Falling Through A Glass Table

[Taniith]

We're working on a production of Heathers, and are a bit stumped by how to do this one well.

Our director is hoping to recreate a sequence in the movie where an actress falls through a glass coffee table while dying, shattering it in the process.

We could probably do it with sugar glass, but that seems like it would be a mess, and likely expensive (and even with sugar glass, I feel like you shouldn't be breaking it near your face?). One thought was to have a table of some sort that collapses in the middle, and use rubber 'glass' shards either already on the table or thrown in the air as she falls through to simulate it. But I'm slightly skeptical of how well that would work in practice.

Does anyone have any thoughts of a better way to go about it?

 

[Amiers]

I’m thinking of a spandex top and underneath something to drop plastic shards that can be put back into the container to be reused.

The spandex obviously won’t be clear but maybe you could get a colored material and match the plastic to it.

Maybe even gonso far as to throw some uplight in the coffee table to give life to hit when it falls.

And add sound effects to reinforce the lack of actual crashing.

*shrug*

Added thought. Spring loaded plexi top. That when fallen into drops and then in turn drops the shards in a container.

Has the glass look but doesn’t look like a head falling through the table look like the spandex would.

 

[bobgaggle]

Shattering glass table is a great visual, but I think the movie business has the upper hand for selling this particular effect. They can play with angles the way we can't, in the case of someone going through glass, it is broken long before the actor gets near it. I'd try to sell the director the idea of her falling through a wood coffee table. The table can be built to reassemble every night and there's far less mess to clean up every night...

 

[egilson1]

Projection from above. Build a breakaway table frame and when the actor falls through the table the projector then has the glass shards spread around the floor.

Ethan

 

[Van]

I hate Directors that want it to "look like the movie". ANYTHING, except possibly rubber or fabric has the potential to cause injury to the actor. Any kind of 'shard' whether it's luan or plexiglass, heck, even Sugar glass, when fallen-on, becomes a potential poniard.

 

[Amiers]

Just to make my post clear the shards I speak of don’t get fallen on. Merely shot out as added effect. Away from the actor/tress.

 

[What Rigger?]

Just to make my post clear the shards I speak of don’t get fallen on. Merely shot out as added effect. Away from the actor/tress.

Hey Am, don't forget to make sure your director takes into account that this action, the actual fall, needs to be set up/choreographed/rehearsed by someone with that skill set.

I'm not saying this fall qualifies as a stunt, but...it's awful close to it, probably.

 

[Amiers]

#notmydirector

And yes you will have to rehearse this I would think that one was a given.

 

[Taniith]

Thanks all for the thoughts!

Yes, whatever we do will definitely be rehearsed plenty to make sure everyone is safe.

I suppose a key detail I left out is that the audience can't really see the floor (the stage is generally at or slightly above eye level for most). So projection wouldn't work, not that we have the resources for that anyway. The visual of any glass pieces would have to come from them falling and/or moving outward. I do sort of agree with @bobgaggle that a "wooden" table might be easier and accomplish roughly the same goal, but we'll see what the director thinks.

The spandex top is interesting. We might be able to give the impression of frosted glass with a thin white spandex. Hrmm.

 

[Amiers]

You might. Glad I could help.

 

[cadcoke5]

If you don't go with a glass table, you might get some of the cringe-worthy aspect of that back, by having some other glass/ceramic object break, such as a large vase, or even multiple vases.

However, I am not quite ready to give up on the breaking glass table. You already mentioned that the audience does not see the top well. And a glass table doesn't shatter into a zillion pieces when it breaks. So a plexi top pre-cut into a hand-full of pieces can be used. The seams can be hidden by a large lace doily, or something similar. Keep the downstage cuts perhaps hidden by other objects if that is vaiable. Perhaps the table is round, and the cloth covering it is square, so that only the corners of the cloth go to the edge of the table, thus hiding the seams. If the hand-full of pieces for the table top is not enough, perhaps supplement it with the breaking vase.

Note that the breaking vase does not need to be ceramic. I would prefer plastic made to look like ceramic. Tupperware type of plastic, rather than anything with a hard edge. Patterns on the vase would need to be used to hide seams, and an irregular crackle or plant root-system paint scheme would hide a lot. I have not tried this, but can salt-dough be used to form a coating on the outside that unifies the surface, and also hold the pieces together?

But, my bigger concern is the support underneath. It has to be something that can hold up the multiple pieces of the "glass" but also not create a hazard to fall onto. This is an issue with both glass and non-glass approaches.

-Joe

 

[Taniith]

Welp, I showed our director this thread, and she decided maybe it was best to forget the whole thing... ah well.

Thanks again for the ideas, all.

 

[Amiers]

Well That’s lame. Spandex FTW.

 

[jdenora]

Hey Am, don't forget to make sure your director takes into account that this action, the actual fall, needs to be set up/choreographed/rehearsed by someone with that skill set.

I'm not saying this fall qualifies as a stunt, but...it's awful close to it, probably.

Actually, it is a stunt. Falling through a table, and not being able to use a flop mat... that's a stunt.

 

[What Rigger?]

#notmydirector

And yes you will have to rehearse this I would think that one was a given.

I put my glasses back on, and had some coffee. After a few days rest. Look at me go.

 

[What Rigger?]

Actually, it is a stunt. Falling through a table, and not being able to use a flop mat... that's a stunt.

J- you're right. I was trying to reel in my usual doomy delivery about stunts. Sometimes I talk too much.