Props, Scenery, Costumes and Makeup: Flying bats

Print Page | Close Window

Flying bats

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=5385
Printed Date: 5/12/25 at 10:17am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 8.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com

Topic: Flying bats

Posted By: beercartdriver
Subject: Flying bats
Date 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!

Replies:

Posted By: vickifrank
Date 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

Posted By: Majicwrench
Date 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