Another Fire Question

[immune]

I am having some difficulties concerning a scene in which one of my characters gets set on fire and in attempt to put himself out runs about the stage. Obviously, actual fire is not and option. Does anyone have any ideas as to how I could create a false fire that still allows my character to be mobile?

Thanks

 

[sk8rsdad]

Some thoughts:

• Act like one is on fire with no effects whatsoever.
• Conceal a battery operated pencil fogger or "smoke in a can" on the actor because where there's smoke there's fire, but not really.
• Conceal some battery-operated LED lights a la flicker candles under the garment so they shine through when turned on.
• Project a flame effect onto the actor and costume them so the effect has something to react with.

I'm in favour the first option.

 

[SHARYNF]

If when the actor needs to be on fire you have thin silk that has been dyed with the orange yellow and blue you could use a fan to make it look like flames

if you just used white silk and used lighting and a fan from off stage it would work also you would sew the silk into the costume so that it can ge released at the correct time

if you look at the Enferno

American DJ Enferno Flame Light

or the bob flame

Chauvet Bob Flame Light - DJdepot.com

you will see what I mean

Sharyn

 

[FatherMurphy]

How realistic does the scene need to be? How much leeway do you have to be theatrical, vs. cinematic/real-for-real? Does the effect happen mid-scene, or at the end of a scene?

A flame-shaped gobo and orange/red gel in a followspot come to mind, as does filling the stage with fog and hitting the actor hard with hot colors. Using a small video projector with a graphics loop as a followspot might be an interesting approach, but has its own pitfalls.

 

[immune]

How realistic does the scene need to be? How much leeway do you have to be theatrical, vs. cinematic/real-for-real? Does the effect happen mid-scene, or at the end of a scene?

Well, there is plenty of leeway. I would like for it to be realistic enough that it is obvious through visual cues that he is on fire. It could be a bit abstract or implied through a combination of lighting and smoke.

As for your last question, It is at the end of the scene. I have toyed with the idea of the fire being done off stage as well but I think that the visual would add more to the play than just hearing the situation.

Any and all ideas are greatly appreciated.

 

[shiben]

How does he get lit on fire? If the artistic direction of the piece allows it , you can have him run about after getting lit, and maybe pop in some follow spots with split orange/red/yellow gels in them. You could also stuff a battery operated hazer or fog in a can in the actor's costume, and have them flail about in a more abstract fashion to indicate that they are burning. You could go super old school, and have them just say, oh crap, im on fire, and run around like they are indeed on fire, or move into a more ballet inspired movement of the piece. It really depends on how abstract you can afford to go with the effect, or how real you want it to look. I would go as abstract as you can, and have as little of an effect as possible. The audience has a brain, let them use it once in a while!

 

[CrisCole]

We did a scene in a stage version of the Oddessey where a character was supposed to catch on fire. We decided to have it done off stage, and have him run back on after.

We just had him walk offstage in his normal costume, switch into his burnt costume, and then we took a fog machine with some PVC piping and blew flog into his burnt costume (up his trousers, down his shirt) while he was wearing it. Then he walked on stage, looking burnt, and smoking. It was a neat effect, and he only had to be offstage for about a minute and a half.

 

[philhaney]

When our Guild does "St. George and the Dragon" at Ren Faire, the dragon uses two sticks with red, orange, and yellow strips of cloth attached to one end. Someone also made some "fireballs" by attaching strips of red, orange and yellow cloth to small bean bags that the dragon throws at people.

Perhaps a vest with strips of cloth hanging from it that the actor can put on quickly and run around in?

It's silly. It's comedy. But it works at the Renaissance Faire...

 

[venuetech]

you could try it with lighting a series of specials from many angles with fire colors on a quick loop cue. this would work best with added costume elements the silks and a white or light colored jacket to reflect the specials, restrict the actors blocking to a small area so you can keep the specials within that area. the jacket could have powder pockets that would release talcum powder or some such light catching powder to simulate smoke.

 

[shiben]

Obviously, actual fire is not and option.

Actually, I saw this very thing done by trained, professional stunt men. Some show that the mouse was putting on... Some dude fell off a motorcycle and then rolled through a flaming puddle of gas, then ran off while burning (it was real fire). Apparently, he is in an incredibly expensive suit, which keeps the heat off and only allows a limited amount of actual burn time. I have no idea how its done, and obviously its not an option for the stage, but it is POSSIBLE to safely set people on fire. Just dont do it yourself. Im sure these dudes had years of experience and possibly years of training on how to do this.

 

[philhaney]

Apparently, he is in an incredibly expensive suit, which keeps the heat off and only allows a limited amount of actual burn time ..... Im sure these dudes had years of experience and possibly years of training on how to do this.

And there were trained medical personell, 15 people with fire extinguishers, a built in fire supression system (if it was on a stage), and a host of other safety measures present that you didn't see (or at least recognize as such)...