How Real Explosions Are Made For Movies And TV | Movies Insider

[00:00] [bullets hitting]

[00:01] Narrator: They don't

[00:05] Rowley SFX specialize

[00:08] and you might know their work

[00:09] from "Peaky Blinders."

[00:12] More and more movies

[00:14] to create impressive explosions.

[00:17] But did you know companies like this one

[00:19] use all kinds of inventive methods

[00:22] to give a reference for CG

[00:24] as well as for actors and

[00:28] So, we have come up all

[00:30] to blow some stuff up

[00:32] and have a look at the

[00:35] And I'm going to try and

[00:38] action-star-facing-away-

[00:42] Today we're going to be setting off

[00:44] some bullet hits and explosive effects,

[00:47] all in this yard just outside of Leeds.

[00:50] Showing us around is dad Ian Rowley

[00:53] and his son Rob.

[00:55] When bullets hit a wall or any surface,

[00:57] they can fragment and

[01:00] This is created by a

[01:04] Ian Rowley: These are

[01:07] with a small maroon in it.

[01:09] Every one has its own

[01:13] So the radio receiver is up there

[01:14] in this particular case.

[01:15] That's the rig.

[01:16] So that cable goes back up there,

[01:18] like that, and over the wall.

[01:19] So when that's fired that would,

[01:20] "pchoo," blow the bits out.

[01:21] It represents a bullet

[01:24] So it's a very simple hit. Hit and run.

[01:27] Producer: Three, two, one...

[01:29] action!

[01:30] [bullets hitting]

[01:31] Ju: That was a lot louder

[01:32] than I thought it was gonna be.

[01:34] [bullets hitting]

[01:37] The benefit of using a squib here

[01:39] is that the actor can stand close,

[01:41] about a foot away, in a

[01:45] It's safe to be that close to it?

[01:47] Ian: Well, yeah. It's just a shock wave.

[01:50] It's energy shock wave.

[01:51] Ju: Yeah.

[01:52] Ian: The only debris that's in it

[01:53] are bits of cardboard.

[01:54] An explosive device, like a hand grenade,

[01:58] has got a steel casing around it.

[01:59] And the steel fragments,

[02:01] the steel is what causes all the damage.

[02:03] Ju: Yeah.

[02:04] But what about fireballs?

[02:06] Of course, you could do a fire explosion

[02:08] purely in CG,

[02:10] which wouldn't damage a building.

[02:12] But this method doesn't

[02:14] to react to a series of explosive charges.

[02:18] Production could use a

[02:20] and do a smaller explosion on that.

[02:23] But unless your budget

[02:26] you can't convincingly

[02:29] Rowley SFX uses a propane gas system

[02:32] that actually protects buildings,

[02:35] with the benefit of being

[02:37] with real actors and vehicles.

[02:40] You can see it at work here

[02:41] in the season two opener

[02:44] [explosion]

[02:47] Rob Rowley: It's a vessel we can fill with

[02:49] propane, something flammable,

[02:51] or something inert, like nitrogen,

[02:54] to give you either a fireball

[02:56] Fill a hopper with dust,

[02:58] you know, fire that over somebody,

[02:59] or we can build this into a shop window

[03:02] and, you know, a big fireball out of it.

[03:03] They're really versatile

[03:05] And we have various sizes of them.

[03:07] One of these will give a fireball

[03:09] that's about sort of 9, 10 meters.

[03:12] Ju: So it's when you don't need structures

[03:13] effectively being compromised.

[03:15] Rob: Yeah. So, it's like a giant shotgun.

[03:17] Where we point it is where it goes.

[03:20] Ju: You might also see

[03:22] for bomb blasts in TV and movies,

[03:25] with a container hidden out of sight.

[03:28] Rob: Found a stage flash

[03:30] a bright white point of ignition

[03:32] and some smoke with it.

[03:33] This is called a robot, a

[03:35] Again, to guarantee ignition.

[03:37] Ju: And so this would normally be kinda

[03:39] dug under the ground then...

[03:40] Rob: Sometimes they've

[03:41] you know, mortar's out of the ground

[03:42] or stood around the back of a vehicle,

[03:44] you know, and piped in through the floor.

[03:47] This particular method

[03:51] So, we're blowing it into this tank,

[03:54] where it can sort of

[03:56] OK. Going live.

[03:58] And firing in three, two, one...

[04:01] [explosion]

[04:03] [explosion slowed down]

[04:05] [explosion slowed down]

[04:07] Ju: Of course, if you can't get access

[04:09] to Buckingham Palace to

[04:12] you're going to use VFX.

[04:14] But on a set or old building,

[04:16] this is a system

[04:17] that's quickly set up and controlled.

[04:21] A similar technique is using a woofer,

[04:24] which releases the gas slower

[04:26] and comes in varying sizes.

[04:29] These guys might make this look easy,

[04:31] but setting up this kind of equipment

[04:33] takes years of training and skill.

[04:36] The company goes all the way back to 1946.

[04:40] I heard that you nearly blew up

[04:42] the Queen at one stage?

[04:44] Ian: We're the only FX company ever to get

[04:45] anywhere near her with pyrotechnics.

[04:47] We've had this request

[04:49] the Queen's coming over.

[04:50] Ju: She looks really thrilled with

[04:51] that burning post office.

[04:53] Ian: So, we loaded the silo blasters

[04:54] into the post office.

[04:56] It's the only effect I've

[04:58] [Ju laughs]

[05:01] Ju: To show the the impact of

[05:04] the team fills containers

[05:06] with rubble or soil.

[05:09] Rob: I put a big lifting

[05:11] maybe some petrol on top or,

[05:12] you know, fill it with soil.

[05:13] Big boom.

[05:15] The shape of this means it goes upwards

[05:18] and not left and right.

[05:20] Ju: War movies and TV

[05:23] like this in a well-timed action sequence,

[05:25] such as stunt performers being

[05:27] thrown into the air by impact.

[05:30] For the biggest blasts,

[05:32] gallons of kerosene and powder explosives.

[05:36] This technique allows for the shot

[05:37] to be filmed live with the performers,

[05:39] with the explosions

[05:44] Take this shot from

[05:46] where charges compacted with dirt

[05:48] were fired from the ground of Heinz Field

[05:51] while stuntmen sprinted away.

[05:53] The crumbling field underfoot was added

[05:55] in postproduction.

[05:58] Rob: You have a stuntman run by,

[05:59] he hit a trampette, like

[06:02] As he jumps on it and you see him leave,

[06:05] that's your cue to fire it.

[06:07] And, you know, he's traveling

[06:10] Ju: It's all about timing?

[06:11] Rob: Timing and cues, and that can be

[06:12] quite tricky in a situation

[06:14] where you've got a lot of extras,

[06:15] a lot of multiple things happening.

[06:17] Multiple cues.

[06:18] Ju: Timing is everything in this industry.

[06:22] For the biggest explosion

[06:25] the destruction of Blofeld's

[06:28] in "Spectre," SFX

[06:31] used 2,224 gallons of kerosene

[06:36] and 72 pounds of powder explosives,

[06:39] timed to detonate

[06:40] in the middle of a line of dialogue.

[06:43] This is why SFX teams

[06:45] dry rehearsals of a stunt.

[06:47] So when it looks good, it only needs

[06:49] a small amount of CG

[06:53] The way an explosion is shot

[06:55] can change everything.

[06:57] For huge nuclear explosions,

[06:59] filming a wide-angle shot can expose

[07:02] the magnitude of the explosion

[07:04] by capturing the vast space around it.

[07:07] This is normally done in VFX,

[07:09] mimicking an irreparable destruction.

[07:13] Other movies choose to do full coverage

[07:15] and enhance it later in CG,

[07:18] such as this truck explosion

[07:22] The effect, which used 96 detonators

[07:25] and 1,360 liters of fuel,

[07:28] was extremely visceral and realistic,

[07:31] as was an SFX captured

[07:35] Characters and foreground layers

[07:36] were added in afterwards in CG.

[07:40] Occasionally, though, the stature of

[07:42] the main character will be enhanced

[07:44] by using a short focal length on an actor

[07:47] to make the explosion look more dramatic.

[07:50] These are the kind slow-motion mid-shots

[07:52] used all the time in action movies.

[07:55] So, that's what we're going

[07:59] Piece of cake.

[08:00] Rob: Now, I'm going to be over there.

[08:01] Ju: OK.

[08:02] Rob: I will see when you hit this mark.

[08:05] Ju: OK.

[08:06] Ju: [laughing] OK.

[08:07] Rob: And you're not gonna stop.

[08:08] Ju: No, I'm just gonna keep going.

[08:09] No one's doing slo-mo on this, right?

[08:12] Rob: Three, two, one...

[08:14] action!

[08:18] [loud explosion]

[08:20] Ju: Here's the shot from different angles.

[08:23] Full coverage.

[08:26] And the more stylized action shot...

[08:28] [explosion]

[08:29] which make the explosion

[08:33] This could also be

[08:37] I tried to give the "Zoolander" face,

[08:40] but I think I just looked

[08:44] Cool. It's still burning.

[08:46] Rob: That's just the aftermath, yeah.

[08:48] That will go on for a little while.

[08:50] We would go in and deal with that, reset.

[08:54] Ju: So, did I manage to pull off the shot?

[08:56] The explosion looks much bigger behind me

[08:59] at this angle,

[09:00] but I think you really have to be walking

[09:02] to look as cool as The Rock.

[09:06] Would you almost say,

[09:08] is always the best way?

[09:09] You gotta have foundation there.

[09:10] Rob: Definitely work

[09:14] you know, the effects

[09:17] They always want a

[09:19] to give the actors

[09:22] you know, the way light interacts with it.

[09:25] Maybe they can't afford

[09:27] to do, you know, 100 hits around a room.

[09:30] Maybe we do 20 physical ones.

[09:34] Ju: While I doubt I'm gonna be getting

[09:35] that stunt-recruitment

[09:38] Oh, I'm scared.

[09:40] It was fascinating to see the intricate,

[09:42] practical methods used to