Dust hits: paintballs that do the trick.

F

Farsight

Hi there,

I'm not sure if this is the proper place to post this, but I'll give it a try :)

I am interested in creating bullet-hits on inanimate objects, and from what I understand, dust filled paintballs are the safe and cheap way to go. I've been searching for some time now on how to purchase these paintballs, and have been unsuccessful. I figured someone here may be able to help.

I was curious, is there any way to purchase them online? How much do dust-filled paintballs cost? Also, is it possible to create homemade-dust filled paintballs? If anyone could help answer these questions that would be fantastic :) I'm preparing to film a small, independent movie with a few friends in the next month, and was hoping we'd be able to pull off these effects.

Thanks,

-Farsight
 
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The "dust-filled paintballs" you mention are loads for what's called
a "Sweeney gun." You can get the dust in any color, white, black, red, etc.,
to match whatever is supposed to have been struck by a bullet.

In Hollywood, you can contact special effects companies, such as

Roger George Rentals
14525 Bessemer St.
Van Nuys CA 91411

818.994.3049
rogergeorge@earthlink.net

They rent Sweeney guns, and sell the loads for them. I understand paintball
guns can be modified to shoot the loads, maybe they can tell you about that.

My favorite loads are the "metal" ones, that produce a
shower of sparks when fired at a metal surface.
 
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I don’t know of any place that sells dust filled paintballs. I fill ‘em myself. Fullers earth or brick dust looks great - even baby powder works for some things.

indycine is talking about zirconium. It makes a nice spark when shot at a wall. But you gotta be careful with these. The zirc can be set off inside the gun. I use a special set of air guns for these hits.
 
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>Though, of course, bullets don't actually flash when they hit things


Of course not, but it's a movie convention now.
Funny how that came about, as many cameramen I know
are also shooting enthusiasts.

"Just trying to add a bit of visual excitement,"
-- Peter Cook, in Stanley Donen's "Bedazzled."

Also, I believe in "Do It Yourself" (DIY) for most things in movies,
but not pyro. Too easy to lose a finger or an eye, and I need mine.

I shop for squibs and Sweeney loads at Roger George,
because that gets me the help of one of the world's
top pyrotechnicians, Thaine Morris,
who has blown up the Death Star.
 
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Thanks for all the help everyone :) I'm not sure how far I can get contacting a Hollywood effects store seeing I'm only 18, I live very far away, and this is a pretty amatuer movie - but that doesn't mean I won't try. From what I gather, there's no way to purchase these paintballs online either, which for me would probably be the easiest way of obtaining them if it were possible.

directorik - you mentioned filling the paintballs yourself with fuller's earth or baby powder - how exactly do you go about doing that? I doubt they sell empty casings, so I imagine you'd have to somehow crack open a new paintball, drain it, fill it, and then seal it back up with the dust inside.
 
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I know I've seen empty paintball casings for sale before, but then when I actually tried to buy some to do this, I couldn't find any anymore. If anyone finds a source online, let me know.

Thanks,
Kevin
 
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