12 replies to this topic

[nikk75]

Hi,
I am currently in the process of getting together a portfolio of special effects( from atmospherics to pyrotechnics) i currently use le maitre's non fragmenting micro-dets which are good, but are also large and create a lot of flash, even when placed under the blood bag and clothing. i have seen and read about D80/1's(small flat disk charge from De La Mare engineering) being used, but have never seen them for sale outside of the states.
Could any one recommend another alternative?, i have used both full and half loads and both create about the same amount of flash, and for the obvious reason(whiting out the camera and making the fx look fake) i want to eliminate it.
thanks for any feed back.
Nikk

[T-sec]

Not to familliar with squibs, but try www.monetti.net
This Italian company may help or advise you.

[nikk75]

Thanks for the reply.
i had alook at the website, but unfortunatly they only supply metal cased squibs and these are a definate no-no as far as im concerned, they are just to dangerous to attach to a performer, even with the steel or brass plate protectors. but again thanks for your time.

[Steelrat]

Hi,
I am currently in the process of getting together a portfolio of special effects( from atmospherics to pyrotechnics) i currently use le maitre's non fragmenting micro-dets which are good, but are also large and create a lot of flash, even when placed under the blood bag and clothing. i have seen and read about D80/1's(small flat disk charge from De La Mare engineering) being used, but have never seen them for sale outside of the states.
Could any one recommend another alternative?, i have used both full and half loads and both create about the same amount of flash, and for the obvious reason(whiting out the camera and making the fx look fake) i want to eliminate it.
thanks for any feed back.
Nikk

Hi
ive imported 500 D80/ 1/2 the little red ones, i use these for bullet hits , the white D80/1 should not be used for body hits they are to powerfull and will hurt like hell if you used them on a person they are only used for breaking objects or making holes in things or used as kickers
see www.specialeffects.uk.com this is my company and you will see a page will footage of bullets using D80/ 1/2 (half) RED

OPTIMA in Spain madrid UEE make them to the same specks as De La Mare engineering and have the same colour codes TEL :91 722 02 21 / 609 26 12 46 E-mail : fgamero@ueec.es
any question feel free to contact me Phil

[nikk75]

Hi
ive imported 500 D80/ 1/2 the little red ones, i use these for bullet hits , the white D80/1 should not be used for body hits they are to powerfull and will hurt like hell if you used them on a person they are only used for breaking objects or making holes in things or used as kickers
see www.specialeffects.uk.com this is my company and you will see a page will footage of bullets using D80/ 1/2 (half) RED

OPTIMA in Spain madrid UEE make them to the same specks as De La Mare engineering and have the same colour codes TEL :91 722 02 21 / 609 26 12 46 E-mail : fgamero@ueec.es
any question feel free to contact me Phil

Hi,
Just seen your post, and again i have to thank you, there is so much miss information about, i learnt this technique from the book "The secrets of hollywood special effects" by Robert E.McCarthy. This book states quote from page 134 ,sideview diagram. "Bullet hit (D80-1) glued to cloth. D80-2may be used or D60-1(no flash). Also the squib chart on the back cover of the same book shows the D80-1 as yellow, and the D80-2 as white.

cheers nikk

[Steelrat]

Hi,
Just seen your post, and again i have to thank you, there is so much miss information about, i learnt this technique from the book "The secrets of hollywood special effects" by Robert E.McCarthy. This book states quote from page 134 ,sideview diagram. "Bullet hit (D80-1) glued to cloth. D80-2may be used or D60-1(no flash). Also the squib chart on the back cover of the same book shows the D80-1 as yellow, and the D80-2 as white.

cheers nikk

Hi i have the very same book, also spoke to his wife some years back , though never chatted to Robert as he passed away some time back now but his son took over the business.
there are errors in the book and new techniques are used today, some of the things that was expectable back then cant be used in the movie special effects today.

the explosives used in D80s white= 180mg explosive yellow= 75mg explosive red= 40mg explosive

[nikk75]

Hi i have the very same book, also spoke to his wife some years back , though never chatted to Robert as he passed away some time back now but his son took over the business.
there are errors in the book and new techniques are used today, some of the things that was expectable back then cant be used in the movie special effects today.

the explosives used in D80s white= 180mg explosive yellow= 75mg explosive red= 40mg explosive

Hi,
i talked to Kevin McCarthy about three months after the death of his father, and he was very helpful, but told me the company was going to close on account of Kevinpersuing his career as a stunt performer/ co-ordinator.
Could you recommend anymore books on the subject of sfx? i have the bernard wilkie "creating special effects fot TV and Video" from focal press, but have really been unable to find anything else that goes into any depth on the subjects. I have spent weeks(not an exageration) searching the likes of amazon and various book searching websites, as well as libraries and anywhere else i could find. any help in this area would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Nikk

Edited by nikk75, 16 April 2007 - 07:41 PM.

[Steelrat]

Hi,
i talked to Kevin McCarthy about three months after the death of his father, and he was very helpful, but told me the company was going to close on account of Kevinpersuing his career as a stunt performer/ co-ordinator.
Could you recommend anymore books on the subject of sfx? i have the bernard wilkie "creating special effects fot TV and Video" from focal press, but have really been unable to find anything else that goes into any depth on the subjects. I have spent weeks(not an exageration) searching the likes of amazon and various book searching websites, as well as libraries and anywhere else i could find. any help in this area would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Nikk

there isnt alot of books on the subject of practical special effects, as many effects personel have there own ways of achieving the effects and those that have been in the business along time tend to keep the information close to there chest a bit like the magic circle,
there is one book of intrest though a bbc Training Book " Does the Horse Explode" ISBN 0 948694 35 1
not a big book but of intrest .

i tend to collect pyrotechnic books and books on magic and illusions as well as make-up effects, special effects isnt a job you can learn but a life time of experimentation testing. in the words of McCarthy special effects is a jack of all trades.

phil

[nikk75]

Hi,
I know the job is very varied, i started out about 15 years ago doing prosthetics, and have done many differant jobs since from wire work to pyro's including a bit of stunt work and mechanical fx engineering to boot. but living in the north of britain, any advice is very hard to come by and as rare as rocking horse dung and books are like bibles for the safety aspect. Which is all i want, i want fx's to look good and be safe, not hurt people(or myself). I have only ever witnessed one accident on a film set, and this was down to a student D.O.P who refused to belive that "such a tiny little thing couldn't do much damage" and after signing a waiver, he found out that it could when he couldn't be bothered to put protection in front of the camera lense, even affter being told by myself and an assistant,and the producer.That cost him.
Any way, im off the subject, i have searched many book shops and isbn search engine's , and finally found some at amazon.co.uk. so thank you for the info and one is on its way.

cheers nikk

there isnt alot of books on the subject of practical special effects, as many effects personel have there own ways of achieving the effects and those that have been in the business along time tend to keep the information close to there chest a bit like the magic circle,
there is one book of intrest though a bbc Training Book " Does the Horse Explode" ISBN 0 948694 35 1
not a big book but of intrest .

i tend to collect pyrotechnic books and books on magic and illusions as well as make-up effects, special effects isnt a job you can learn but a life time of experimentation testing. in the words of McCarthy special effects is a jack of all trades.

phil

Edited by nikk75, 22 April 2007 - 10:32 PM.

[MartinSPFX]

Hi
ive imported 500 D80/ 1/2 the little red ones, i use these for bullet hits , the white D80/1 should not be used for body hits they are to powerfull and will hurt like hell if you used them on a person they are only used for breaking objects or making holes in things or used as kickers
see www.specialeffects.uk.com this is my company and you will see a page will footage of bullets using D80/ 1/2 (half) RED

OPTIMA in Spain madrid UEE make them to the same specks as De La Mare engineering and have the same colour codes TEL :91 722 02 21 / 609 26 12 46 E-mail : fgamero@ueec.es
any question feel free to contact me Phil

Hello , I'm a Canadian SPFX Best Boy, out of Vancouver Canada. And D80-1's and D80-2's are Standard hits for body shots on Stunts, and Actors and perfectly safe if you know what the heck your doing! Flash is minimized by penetration layers, prescored...or doubling up on blood, our a talented camera team and post super...

[MartinSPFX]

Hello , I'm a Canadian SPFX Best Boy, out of Vancouver Canada. And D80-1's and D80-2's are Standard hits for body shots on Stunts, and Actors and perfectly safe if you know what the heck your doing! Flash is minimized by penetration layers, prescored...or doubling up on blood, our a talented camera team and post super...

Feel free to fire your questions to me direct...martin.spfx@gmail.com

[nikk75]

Feel free to fire your questions to me direct...martin.spfx@gmail.com

Hi martin,

sorry for the long ( yes over a year) delay, not been here for ages.
thanks for the info i will definately fire some questions your way i like to get a varied style of info from all around.

cheers

[FX Learner]

I have done a little training on squibs while working as an armourer, but does anyone do a days training in the UK to reinforce what I know and advise on suppliers etc.

Edited by FX Learner, 15 March 2014 - 07:37 AM.