QUESTION ABOUT PROPS.

Random321 wrote: I have ordered from newrulesfx a couple times - great people. You'll find some of the things there familiar to PSW.

One note: These are not as bendable as you might hope. They have a very stiff plastic/carbon fiber rod up the middle. They dont bend easy and they do not keep their form. They do twist/squeeze well.

You might also Google "Larp Weapons."

I was thinking of this site when I wanted to get a commission done. That's too bad about the props though. Maybe if they used a goose neck rod for the props bent items can keep their shape and revert back to being straight too. Just an idea.

eromacque wrote: A while back, someone had posted an exceptional resource for superwoman movie props....bendable/deformable things like crowbars, handguns, and various other tools.  It all looked incredibly detailed and realistic.  Does anyone know that prop house or have a link to the online catalog?  Despite a couple of searches of posts here, I can't seem to find it.

Another good site for resources is www.calimacil.com/products/

The nice thing about their inventory is they have videos that usually illustrate how flexible the prop is (ex:  www.calimacil.com/products/freeman-crowbar)

ElF

Anytime, my man!   Hope you are doing well!

ElF

Brad2 wrote: OK.  So these are all for bendable items?  What if someone wants to see big lifts?  For example, what if I wanted props for, say, Supergirl lifting a bus above her head?  Or building?  Or other big, heavy item? 

I assume there are props that can be made to look like big, heavy items on film or in photos, even if they're light in real life.  Do such props exist?

its possible, with the right expertise to make some larger liftable props.   In my experience of working with producers, most "liftables" are custom made.  Very few stock ones that I've seen.  And unfortunately they can get expensive real fast.  We paid I think $100-200 for the barbell seen in The Awakening that Lara lifts for David.

For really big stuff like you are talking, I think digital FX is the better option.

ElF

Brad2 wrote: So, digital FX would be cheaper or do a better job (or both) than props for really big lifts?  (And hence be the better option?)

depends what you are talking about but if lifting a bus or a building (from your examples) I'd say digital would be cheaper than. Physical props by far.

lfan wrote:

Brad2 wrote: OK.  So these are all for bendable items?  What if someone wants to see big lifts?  For example, what if I wanted props for, say, Supergirl lifting a bus above her head?  Or building?  Or other big, heavy item? 

I assume there are props that can be made to look like big, heavy items on film or in photos, even if they're light in real life.  Do such props exist?

its possible, with the right expertise to make some larger liftable props.   In my experience of working with producers, most "liftables" are custom made.  Very few stock ones that I've seen.  And unfortunately they can get expensive real fast.  We paid I think $100-200 for the barbell seen in The Awakening that Lara lifts for David.

For really big stuff like you are talking, I think digital FX is the better option.

ElF

I have to partially disagree with this statement. Even really good VFX requires some kind of physical prop to support them. In fact, I believe that applying VFX to a real solid prop is the best way to handle things, because it provides a good frame of reference from the actor and the artists to work on.

Woodclaw wrote:

lfan wrote:

Brad2 wrote: OK.  So these are all for bendable items?  What if someone wants to see big lifts?  For example, what if I wanted props for, say, Supergirl lifting a bus above her head?  Or building?  Or other big, heavy item? 

I assume there are props that can be made to look like big, heavy items on film or in photos, even if they're light in real life.  Do such props exist?

its possible, with the right expertise to make some larger liftable props.   In my experience of working with producers, most "liftables" are custom made.  Very few stock ones that I've seen.  And unfortunately they can get expensive real fast.  We paid I think $100-200 for the barbell seen in The Awakening that Lara lifts for David.

For really big stuff like you are talking, I think digital FX is the better option.

ElF

I have to partially disagree with this statement. Even really good VFX requires some kind of physical prop to support them. In fact, I believe that applying VFX to a real solid prop is the best way to handle things, because it provides a good frame of reference from the actor and the artists to work on.

if going for high production quality, I agree.  Movies' for example do a combination of fake props (or somethings real ones) with riggings and then finish it off in post-production.  I was speaking more about doing it on the cheap via guerilla filmmaking. 

When faced with having to lift or toss a car, you can do that on the cheap with digital FX, with the right know-how.  In the scene in Awakening where Lara tosses the car up in the air.....that was a picture of a car that was imported into the frames.  I know we also did did stuff digitally with matchbox cars in other cases.

If talking about simple lifts (e.g. the back end of a car), that can probably be done with a simple car jack and/or some specific editing.

I'm not an expert by any means on this, but that is my observations from my time within the genre.