Props, Scenery, Costumes and Makeup: Special Effects Help Needed

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Special Effects Help Needed

Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Producing Theater
Forum Name: Props, Scenery, Costumes and Makeup
Forum Discription: For how-to's and where-can-I-find
URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3383
Printed Date: 5/14/25 at 11:09pm
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Topic: Special Effects Help Needed

Posted By: ipspea
Subject: Special Effects Help Needed
Date Posted: 8/25/08 at 12:51pm

Looking for good ideas for accomplishing the effects at the end of Blithe Spirit. ie: books flying off shelves, drawers opening and closing, a mantle coming apart on its own, etc.

The drawers are pretty simple - we're thinking of drilling a hole thru the back of the drawer and the wall, inserting a push rod thru the drawer and manuever it from behind the wall. Not sure if the books can be done the same way without the rods being seen. One thought on the mantle is to construct it out of styrofoam and attach a light weight wood piece on the top (already apart of course), attach fishing line on either end and pulling it apart. Not sure about this one, though...

Any help and ideas would be great - thanks!

Replies:

Posted By: Spectrum
Date Posted: 9/21/08 at 2:37pm

I think you have the drawer gig figured out. Getting the books to fly out of a bookcase could be accomplished by removing the back of the bookcase and replacing it with stretched spandex, either black or approximating the color of the bookcase. Next, remove the section of wall directly behind the books you want to "fly." Then it's a simple matter to have a stagehand punch the books (through the spandex) to force them off the shelves. Be sure to either weight the rest of the bookcase down or attach it to the wall (or floor), because the sudden force of punching the books through the spandex could cause the bookcase to topple over without proper anchorage. Oh yeah, it is important that the books be right up against the spandex backing so they receive the full impact of the punch. If they are several inches from the back of the shelf, the spandex will absorb most of the energy from the punch and they won't "fly" too well.

The mantle could fall apart by designing it to be held together with a couple of pins (going through the wall). Pulling the pins would remove the support and the mantle would fall apart.

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Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional.

Posted By: vickifrank
Date Posted: 9/21/08 at 4:30pm

I love the spandex idea that Spectrun used, but you can also take fishing line and run it through one of the sides of the empty bookcase and tie it to the other side, now insert the books so that they have the fishing line strung behind them ( the fishing line is in back of the books). When it is time to make books fly, have a stage hand pull the side fishing line through the hole in the side of the bookcase. The books will fly. If you want even spookier, run the line under the books , so now the books rise and fly off the shelfs. You can even be selective by stringing the line behind a few books, but in front of (or through) others.

I remember doing Blythe Spirit years ago, I think I remember a secret entrance we made next to fireplace. The wall with the fireplace was angled and the wall that was on the upstage side was also angled--but parallel about a foot. The audience could only see continuous wall, but an actor could squeeze through. Its a sightline trick.

If you want the mantle to crack upward, but not come apart, you can use a springloaded hinge that pushes up both sides of the mantle when 'broken'. The key is to keep it in place when not 'broken'. To do that, you have a dowel that you remove (Drill hole in flat through to one side of the mantle. Insert dowel to temporarily hold it in place).

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