Flashdance water effect

[anydm]

Hi

Can anyone please advise if they have had to recreate the above effect and the best way of going about it in a community theatre with limits on what the venue will accept. Short of a tilting bucket above some sort of catching tank I’m at a bit of a loss. We have the rights to the UK amateur premier in November so I need to sort this as a matter of urgency. I’ve not been able to find anything useful on YouTube. Any advice would be gratefully accepted.

Andy

[ImagineerTom]

I can tell you now that even the original west end production didn't have a water effect that looked anywhere near as dramatic as the film version so the first tip is to lower everyone's expectations!

 

Instead of the chair being on the stage deck it's best creating a raised platform that is actually a catch tray / tank

 

the water release is just a tipping bucket - much more high tech solutions were tried and never worked.

 

LESS IS MORE - about a pint of water dropped looks much better than a real full bucket and most importantly the actress needs to spend specific time rehearsing the pose as the water drops (it's very hard to not flinch) and perfect the head flick to make her hair give off the arc of water droplets.

 

It's also best back and side lit - front light makes the water all but vanish.

[Jivemaster]

Find the space to put the backlight.

[Jivemaster]

Does the licence that grants you the performance rights give you instruction or advice?

[anydm]

Thanks all for your replies I've had a new thought on how to create this (without a bucket!!). I'll post some info when I've developed a prototype but the idea is to build a dummy stage lantern which will be hung vertically above the stage. This will be constructed from drainage parts and will have a bung to retain the water. The effect will be created by literally "pulling the plug!". Not sure at this stage whether the actor will deploy the effect or whether it will be done from off stage. I'm confident I can develop this further but I'll keep you posted.Andy

[ImagineerTom]

I can save you a lot of time and hassle… the tipping bucket is the way to go. If the water dump lasts more than about one second it just looks hilarious and a bit tragic- pulling a plug out of a smaller hole in the bottom of a feature will just produce a dribble that looks nothing like the effect you’re aiming for.

[Jivemaster]

The whole scene lasts maybe two seconds if you check youtube vid odklufGyH6U the impact is lost if you spread it out. Sketch it, mock it up test and repeat til it's effective and short sharp and punchy. Work out the back light and follow spotting. I'd be looking at a shower head and a means of dumping probably 2.5 litres of water under pressure. Which with a toilet pull to turn a valve (1/4 turn) could come from a bottle of fizzy water.

[DrV]

I'd go even further than Tom - if you look at the video and slo mo the water drop you can see that it is like a flat slab of water rather than coming from a single point. I would suggest a number of small buckets in a line which are flipped over in unison. I don't think even the widest shower head would permit that rapid a discharge even under pressure. Fun effect to get involved with though!

[kerry davies]

Of course these rehearsals need to be done off-stage where water is less of a risk but you could also try an off-the-wall suggestion.

 

If you take an oil drum and pour a small amount of water in the lip on the end then hit it hard with a drum beater at the same time as a flash from a strobe, the effect is outstanding. Tiny sprays get frozen in space and look like cataracts. If you can disperse the water drop and time it to a strobe you should get away with a lot less water. Long hair flicked in a strobe stands on end and very wet hair would give off droplets, look great and might even produce a rainbow effect.

 

I would also try a collection bucket, one of those with a slot, to try for a sheet of water effect.

Edited September 10, 2021 by kerry davies

[sunray]

Some offerings:

For a garden water feature of a 6ft wide wall with water covering it we tried with a length of plastic gutter, 2 problems: not stable enough and the water ran down the outside rather than 'fall off'. MKII was a 3x3" galv trunking but folded one side out so the original lip faced outwards and pointed slightly down hill.

 

The next problem is a sheet of water in 'freefall' will recombine given half a chance.

Edited September 10, 2021 by sunray

[Dave m]

Because it's backlit, would using projection be of any use to exaggerate the amount of water without using unmanageable amounts?

Might be difficult to sync but if the soundtrack isn't live it could be tied to video lessening the difficulty.

 

just a thought

[Jivemaster]

Plastic wash bowl suspended 15 degrees off level Water in bowl sitting in the low side, Say 50 holes drilled in the high side of the bowl. Artiste pulls string to raise low side of bowl and tip water out of the holes. Bowl should return to it's original tilt and be ready for the next performance, filling it could need a ladder or...

[ImagineerTom]

If you read between the lines here you might work out why I have so many notes on creating this effect.....

 

The water needs to start its journey as a single, flat "sheet" of water - if you start it by coming out of a round hole (or holes) it will only ever fall as separate columns of water and that won't give you the effect that the scene calls for - its MEANT to be a drench of water. In the film I'm 99% sure they did that by literally getting a bucket full of water and having a crewman flip it 180 when hanging from the roof. In Theatre situations you can't do that and it's far too much water to catch & clean up, thus you have to play with dimensions and perceptions - if the audience see a column of water that's 18" wide they assume its also about 18" deep, thus dropping a relatively flat but wide column of water is a way of creating the visual that you want whilst only using a fraction of the water. Also as I noted above, the power of the scene is the combination of the water drop, the actress /not/ flinching (that's REALLY hard to do) AND the hair flick to create the spray; you could have the perfect water drop but if you don't get the other two right the scene won't land so make sure time and resources are allocated to all the elements.

[sunray]

The story I heard, and I have absolutely no recollection where from, the original had an open topped bag full of water. Suspended at top on some sort of release bolt and bottom to a fixed bar. It doesn't feel right to me as it feels unpredictable.

 

Allegedly 10 gallons but I don't think that's correct, 10 gallons is an aweful lot.

 

 

EDIT;

Looking on YT I think it looks more like a bucket being emptied, I don't think a bag would be such a sudden discharge??

 

Edited September 10, 2021 by sunray

[J Pearce]

Just listen to Tom. He knows this world.