Getting hit in the face

[FilmUnited]

Hello all,

I am in preproduction for a short film right now that requires two stunts in which a character gets hit by an object falling from above.

The first is a baseball player who loses a fly ball in the sun and gets hit in the face by the ball.

The second is a bike rider (wearing a helmet) who gets hit in the head by a rock that someone throws up in the air.


I have little experience with stuntwork, however it is critical to the story that both of these events are believable. The film will be shot on 16mm, and I have only 1200 feet of film for six minutes of screen time so I cannot burn too much celuloid.

Any ideas of how to convincingly show people getting nailed in the face with hard objects without hurting my actors?

Corey

 

[DerekEastham]

OK...

The Baseball...
A good friend of mine just told me that a good idea here would be to de-stitch the baseball... remove the hard core of the ball, and fill it with a softer foam-based filling... that way it'll still fly & bounce like a baseball, but without the umph... so if the actor is willing to take a slight bonk on the head, you're fine...

As for the rock...
Perhaps paper mache will work... or,
my good friend suggested - foam cut to look like a rock, coated with harder layer of foam... then paint it to look like a rock... industrial-design & technology students are pretty good for that stuff.

Anyhow... good luck & happy filmmaking!

 

[gwyddion]

I'm wondering if you couldnt take a styrofoam ball or something similar like you might find in a craft store, paint it like a baseball and weight it.

the rock could also be styrofoam and I've seen texture paints (dont know what else to call them) that can do a stone like appearance. If its just going to be on camera for a really short time, you might be able to get away with it

 

[FilmUnited]

Paper Mache and styraphone are both good suggestions. I am contacting prop shops in my area about it. Thanks,

Corey

 

[FilmUnited]

The shot coming down at the actors face is the shot I storyboarded, with the flashy detail of the spinning baseball matted off a bluescreen. However, I think I would like to keep it more simple than that (I have only 3 days of shooting time on a seven minute sync-sound short and with a non-professional crew). I do think that either the shot of the ball coming at the lens or the lens coming at the actor should be used before slamming to a closeup as you suggested. I was considering starting the camera right in the actors face and then rigging something to pull it away on on either a pully or lever system. This shot could be reversed in the avid to create the look of a the ball coming at the actor. thanks for the advice,

Corey

 

[stuntpuppy]

Re: Getting hit in the face

Hello all,

I am in preproduction for a short film right now that requires two stunts in which a character gets hit by an object falling from above.

The first is a baseball player who loses a fly ball in the sun and gets hit in the face by the ball.

The second is a bike rider (wearing a helmet) who gets hit in the head by a rock that someone throws up in the air.


I have little experience with stuntwork, however it is critical to the story that both of these events are believable. The film will be shot on 16mm, and I have only 1200 feet of film for six minutes of screen time so I cannot burn too much celuloid.

Any ideas of how to convincingly show people getting nailed in the face with hard objects without hurting my actors?

Corey

I have done this several times though I did not make the props. Use a plastic baseball and paint the stitches the color of real baseball stiches. Hit the guy in face or what ever and use sound effects to sell it out as well as his or her very critical reaction to the hit!!

The same for the rock...make a false rock or buy at a prop or novelty store and sell out the hit and while adding a great sound effect.

IT WILL SELL