Camera Tests and Wanton Destruction

[Paul Russell]

I wanted to check out the slowmotion capabilities of the Red Epic. And what better way than to smash things up? No cars, sadly, but plenty of table top gratuitous violence. Gave the kids something to do, too. Put together in Premiere, graded using the Premiere RedCineX interface.

BTW - I shot the exploding bulbs solo in the wee hours of the morning, so the kids weren't exposed to any hazardous substances.

 

[Will Keir]

Those compact florescent bulbs have some awful materials inside the tube, once the glass is broken you are exposing the little guy and yourself to some down right awful stuff. Take it or leave it, Mother Goose has spoken.

 

[Mike Van Laanen]

Was the first thing I thought of when I saw that part. I know that the EPA has issued guidelines for breaking or disposing of those bulbs. They contain high levels of Mercury and the breakage area must be treat as a toxic site until properly cleaned. Inhalation of that dust is almost guaranteed to cause cancer and permanent neurological damage to the brain. Please be careful with them.

 

[Paul Russell]

Yes, mum(s)
Don't worry, I shot the bulbs late at night single handed, triggering the camera via Redmote from the top of the ladder. No children were exposed to any risk at any time. It's just the illusion of film.

 

[Andy Roberts]

What lighting did you use to avoid flicker? I'm bummed that I have an Epic that can shoot 300fps but my lights pulse in the footage making the footage unusable.

 

[Paul Russell]

Yeah, forget using fluorescents. I found that out early.
I had to revert to warm old tungsten, with some LED fill, and in some cases a good dose of MSU deflicker through Virtual Dub.

 

[Steve Sherrick]

Was the first thing I thought of when I saw that part. I know that the EPA has issued guidelines for breaking or disposing of those bulbs. They contain high levels of Mercury and the breakage area must be treat as a toxic site until properly cleaned. Inhalation of that dust is almost guaranteed to cause cancer and permanent neurological damage to the brain. Please be careful with them.

Well, if that's true, I'm screwed. I accidentally obliterated 2 CFL bulbs that literally sent dust and glass flying all over the room. Having never done that before, I stood there for a moment not quite sure what to do. My wife called around and we tried to follow proper guidelines for cleanup. I did make the mistake of staying in the room for a few moments more than I should, but otherwise did as advised. Here's the problem I have with this. If these bulbs are that dangerous when broken, why the hell is the government about to mandate that these are the bulbs we go with moving forward? If a broken bulb constitutes a toxic site, that means everyone is most likely going to experience this at some point. It's easy to drop a bulb or break one accidentally. So, either the levels in household bulbs are low enough that a single breakage is not a big deal or we are really going down the wrong road in our energy conservation efforts. By the way, when we called around to inquire more about this, we encountered some very strange answers from a variety of sources, so there does not seem to be complete agreement about the dangers.

Anyway, great slow-mo!

 

[Michael Mayda]

Better add a disclaimer to the titles that no child was exposed to shards of glass, mercury, nasty hammer, or life in general before THEY come for you...
I'm sure you were careful, especially with Connor (Mini-You). But THEY do not necessarily understand how editing works.
Oh, enjoyed the wanton destruction greatly. We don't always need 1,000 FPS. 300 is great for lots of situations. Fine concept, execution and editing. And music.

 

[Paul Russell]

Thanks, Michael, glad you enjoyed it. The music was grabbed for a very small premium from PremiumBeat.com, after many hours of debating whether to use some hackneyed old classical track. I'm glad I went with the other stuff.