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Effects of bomb blast


nevertooold

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I need to have fall out from a bomb near miss - nothing too dangerous, just the illusion of plaster dust falling after a bang. Obviously something that won't cause the actors a problem and is easy and quick to clean up from the set and clothes. I though of using fine sawdust but how do I flamebar this without ending up with a soggy mess? Can anyone help me please?
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Bomb fall out is dusty, as will sawdust be, inhailing sawdust is nasty and dangerous, your be far better off creating a fine haze, although im guessing from your descripton this is something happening mid-scene?

 

yes it is. And also I have to clear the stage and some of the costumes in a short interval.

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This wouldn't be for Sarah Kane's Blasted, would it?

 

We did this production a few years ago and had to produce an effect very similar to this. There were a few things that we did:

 

- made some drop boxes which contained various items of rubbish that you might find in an explosion (e.g. sand, bits of wire, small lumps of wood and plaster etc.). These were positioned above the stage and released using a solenoid mechanism in sequence. Note that the position of the boxes is important - obviously actors should be well clear when activated. Our pros' arch is quite low, so the height of the boxes above the stage wasn't more than about 2.5m

 

- added large amounts of smoke the stage

 

- removed some wall flats to reveal sections of rough, damaged wall

 

- pushed over a pile of bricks backstage

 

The whole effect was covered by a loud sound effect and a set of blinders pointing towards the audience. The idea was to flash the blinders then cut to blackout, fading to normal light shortly afterwards. This revealed the aftermath of the explosion and allowed the stage crew to do the necessary on stage without being seen. At least one of the drop boxes were activated as the lights returned to normal level.

 

The only problem with this play is that it takes longer to clear up afterwards than the play runs for...

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This wouldn't be for Sarah Kane's Blasted, would it?

 

We did this production a few years ago and had to produce an effect very similar to this. There were a few things that we did:

 

- made some drop boxes which contained various items of rubbish that you might find in an explosion (e.g. sand, bits of wire, small lumps of wood and plaster etc.). These were positioned above the stage and released using a solenoid mechanism in sequence. Note that the position of the boxes is important - obviously actors should be well clear when activated. Our pros' arch is quite low, so the height of the boxes above the stage wasn't more than about 2.5m

 

- added large amounts of smoke the stage

 

- removed some wall flats to reveal sections of rough, damaged wall

 

- pushed over a pile of bricks backstage

 

The whole effect was covered by a loud sound effect and a set of blinders pointing towards the audience. The idea was to flash the blinders then cut to blackout, fading to normal light shortly afterwards. This revealed the aftermath of the explosion and allowed the stage crew to do the necessary on stage without being seen. At least one of the drop boxes were activated as the lights returned to normal level.

 

The only problem with this play is that it takes longer to clear up afterwards than the play runs for...

 

It's not blasted, it's the dresser. The script just calls for a bit of falling plaster so I don't think I'll enlighten the director with your suggestions. It sounds really effective but no way do I want to waste valuable drinking up time sweeping if its not absolutely essential!

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