Funny, Red Letter Media just did a ReView of this film, and does feature some background on the practical effects Coppola used. Saw this in the cinema, and loved it then! High camp meets George Meliés! Still stands up as a monument to in-camera effects (Chris Nolan says:- "Hold my beer", of course!) You could do a whole series on the techniques used in that movie... upside down rats (that one is easy!), shadow of a toy train against a giant book in false perspective, etc. etc And, reputedly the only non-practical effect, being the blue fire rings...
"You work with what you've got, right?" With that one quote you've literally summarized all of independent filmmaking!! This is still my favorite channel on filmmaking on all of UA-cam keep rocking it you guys are doing great... that last explosion was literally like straight out of Star Wars awesome work
This channel is one in a million. The presentation of how bts stuff works is exactly what I've always searched for on UA-cam. Keep up with the amazing stuff
Wow, thank you for mentioning Brian Johnson who did Space 1999. He also did Alien and Empire Strikes Back. The low budget and basic work done in Space 1999 even today I just love all that Model Miniature work.
I think I keep saying “wow”… bit it’s hard to come up with a better superlative: WOW! I love the old-school, rough-and-ready quality of your work. Something I want to try (because I don’t have a pyro license) is simulating an explosion in Blender, but with the virtual camera looking straight up and gravity turned on. Could use a particle emitter that produces light-emitting points.
Would be interesting to try combining that spark shower filmed from below with a gas explosion filmed from above - the combination should give a pretty good impression of an explosion of varied components expanding outward in zero G.
Oh how I love a good zero gravity explosion! Even those attempts that weren't as huge as you'd like could be comped together to make a cool looking shot. Everything finds a use eventually...
I did this at home when I was in high school. I used steel wool, and magnesium from a flashbulb, ignited by house current. It worked really well. I shot it at 120 fps.
Hey be guys been fan of the channel for awhile now but I have been wondering with all these assets you're making do you; currently offer them for sale or will you release some kind of an asset pack? Would really love to get my hands on some of the spark assets you made in this video.
This is the kind of channel I wanted to build at some point, but don't really have the resources (or time). Have you guys thought about giving away (or selling) practical elements to use in films, such as these practical explosions? - A fan from across the pond :-)
A 3 legged table wont wobble (like a tripod!). Alternatively shoot into a front silvered mirror at 45 degrees, and have the camera safely off to the side, that way debris can hit the mirror, apparently hitting the camera with zero risk!
I wonder if the effect of zero gravity could be improved by filming an explosion from below AND above, then superimposing the two views. This way we can see the falling spanks and debris apparently expanding in our view, combined with the ascending fire and smoke expanding towards the above view. Might not be the effect you want in an outer space scene without flammable gas like oxygen, but may be worth experimenting with?
For sure!...started very small with containers, as we were judging the lift we were getting and not wanting to toast our overhead drape. In further tests we got braver and bigger :)
@@jp-incamera Sorry if I was "teaching you to suck eggs", as you've obviously got as wealth of experience in the game. I'm just 'Very Old School' (at 60+ years old!). Just wish I was in a better position to help you out with funding (hey, there's always the lottery!). Still, give me a shout if you need small tech props building - catch me on Facebook in the RPF group.
@@jp-incamera I would bin the cloth drape and go for a 10ft x 12ft OSB sheet painted with BLK 3.0. It will be less likely to catch fire from small pyros.
@@beachcomberbob3496 No worries at all, intelligent criticism is highly valued and welcome here! Funnily enough Black 3.0 is also something we are experimenting with :)
@@jp-incamera Appreciated. These days you have to be so careful that advice isn't seen as hostile criticism. I have the greatest respect for you guys, and I wish I was closer and more involved. This is my 'drug of choice' when it comes to 'experimenting'. I always wished I had taken your creative (destructive?) career path.
Remember the explosion in the intro to Buck Rogers (70s). Looked like it was polystyrene balls dropped from the ceiling … as they appear to bounce off camera lens on the floor.
Why not protect the camera in a strong box, and point it into a mirror looking up towards the explosion. You could use a front-surface mirror so you don't get any weird optical aberrations from it, etc. I remember hearing about similar techniques used to film oncoming trains. They'd put just a mirror in the train's path, and point the camera through that. The train could then just go right through the mirror at any speed without any damage to the camera.
Yes, a front surface mirror could work well...but can be quite expensive at a decent size. Because of cost you’d also want to protect that with glass or Perspex which would probably then create a ghost flair or unwanted internal reflections between the optical flat surfaces...the ignition flash from a lot of these effects is super bright and will show any dust or dirt on any lens, so the mirror would also have to be spotless between takes. I like the thinking though!, front surface mirror tricks are definitely something we will explore soon :)
@@jp-incamera Also, any sparks hitting the mirror will bounce, which kinda spoils the shot. Probably. Unless you have the mirror slightly off the drop path, but then the 'stars' all fall away from one edge. Dunno if it'd be at all elephant but I'm purdy shore a matey bloke of mine concocted a method for blowing air up around the camera lens, just enough that any spark that would hit it directly gently veered sideways, so, you don't get those thuds when they hit the glassy bits. It was either that or [redacted bad oral sex joke] and I just misunderstood.
When I was a child, I tried to put a square plastic window on a huge cardboard box. I never could get it to work. Now watching this video, I know where I went wrong.
I think they used a spark fountain to simulate a starfield on the end credits of the Buck Rogers TV show from the 80's. At least that's my fuzzy memory of it.
Actually Kev T Pestri had the chance to load a Fujitaco 33mm and fisheye lens onto the pre-ingition chamber of XTS9 for a launch ignition test. Obviously when the SRB engine caught the camera was utterly destroyed, but, the rumour-mill says they ended up stealing a replacement from the set of the Wonder Woman finale. Maybe true, maybe not, but, in any case, the 'stars' in the BRIT25C (Coincidently the numberplate of my first Austin Imp) were actually very unhappy mosquitoes bursting into flame in very, very slow motion. Of course, that's just what I'd heard.
I've still never seen a realistic zero G explosion. It's almost like people would rather recreate the same thing over without actually asking a physicist.
We're watching movies about space wizards fighting with laser swords and tiny space fighter jets blowing up moon sized space stations filled with space soldiers in white suits that can't anything with their laser guns. Nobody cares if the explosion is slightly off.
Don't get me wrong, I love you guys' videos, and I know cameras and lights are expensive, but I feel like you guys should spend a little bit of money on building a workbench or something for cutting wood more efficiently and safer.
Insulation tape is your friend. (Insulting tape, as we call it.) You don't need a big charge, just wrap it tightly and your firework turns into a bomb. Also, try dropping the charge into a small poly bag filled with lighter fuel (naptha) for a fireball. I never liked Brian Johnson's sparkly gerb stuff. Give me a Derek Meddings job any day.
You could definitely do that and get a different looking result, but We were demonstrating the ‘Zero-G’ technique used in many past films and TV shows. Filming fire or fireballs from above is something we will demonstrate in the future, as it can emulate a ‘wall’ of fire moving towards camera (a technique used in the original Independence Day movie, and Team America etc) cheers!
This is the channel I've been waiting for all my life.
You’re our Number one fan! Thanks for the support guys!
Thomas just wants to learn how to start blowing up cameras instead of throwing them off the roof.
Being fan is good but don't do things like Thomas throwing stuffs from the roof
@@WhySteve yes for sure
Omg - don't ever mess with the "hello humans" intro ever again please! My world is shaken now..! 😂
oh god we didn't even realise haha
Can you guys do a breakdown on Coppola’s Dracula!? The practical genius in that movie is way overlooked!
Great suggestion, we're definitely planning on doing more Practical FX breakdown/ reaction videos in the future!
@@InCameraTV I REALLY LOVE your channel, thank you so much for considering!
Funny, Red Letter Media just did a ReView of this film, and does feature some background on the practical effects Coppola used. Saw this in the cinema, and loved it then! High camp meets George Meliés! Still stands up as a monument to in-camera effects (Chris Nolan says:- "Hold my beer", of course!)
You could do a whole series on the techniques used in that movie... upside down rats (that one is easy!), shadow of a toy train against a giant book in false perspective, etc. etc
And, reputedly the only non-practical effect, being the blue fire rings...
"You work with what you've got, right?" With that one quote you've literally summarized all of independent filmmaking!! This is still my favorite channel on filmmaking on all of UA-cam keep rocking it you guys are doing great... that last explosion was literally like straight out of Star Wars awesome work
Thanks so much!
This channel is one in a million. The presentation of how bts stuff works is exactly what I've always searched for on UA-cam. Keep up with the amazing stuff
Thank you so much, glad you're enjoying the channel!
Really appreciate that you guys went for the pre 97 death star explosion style. :D
You know it!
You built the crappiest glass coffee table I've ever seen and I love everything about it!
oh everything off camera is very budget DIY here haha
I love everything about this
YES! your finished shot was GORGEOUS!
Thank you!
That last explotion was perfect!
It was exactly what we were looking for!
I can say, that with these series of videos on pyrotechnics you blew me away.
Thanks Paul, glad you’re enjoying them!
Watched on the Patreon, but giving it another watch and thumbs up here!
Thanks Jason, top man!
I did not expect to run into this
Thank God I did
Welcome 😊
Wow, thank you for mentioning Brian Johnson who did Space 1999. He also did Alien and Empire Strikes Back. The low budget and basic work done in Space 1999 even today I just love all that Model Miniature work.
It’s great right!? Hope you liked the video Stephen!
@@InCameraTV yes it was excellent in that last explosion you did really nailed it
Your channel is easily one of my favourites. Keep up the great work!
Thank you!
A wobbly workbench, gotta love it!
Please, make a stock footage with pratical explosions. This is awesome!
Don't worry, we are! And our library is building 😊(T)
@@InCameraTV 😍
You wouldn't catch me up that ladder!! Great video guys.
oh trust me, we've had a lot of wobbly knees and close scares!
@@InCameraTV Braver man than I.
Make the special effects of the 2001 space oddysey! (like the pen)
Great suggestion!
This channel deserves so many more subs
Amazing stuff you guys always do and always with good commentary. Keep up the good work!
That looked like a fun day!
It was great fun Mike!
So epic!!! Keep up the amazing work!
Thank you!
To the 2 people who "disliked" this video, we say GOOD DAY! Awesome video guys!
Haha thanks Taylor!
I think I keep saying “wow”… bit it’s hard to come up with a better superlative: WOW! I love the old-school, rough-and-ready quality of your work.
Something I want to try (because I don’t have a pyro license) is simulating an explosion in Blender, but with the virtual camera looking straight up and gravity turned on. Could use a particle emitter that produces light-emitting points.
Wow is good enough for us! Glad you’re enjoying the videos!
That sounds like an interesting idea. I love that a channel based on practical effects has made me rethink my entire approach to CG shots
Just great, love this channel tbh. Just doing incredible work without being like super fancy and expensive. Keep up the great work
Thanks so much, glad you're liking the channel!
Would be interesting to try combining that spark shower filmed from below with a gas explosion filmed from above - the combination should give a pretty good impression of an explosion of varied components expanding outward in zero G.
Oh how I love a good zero gravity explosion! Even those attempts that weren't as huge as you'd like could be comped together to make a cool looking shot. Everything finds a use eventually...
Absolutely right! They'll all be going in to the library! (T)
I did this at home when I was in high school. I used steel wool, and magnesium from a flashbulb, ignited by house current. It worked really well. I shot it at 120 fps.
I'll definitely be hitting you guys up for FX work on my 2nd feature - even better that you're just over the bridge!
I love your videos! Keep doing what you're doing!
Thank you so much!
Awesome video!! Looking foreward to part 2 :-)
We can’t wait either!
Love this channel...👍👍👍
Thanks for the support!
Hey be guys been fan of the channel for awhile now but I have been wondering with all these assets you're making do you; currently offer them for sale or will you release some kind of an asset pack? Would really love to get my hands on some of the spark assets you made in this video.
Awesome video guys
Thank you!
This is the kind of channel I wanted to build at some point, but don't really have the resources (or time). Have you guys thought about giving away (or selling) practical elements to use in films, such as these practical explosions? - A fan from across the pond :-)
I love everything y'all do.
Thank you so much!
Man I would love to come play with you guys.. Very cool thank you.
A 3 legged table wont wobble (like a tripod!). Alternatively shoot into a front silvered mirror at 45 degrees, and have the camera safely off to the side, that way debris can hit the mirror, apparently hitting the camera with zero risk!
1:05 Bulldog Clipperman is the kind of low-budget, high-concept superhero movie I'd love to see.
He’ll get his own spin off series one day I’m sure
@@InCameraTV Thanks for another fun and informative video.
Gunz'nBomz I love it!!!
Oh yeah!
I think 1:15 is a universal lesson anybody can use in their respective fields.
Very intuitive haha!
Nice mention of Brian Johnson and Space 1999 who used this technique years before it was 'invented' on StarWars!
"It's not pretty but it works" The motto of anyone rigging to get the perfect shot!
What you guys do is my dream and i aspire to be like you guys
Epic! Absolutely epic! Though not as epic as JP’s comment…. “Survival shit” 🤣 love it!
Some compressed air or a small fan across the glass also helps.....FYI
Yep, we later added a squirrel fan to constantly blow across our lens protector in our later tests
Ever thought about doing the slit scan effect from 2001: A Space Odyssey/Dr. Who?
Definitely! Great shout 👍(T)
When is the TIE fighter explosion coming out?
I wonder if the effect of zero gravity could be improved by filming an explosion from below AND above, then superimposing the two views.
This way we can see the falling spanks and debris apparently expanding in our view, combined with the ascending fire and smoke expanding towards the above view.
Might not be the effect you want in an outer space scene without flammable gas like oxygen, but may be worth experimenting with?
J.P. Try cling film instead of plastic containers for your charges, that way you can go as big as you want.
For sure!...started very small with containers, as we were judging the lift we were getting and not wanting to toast our overhead drape. In further tests we got braver and bigger :)
@@jp-incamera Sorry if I was "teaching you to suck eggs", as you've obviously got as wealth of experience in the game. I'm just 'Very Old School' (at 60+ years old!). Just wish I was in a better position to help you out with funding (hey, there's always the lottery!). Still, give me a shout if you need small tech props building - catch me on Facebook in the RPF group.
@@jp-incamera I would bin the cloth drape and go for a 10ft x 12ft OSB sheet painted with BLK 3.0. It will be less likely to catch fire from small pyros.
@@beachcomberbob3496 No worries at all, intelligent criticism is highly valued and welcome here! Funnily enough Black 3.0 is also something we are experimenting with :)
@@jp-incamera Appreciated. These days you have to be so careful that advice isn't seen as hostile criticism. I have the greatest respect for you guys, and I wish I was closer and more involved. This is my 'drug of choice' when it comes to 'experimenting'. I always wished I had taken your creative (destructive?) career path.
do mind where can i get that powder.. i wanna use it in my vdeo costume action..
Awesome
Thanks!
Remember the explosion in the intro to Buck Rogers (70s).
Looked like it was polystyrene balls dropped from the ceiling … as they appear to bounce off camera lens on the floor.
Why not protect the camera in a strong box, and point it into a mirror looking up towards the explosion. You could use a front-surface mirror so you don't get any weird optical aberrations from it, etc. I remember hearing about similar techniques used to film oncoming trains. They'd put just a mirror in the train's path, and point the camera through that. The train could then just go right through the mirror at any speed without any damage to the camera.
This method is simpler I think... Mirrors can be sooo useful though, great for low angle shots too! (T)
Yes, a front surface mirror could work well...but can be quite expensive at a decent size. Because of cost you’d also want to protect that with glass or Perspex which would probably then create a ghost flair or unwanted internal reflections between the optical flat surfaces...the ignition flash from a lot of these effects is super bright and will show any dust or dirt on any lens, so the mirror would also have to be spotless between takes. I like the thinking though!, front surface mirror tricks are definitely something we will explore soon :)
@@jp-incamera Also, any sparks hitting the mirror will bounce, which kinda spoils the shot. Probably. Unless you have the mirror slightly off the drop path, but then the 'stars' all fall away from one edge. Dunno if it'd be at all elephant but I'm purdy shore a matey bloke of mine concocted a method for blowing air up around the camera lens, just enough that any spark that would hit it directly gently veered sideways, so, you don't get those thuds when they hit the glassy bits. It was either that or [redacted bad oral sex joke] and I just misunderstood.
10:28 - the explosive charge looks like a tiny death star. 😄
haha, it does, right!?
wow a lot of work. Ill just buy your pre-keyed footage haha
Fair
We need to make a compilation of all Tom’s excitable noises
JP's little cocktail absolutely _ugggggh_ 👌
Thanks guys! The police have just been round asking what all these bangs are about...
🤣
Joe Viskocil used a fan right on the plexiglass if I remember correctly
Yes! We kinda forgot to do that. Remembered on the second zero G shoot though 👍(T)
as a dog, I find your "what's up humans" intro to be exclusionary.
You need to use all the special effects that you’ve mastered to re-create the death star trench run
When I was a child, I tried to put a square plastic window on a huge cardboard box. I never could get it to work. Now watching this video, I know where I went wrong.
Well there you go, glad to help haha!
Yah that last one was the money shot. Does your landlord know what you're doing?
That last one was just perfect! And yes, they know roughly haha
1:01 Edgar Wright / Cornetto Trilogy Vibes Intensify... :D
Oh yes, there’ll be a lot of references to his work on our channel!
@@InCameraTVMore often than not i get mad Simon Pegg vibes from Tommy anyways ;D
I think they used a spark fountain to simulate a starfield on the end credits of the Buck Rogers TV show from the 80's. At least that's my fuzzy memory of it.
Actually Kev T Pestri had the chance to load a Fujitaco 33mm and fisheye lens onto the pre-ingition chamber of XTS9 for a launch ignition test. Obviously when the SRB engine caught the camera was utterly destroyed, but, the rumour-mill says they ended up stealing a replacement from the set of the Wonder Woman finale. Maybe true, maybe not, but, in any case, the 'stars' in the BRIT25C (Coincidently the numberplate of my first Austin Imp) were actually very unhappy mosquitoes bursting into flame in very, very slow motion.
Of course, that's just what I'd heard.
I've still never seen a realistic zero G explosion. It's almost like people would rather recreate the same thing over without actually asking a physicist.
Dark Star
We're watching movies about space wizards fighting with laser swords and tiny space fighter jets blowing up moon sized space stations filled with space soldiers in white suits that can't anything with their laser guns. Nobody cares if the explosion is slightly off.
Don't get me wrong, I love you guys' videos, and I know cameras and lights are expensive, but I feel like you guys should spend a little bit of money on building a workbench or something for cutting wood more efficiently and safer.
We do have a proper workbench in the loading dock of our Studios; Tommy just used a makeshift one clearly for this episode aha
Insulation tape is your friend. (Insulting tape, as we call it.)
You don't need a big charge, just wrap it tightly and your firework turns into a bomb.
Also, try dropping the charge into a small poly bag filled with lighter fuel (naptha) for a fireball.
I never liked Brian Johnson's sparkly gerb stuff. Give me a Derek Meddings job any day.
Thanks for that! Hope you liked the video
@@InCameraTV You're welcome. It's also wise to spray any drapes with fire retardant.
This channel is under subscribed, that's for sure.
Thank you; hope you enjoyed the video!
Then you'll be featuring in the video 'How a Guy Got a Jigsaw Blade Embedded in His Head!' :-)
Haha very makeshift DIY!
Why wouldn't you film it from above?
You could definitely do that and get a different looking result, but We were demonstrating the ‘Zero-G’ technique used in many past films and TV shows. Filming fire or fireballs from above is something we will demonstrate in the future, as it can emulate a ‘wall’ of fire moving towards camera (a technique used in the original Independence Day movie, and Team America etc) cheers!
pretty
Has anyone else noticed that Tommy is an amalgamation of Tony Stark and Dr. Strange?
haha, we have had a couple of comments saying that actually!
The moral here is, the answer is always "Yes, more explosive."
"When in doubt... C4!"
- Jamie Hyneman
Would you do a video on recreating the effect they did for "The Nothing" in The Neverending Story (1984)?
Another epic Cowboy Bebop t-shirt? Check.
Oh yes!
i think my parents are wrong, blowing things up is a cool
It’s the most fun a person can ever have!
Then Lucas had to ruin it with the PRAXIS EFFECT
We don't talk about that 😑(T)