[0:00] [bullets hitting]
[0:01] Narrator: They don't
mess about in Yorkshire.
[0:05] Rowley SFX specialize
in explosive effects,
[0:08] and you might know their work
[0:09] from "Peaky Blinders."
[0:12] More and more movies
rely on visual effects
[0:14] to create impressive explosions.
[0:17] But did you know companies like this one
[0:19] use all kinds of inventive methods
[0:22] to give a reference for CG
[0:24] as well as for actors and
stunt performers to react to?
[0:28] So, we have come up all
the way up to Yorkshire
[0:30] to blow some stuff up
[0:32] and have a look at the
value of practical effects.
[0:35] And I'm going to try and
make my own version of the
[0:38] action-star-facing-away-
from-explosion sequence.
[0:42] Today we're going to be setting off
[0:44] some bullet hits and explosive effects,
[0:47] all in this yard just outside of Leeds.
[0:50] Showing us around is dad Ian Rowley
[0:53] and his son Rob.
[0:55] When bullets hit a wall or any surface,
[0:57] they can fragment and
shoot up dust and debris.
[1:00] This is created by a
series of hidden dust hits.
[1:04] Ian Rowley: These are
the bags full of dust,
[1:07] with a small maroon in it.
[1:09] Every one has its own
individual radio receiver.
[1:13] So the radio receiver is up there
[1:14] in this particular case.
[1:15] That's the rig.
[1:16] So that cable goes back up there,
[1:18] like that, and over the wall.
[1:19] So when that's fired that would,
[1:20] "pchoo," blow the bits out.
[1:21] It represents a bullet
hitting the stonework.
[1:24] So it's a very simple hit. Hit and run.
[1:27] Producer: Three, two, one...
[1:29] action!
[1:30] [bullets hitting]
[1:31] Ju: That was a lot louder
[1:32] than I thought it was gonna be.
[1:34] [bullets hitting]
[1:37] The benefit of using a squib here
[1:39] is that the actor can stand close,
[1:41] about a foot away, in a
scene with other live action.
[1:45] It's safe to be that close to it?
[1:47] Ian: Well, yeah. It's just a shock wave.
[1:50] It's energy shock wave.
[1:51] Ju: Yeah.
[1:52] Ian: The only debris that's in it
[1:53] are bits of cardboard.
[1:54] An explosive device, like a hand grenade,
[1:58] has got a steel casing around it.
[1:59] And the steel fragments,
[2:01] the steel is what causes all the damage.
[2:03] Ju: Yeah.
[2:04] But what about fireballs?
[2:06] Of course, you could do a fire explosion
[2:08] purely in CG,
[2:10] which wouldn't damage a building.
[2:12] But this method doesn't
allow for stunt actors
[2:14] to react to a series of explosive charges.
[2:18] Production could use a
scale model of the set
[2:20] and do a smaller explosion on that.
[2:23] But unless your budget
is "Star Wars"-level,
[2:26] you can't convincingly
situate actors in frame.
[2:29] Rowley SFX uses a propane gas system
[2:32] that actually protects buildings,
[2:35] with the benefit of being
able to film the shot live,
[2:37] with real actors and vehicles.
[2:40] You can see it at work here
[2:41] in the season two opener
of "Peaky Blinders."
[2:44] [explosion]
[2:47] Rob Rowley: It's a vessel we can fill with
[2:49] propane, something flammable,
[2:51] or something inert, like nitrogen,
[2:54] to give you either a fireball
or a big blast of air.
[2:56] Fill a hopper with dust,
[2:58] you know, fire that over somebody,
[2:59] or we can build this into a shop window
[3:02] and, you know, a big fireball out of it.
[3:03] They're really versatile
bits of equipment.
[3:05] And we have various sizes of them.
[3:07] One of these will give a fireball
[3:09] that's about sort of 9, 10 meters.
[3:12] Ju: So it's when you don't need structures
[3:13] effectively being compromised.
[3:15] Rob: Yeah. So, it's like a giant shotgun.
[3:17] Where we point it is where it goes.
[3:20] Ju: You might also see
this kind of technique
[3:22] for bomb blasts in TV and movies,
[3:25] with a container hidden out of sight.
[3:28] Rob: Found a stage flash
pot, which gives us
[3:30] a bright white point of ignition
[3:32] and some smoke with it.
[3:33] This is called a robot, a
shower of very hot sparks.
[3:35] Again, to guarantee ignition.
[3:37] Ju: And so this would normally be kinda
[3:39] dug under the ground then...
[3:40] Rob: Sometimes they've
been buried yeah, so,
[3:41] you know, mortar's out of the ground
[3:42] or stood around the back of a vehicle,
[3:44] you know, and piped in through the floor.
[3:47] This particular method
makes that a lot softer.
[3:51] So, we're blowing it into this tank,
[3:54] where it can sort of
disperse and will go up.
[3:56] OK. Going live.
[3:58] And firing in three, two, one...
[4:01] [explosion]
[4:03] [explosion slowed down]
[4:05] [explosion slowed down]
[4:07] Ju: Of course, if you can't get access
[4:09] to Buckingham Palace to
blow it up on camera,
[4:12] you're going to use VFX.
[4:14] But on a set or old building,
[4:16] this is a system
[4:17] that's quickly set up and controlled.
[4:21] A similar technique is using a woofer,
[4:24] which releases the gas slower
[4:26] and comes in varying sizes.
[4:29] These guys might make this look easy,
[4:31] but setting up this kind of equipment
[4:33] takes years of training and skill.
[4:36] The company goes all the way back to 1946.
[4:40] I heard that you nearly blew up
[4:42] the Queen at one stage?
[4:44] Ian: We're the only FX company ever to get
[4:45] anywhere near her with pyrotechnics.
[4:47] We've had this request
from Buckingham Palace,
[4:49] the Queen's coming over.
[4:50] Ju: She looks really thrilled with
[4:51] that burning post office.
[4:53] Ian: So, we loaded the silo blasters
[4:54] into the post office.
[4:56] It's the only effect I've
ever done with a suit on.
[4:58] [Ju laughs]
I was trembling inside.
[5:01] Ju: To show the the impact of
an explosion on the ground,
[5:04] the team fills containers
such as this bomb tank
[5:06] with rubble or soil.
[5:09] Rob: I put a big lifting
charge in the bottom,
[5:11] maybe some petrol on top or,
[5:12] you know, fill it with soil.
[5:13] Big boom.
[5:15] The shape of this means it goes upwards
[5:18] and not left and right.
[5:20] Ju: War movies and TV
shows will use something
[5:23] like this in a well-timed action sequence,
[5:25] such as stunt performers being
[5:27] thrown into the air by impact.
[5:30] For the biggest blasts,
productions will use
[5:32] gallons of kerosene and powder explosives.
[5:36] This technique allows for the shot
[5:37] to be filmed live with the performers,
[5:39] with the explosions
enhanced afterwards in CG.
[5:44] Take this shot from
"The Dark Knight Rises,"
[5:46] where charges compacted with dirt
[5:48] were fired from the ground of Heinz Field
[5:51] while stuntmen sprinted away.
[5:53] The crumbling field underfoot was added
[5:55] in postproduction.
[5:58] Rob: You have a stuntman run by,
[5:59] he hit a trampette, like
a little trampoline.
[6:02] As he jumps on it and you see him leave,
[6:05] that's your cue to fire it.
[6:07] And, you know, he's traveling
on the back of that.
[6:10] Ju: It's all about timing?
[6:11] Rob: Timing and cues, and that can be
[6:12] quite tricky in a situation
[6:14] where you've got a lot of extras,
[6:15] a lot of multiple things happening.
[6:17] Multiple cues.
[6:18] Ju: Timing is everything in this industry.
[6:22] For the biggest explosion
ever created on a set,
[6:25] the destruction of Blofeld's
Moroccan comms center
[6:28] in "Spectre," SFX
supervisor Chris Corbould
[6:31] used 2,224 gallons of kerosene
[6:36] and 72 pounds of powder explosives,
[6:39] timed to detonate
[6:40] in the middle of a line of dialogue.
[6:43] This is why SFX teams
will always go through
[6:45] dry rehearsals of a stunt.
[6:47] So when it looks good, it only needs
[6:49] a small amount of CG
alteration afterwards.
[6:53] The way an explosion is shot
[6:55] can change everything.
[6:57] For huge nuclear explosions,
[6:59] filming a wide-angle shot can expose
[7:02] the magnitude of the explosion
[7:04] by capturing the vast space around it.
[7:07] This is normally done in VFX,
[7:09] mimicking an irreparable destruction.
[7:13] Other movies choose to do full coverage
[7:15] and enhance it later in CG,
[7:18] such as this truck explosion
in "Mad Max: Fury Road."
[7:22] The effect, which used 96 detonators
[7:25] and 1,360 liters of fuel,
[7:28] was extremely visceral and realistic,
[7:31] as was an SFX captured
from different angles.
[7:35] Characters and foreground layers
[7:36] were added in afterwards in CG.
[7:40] Occasionally, though, the stature of
[7:42] the main character will be enhanced
[7:44] by using a short focal length on an actor
[7:47] to make the explosion look more dramatic.
[7:50] These are the kind slow-motion mid-shots
[7:52] used all the time in action movies.
[7:55] So, that's what we're going
to have a go at today.
[7:59] Piece of cake.
[8:00] Rob: Now, I'm going to be over there.
[8:01] Ju: OK.
[8:02] Rob: I will see when you hit this mark.
[8:05] Ju: OK.
Rob: And I will fire it.
[8:06] Ju: [laughing] OK.
[8:07] Rob: And you're not gonna stop.
[8:08] Ju: No, I'm just gonna keep going.
[8:09] No one's doing slo-mo on this, right?
[8:12] Rob: Three, two, one...
[8:14] action!
[8:18] [loud explosion]
[8:20] Ju: Here's the shot from different angles.
[8:23] Full coverage.
[8:26] And the more stylized action shot...
[8:28] [explosion]
[8:29] which make the explosion
look a lot bigger than it is.
[8:33] This could also be
enhanced in CG and graded.
[8:37] I tried to give the "Zoolander" face,
[8:40] but I think I just looked
really out of breath.
[8:44] Cool. It's still burning.
[8:46] Rob: That's just the aftermath, yeah.
[8:48] That will go on for a little while.
[8:50] We would go in and deal with that, reset.
[8:54] Ju: So, did I manage to pull off the shot?
[8:56] The explosion looks much bigger behind me
[8:59] at this angle,
[9:00] but I think you really have to be walking
[9:02] to look as cool as The Rock.
[9:06] Would you almost say,
like, the practical way
[9:08] is always the best way?
[9:09] You gotta have foundation there.
[9:10] Rob: Definitely work
alongside. I mean, there was...
[9:14] you know, the effects
started to become a thing.
[9:17] They always want a
practical element, you know,
[9:19] to give the actors
something to respond to,
[9:22] you know, the way light interacts with it.
[9:25] Maybe they can't afford
or haven't got the time
[9:27] to do, you know, 100 hits around a room.
[9:30] Maybe we do 20 physical ones.
[9:34] Ju: While I doubt I'm gonna be getting
[9:35] that stunt-recruitment
phone call anytime soon...
[9:38] Oh, I'm scared.
[9:40] It was fascinating to see the intricate,
[9:42] practical methods used to
recreate movie explosions.