Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: Flying bats

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beercartdriver
Walk-On
Walk-On

Joined: 9/24/12
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 0

Topic: Flying bats
Posted: 9/25/12 at 9:24am

We are a small community group and we are doing Dracula in October. Anyone know how to make a bat fly in a window and back out? The script calls for this but I am not sure we can pull it off. Any suggestions would be great!

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vickifrank
Celebrity

Joined: 9/21/07
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 332

Posted: 9/25/12 at 1:27pm

You can do projection on the window itself and walls....or....

You can run a prop bat along a fishing line, or a fishing line hung from a curved track (makes it 'fly' into the space then out again)

The hard thing is making the wings flap, something I wouldn't bother with. Real bat flight seems erratic. Flight occurring fast along a curved track at the end of 2-3 feet of fishing line will whip the poor creature around so fast the flight will appear erratic. No one will notice the wings not flapping.

If you think back to the old Dracula films what looked stupid was the slow flapping flight of the bat.

_____________

http://www.studio-productions-inc.com
1-800-359-2964

The theater scrim people

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Majicwrench
Celebrity

Joined: 2/07/07
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 178

Posted: 9/25/12 at 2:06pm

I watched a production of Dracula a year ago, they had bat flapping sounds and the actor on stage ( OK I forget who) react. As well there was some lighting changes SL and something flapped briefly outside the window that was purposely hard to define. All in all it worked well.

I think the harder yiou try to make it realistic the less effective it will be.

Never underestimate the power of your audiences imagination.

Keith

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Props, Scenery, Costumes and Makeup
Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board :Producing Theater :Props, Scenery, Costumes and Makeup

Author	Message
beercartdriver Walk-On Joined: 9/24/12 Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Topic: Flying bats Posted: 9/25/12 at 9:24am
	We are a small community group and we are doing Dracula in October. Anyone know how to make a bat fly in a window and back out? The script calls for this but I am not sure we can pull it off. Any suggestions would be great!

	IP Logged

vickifrank Celebrity Joined: 9/21/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 332	Posted: 9/25/12 at 1:27pm
	You can do projection on the window itself and walls....or.... You can run a prop bat along a fishing line, or a fishing line hung from a curved track (makes it 'fly' into the space then out again) The hard thing is making the wings flap, something I wouldn't bother with. Real bat flight seems erratic. Flight occurring fast along a curved track at the end of 2-3 feet of fishing line will whip the poor creature around so fast the flight will appear erratic. No one will notice the wings not flapping. If you think back to the old Dracula films what looked stupid was the slow flapping flight of the bat.
	_____________ http://www.studio-productions-inc.com 1-800-359-2964 The theater scrim people
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Majicwrench Celebrity Joined: 2/07/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 178	Posted: 9/25/12 at 2:06pm
	I watched a production of Dracula a year ago, they had bat flapping sounds and the actor on stage ( OK I forget who) react. As well there was some lighting changes SL and something flapped briefly outside the window that was purposely hard to define. All in all it worked well. I think the harder yiou try to make it realistic the less effective it will be. Never underestimate the power of your audiences imagination. Keith
	IP Logged