Throw Someone in the Air

[sarahsliefie]

We are doing "Running in the Red" this fall. The script has a group of people throwing someone in the air and they appear in the set window. The set window is 4' off the deck, but in the story it is a second story window. Their feet must reach a hight of 5' off the ground vertical then they must land as a belly flop. This is all happening in a 5' wide hallway back stage between the set wall and the masking flat.

My immediate answer is a teeter totter, but the end has to be big enough for a horizontal landing. I have thought of putting a mattress on a 4x8 platform and throwing that in the air with pneumatic actuators, but our budget is around $300-$500 for this stunt.
The window is 5' tall and 6' wide so there is not much room for vertical cables. And on top of everything the person is around 200 lbs.

 

[MNicolai]

Does it have to a be a person or can you have something that looks a lot like a person that you can launch into the air behind the window? (i.e. a dummy or manikin dressed up like a person that looks realistic from a distance, but weighs a lot less and is easy to maneuver through the stunt)

 

[chausman]

If it is happening backstage, I would think that just having a ladder or staircase that the actor could climb up and the group of people who were suppose to be throwing her can find something large and heavy to drop for the sound. Or a sound effect. Throwing people in the air seems a little risky and hard to get consistent every night.

 

[sarahsliefie]

No the person has to wave to the audience. Also, there will be two people but both are about the same weight. Both must be recognized by the audience.

 

[sarahsliefie]

If I had it my way the person would be attached to the lifting mechanism. That way they could be quickly hoisted into position and then back down, but the director wants to see the whole person airborne. We never see the people throwing the actor in the air. They are just part of the story.

 

[shiben]

Sounds like a job for Foy or ZFX or D2 or Hall or whoever is nearest/has the price you want. If you really NEED to see someone fly up and wave, that means they cant really be thrown anyhow, because they probably want to go slower than a bunch of people managing to toss them 5-6' in the air (have to be going kinda fast). With wires, you could have them tossed as high as you want at whatever speed you want. Clever lighting would make the wires invisible, no problems. That said, the entire thing sounds like a really cheesy stunt, Is it really needed, or can you bend the script a bit to make it work without it. I mean honestly, kind of a ton of work (wires, rigging, an external company, etc) all for a 10 second gag. Also, are you sure a giant puppet type thing wouldnt work? Attach a bunch of think sticks to a crash test dummy?

 

[sarahsliefie]

We only have 4' of fly space and a plaster ceiling. So suspension is out of the question. They must be lifted from below. This gag happens several times through the play, and it is central to the plot. The whole play is slapstick and dumb this is just a central part of it.

 

[dmx]

Could you use a small trampoline?

 

[Grog12]

Is the actor a trained dancer/gymnast anyone with the kind of experience to do something like this properly? Or conversely do you have people who can train them in this?

 

[sarahsliefie]

Yes they are both on the cheer-leading squad. That is why we know them so soon. They were chosen for the position because they will be flying through the air and are use to being much higher.

 

[Grog12]

I would suggest approaching their squad leader/coach/authority figure type and hand have this discussion with them. You'll definetly need some sort of landing mat to cushion their fall one way or the other.

 

[sarahsliefie]

We have a landing mat that they will provide for flopping on. They are fine with that. The question is how to get them up and then the mat under them. We can get them up, and they are fine with landing on the mat. The question is how to do both. The team wanted to throw them by hand but they could not do it in that small a space. So now it is up to me to make a contraption to do the stunt.

 

[DuckJordan]

If people can't its very unlikely a machine can do it safely.

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[cdub260]

We have a landing mat that they will provide for flopping on. They are fine with that. The question is how to get them up and then the mat under them. We can get them up, and they are fine with landing on the mat. The question is how to do both. The team wanted to throw them by hand but they could not do it in that small a space. So now it is up to me to make a contraption to do the stunt.

Stop right there!

You do NOT want to be the person who makes or designs this "contraption". If one of your performers is hurt or injured, you as the builder/designer are taking on personal liability. You could be held civilly and potentially criminally liable if someone is injured or killed doing this stunt. You need a qualified stunt choreographer to set this up for you. This may mean spending more money to pull it off, but at least your performers will be in properly trained hands.

Based on what I've read so far in this thread, the best advice I can give you is to tell the powers that be at your facility that you're not qualified to set up this stunt and that you need to bring in professional help. Then you need to do what the stunt choreographer tells you needs to be done.

 

[ruinexplorer]

If you are using a cheer squad, who does the throws and then catches on a normal basis, but don't have the room, why not simulate this effect. What I mean by that is if you can't do it live, do it Memorex. Record the performers doing the stunt on video and then play it back via projection.

 

[gafftaper]

I see no safe way to do this on your budget. You need to cheat somehow. The easiest way to cheat is to never see the entire person's body. They come up and stop knee high, then go back down. If you are using cheerleaders, having them lifted up and down onto shoulders (NOT THROWN) is a standard trick that can be done very safely. Just lifts up and down. Build the set so that the window cuts off the view at the cheerleader's knees so you never see the hands around her ankles of the guy below lifting her. Just do one of these (but obviously much better executed as this video says it's their first try).

As has been said if the person is actually being thrown it would happen so fast and at the wrong time it wouldn't read correctly, however slowing it down will be funnier, read much better from the audience, and be safe.

 

[sarahsliefie]

Actually I am trying to get the director to to the projection method. I also have not found a safe way to get someone airborne and catch them consistently. It is time to give the choices to the director and make him chose. Thanks for the info. I have gotten some good information to give him.

 

[robartsd]

While the recorded video method sounds like the best fit, the other reasonable option is to find out how much space the squad needs to do the stunt and redesign the set to allow the required space.

 

[sarahsliefie]

That is one of the options but that means the bottom of the window needs to be at 7'. That was my first idea but the director does not want a platform in front of the window. The other idea is to make it a skylight/wall window. The director will have to budge some ware the question is where?

 

[JChenault]

My understanding of the gag is that you want the body to be seen at the apex of his arc throughnthe window. A couple of things occur to me.

Try having your actor crouch below the ledge and spring up. With practice this might work for a vertical jump.
If you want a horizontal jump, and the actor has strong stomach muscles, you might try a teeter totter arangemet where the actors legs are attached to the teeter totter, have husky lever him up into the audiences sight.