Jennifer and John showing you realistic ways to fake a fall.. and some of the props and skills you’ll need to pull them off.
In today's tip and techniques, we're gonna show you different ways that you can help direct your talent. Whoa, in this case, how to fake a fall. We're recreating Sandra Bullock's famous prat fall in Miss Congeniality. The key to pulling off this stunt is to have a bag somewhere off camera and have your talent fall onto it because you have to start with an establishing where you can see your actor's feet, there's nothing there to trip under. And then you would take a close-up where you can't see her feet at all and that's when she falls onto the bag. Man, that hurt.
A blow-up bed is an easy and inexpensive pad to cushion an actor's fall, or you can even use a couple pool mattresses. While the pool mattresses are fairly inexpensive, they don't stack well and you have to blow them up by mouth. The blow-up airbeds are quick to set up and inflate. Try to look for the kind that run off batteries instead of house power for more versatility.
If you want to expand your range beyond the simple prat fall, it's best to go to a professional for some training. Martial arts instructors can show you how to take a fall yourself while minimizing the risk of injury.
The first thing that you want to do is you want to get a little sideways with your body and when you do the roll, you're gonna basically with the front arm, take it towards your back and you're gonna land on your shoulders not on your head, ducking your head all the way under and curling up like a ball. Okay, so –.
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