38

This scene was found in Billy Madison (1995).

enter image description here

How do they shoot dangerous stunt scenes?

3
  • 3
    If you went to Studios park at Disneyland Paris when "Moteurs, Action!" stunt show was running they did this several times a day in front of a live audience (youtube from someone with a good seat) with no CGI. It's surprising just how long they let the stuntperson burn.
    – Chris H
    Sep 2, 2016 at 14:22
  • 14
    As a film student before CGI and even video, I needed a shot for a short film where a guy was screaming with his head on fire. I took a shot of him screaming, and a separate shot of a wad of newspaper on fire in front of a black background. I projected both on the same screen at the same time, lining up the flaming ball over his screaming head, and filmed that. The resulting shot -- less than one second long -- looked surprisingly convincing. (That's not how stunt people manage this effect. I just wanted to mention this anecdote.) Sep 2, 2016 at 17:15
  • 6
    How do they shoot dangerous stunt scenes? Quickly.
    – n_b
    Sep 2, 2016 at 20:54

2 Answers 2

39

The stuntman/stuntwoman wears a special flame-retardant suit under their costume. In addition, any skin which is not covered by the suit gets coated with a special gel which is flame-resistant. Additionally, there are a few people with fire extinguishers in hand who jump in immediately after the director cuts the scene to extinguish the flames.

1
  • 1
    I love that they have a flamethrower in that first video Sep 2, 2016 at 22:03
26

For that movie it was probably using a pyro gel. It's a special gel that burns at a lower temperature (800F) and doesn't spread much, so it can be applied more precisely. To protect themselves the actors use a combination of a Stunt Gel (acts as a temperature isolation) and fire resistant clothes.

That said, it's a high risk stunt and not for amateurs. The safer way would be to use CGI to add the flames digitally later, although possibly won't look as convincing as real flames.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .