Blast Back Effect

[Tudor “ted” jelescu]

The stunt man/actor needs a harness under his/her clothes that has a rope/cable/cord attached to his/her back and comes out through a hole in the clothes.
The cable needs to be long enough so that it will be out of the frame, but short enough so that 2-3 people cal pull it (the cable needs to be tensioned- kept straight- to be ready to pull the actor).
If you need to pull someone up, pass the cable through a pulley.
Actually, best way is to have a pulley system in place for any direction- this will amplify the pull.
Of course you need some mattresses or cardboard boxes for the actor/stuntman to fall on.

Tudor “Ted” Jelescu
Senior VFX Artist

[Walter Soyka]

[Ian Leo] “Hi, does anyone know how to do a fly back effect in after effects? I know you have to use some sort of rope or string to pull you, but does anyone know what kind of rope to use or something? And how do I set it up? Thanks! :)”

Don’t try this at home! If no one on set knows how to accomplish this effect practically, you could very easily hurt someone trying. Pros know what they are doing, take all kinds of precautions to prevent injury, and have insurance in case something does go wrong. In all seriousness, please be safe!

Depending on your shot, you might be able to cheat this in After Affects somewhat with a chroma key (or some rotoscoping and a clean plate), the puppet tool, and gratuitous motion blur to minimize any defects. Good storyboarding and editorial will help, too.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
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[Michael Szalapski]

I will echo the statement of leaving stunts to the professionals. One of my best friends from my high school days is a stuntman now and, from my dealings with him, I can assure you that doing it without a professional is asking, nay, BEGGING for trouble.

That said, the amount of danger depends on how far back you need the guy to fly.

– The Great Szalam
(The ‘Great’ stands for ‘Not So Great, in fact, Extremely Humble’)

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