How many trained pros do you know that would work for next to nothing on a low budget project? If you do know of any, by all means, feel free to share their names and contact info.
 
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