(This was not written by me. If it was written by you, email me, but be prepared to offer some kind of verification. See the Disclaimer for more information.)
I have found an effective way to create explosions on a small budget without the risk of hurting yourself, or getting in trouble for not having a pyro license.
While working on a little science-fiction comedy for local cable, I worked up a way to create impressive explosions indoors without using pyrotechnics. I took three fire extinquishers, three cardboard boxes, some chicken wire, bits of foam, plastic, foil and debris, and some camera flashes (either built-in units or
handhelds) and a group of people with not enough to do. We cut the bottom out of the boxes, covered the bottom with chicken wire, and filled the boxes with
the debris bits. I then got several people - three to hold the boxes, three to operate the extinquishers, and as many hands as were necessary to fire the
flashes. Gel the flashes if necessary to get the desired color temperature. Then, fire the extinquishers through the bottom of the boxes, blasting the debris into the air, while simultaneously firing the flashes. Clever use of studio lighting
(flickering, bright strobing, et al) allowed us to create really large explosions on stage with minimal risk of damage or injury. Heck, you can't have a
fire if you're using fire extinquishers, can you? On camera, it looked really impressive...especially when we shook the camera for effect. You have to experiment to get the timing right, but it does look really nice. Just rent the extinquishers from a local fire safety
company...they're really cheap to rent and recharge.
The nice thing about this technique is that you can recharge the extinquishers at minimal cost and reuse the flashes and debris over and over. Try it and let me know if it works for you, too!
