There are a few scenes in a film im making where the three main characters in suits with gas masks go into radioactive zones. Im wondering if it would be over kill or immersion breaking to have camera artifacts and fuzz to simulate what would happen to a real film camera if it were in that environment. The film is not a "handy cam" genre movie however, the camera is supposed to act as a window into the world, its not being controlled by any of the actors like cloverfield or the like. So im undecided on if adding these effects is off putting or inappropriate for how the rest of the film is being done. I do have numerous "strange shots" and "oddly filmed scenes" however. Id just like the advice of those more skilled then i am.
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Radiation Fuzz/ Artifacts
- Thread starter MahtXL
- Start date
As an audience, I would have no idea what effect radiation has on film and wouldn't make the connection.
However, if it is a cool effect (and you mention that you use other strange scenes) I would probably enjoy it, assuming it's just some sort of grungy aesthetic.
Or, you could establish inside your story what radiation does to film, and then the audience realizes what the effect actually is, which would work if the rest of the film's style is congruent to that. It might be especially cool if the film effect was how you revealed that there was radiation (and then perhaps the characters notice it a few moments later) though it doesn't sound like this is what you're doing.
However, if it is a cool effect (and you mention that you use other strange scenes) I would probably enjoy it, assuming it's just some sort of grungy aesthetic.
Or, you could establish inside your story what radiation does to film, and then the audience realizes what the effect actually is, which would work if the rest of the film's style is congruent to that. It might be especially cool if the film effect was how you revealed that there was radiation (and then perhaps the characters notice it a few moments later) though it doesn't sound like this is what you're doing.
can you find any examples of that type of scene in movies? I think its common to do color washes, turbulent air, etc.. remember your not making a documentary, regardless if radiation would really cause "heat distortion" like disturbances in the air, is a good way to re enforce the "hot zone" concept to the viewer...
Very true its mostly in documentaries with footage from Chernobyl that ive seen the fuzz and film artifacts. I always found it cool how it messed up the film. I could perhaps in one of the scenes have them find an old camera and begin to mess with it, and upon watching what they shot they point out that the image is distorted. which would then click the audience into the effect in the movie happening when they are those areas. But i also dont want to force my idea into the film if its not pushing the plot forward. Ive tried to keep the screenplay as bulk free as possible with the motto "quality not quantity" a driving factor in my writing and filming so far. Aside from a few odd shots and techniques ive kept it pretty much to what needs to be shown, not to what i would think would be cool to show but in the end adds nothing. The characters do stop and note that they are entering a radiation zone in the scene, wouldnt that be enough to clue the audience into the distortion and artifacts that begin to appear as the scene starts to enter this zone?
building a visual system can help you quickly establish important information.
If your cutting in and out of the hot zone, having a different look can make it easier for the viewer to know, "oh, were back in the hot zone" Sure, you first hit them over the head, teach them that this is what the hot zone looks like.. and then on, you can be a lot more subtle about it.
You can do this with props and other in ways.. maybe every location in the hot zone has vines growing in it, or whatever.. the point is that there are other ways besides visual effects to do the same thing.
If your cutting in and out of the hot zone, having a different look can make it easier for the viewer to know, "oh, were back in the hot zone" Sure, you first hit them over the head, teach them that this is what the hot zone looks like.. and then on, you can be a lot more subtle about it.
You can do this with props and other in ways.. maybe every location in the hot zone has vines growing in it, or whatever.. the point is that there are other ways besides visual effects to do the same thing.
I did plan on having the color scheme in the radioactive areas be more sepia. Dull and hopeless feeling. Since its clearly stated and prepared for each time they go there (getting the suits, packing the masks. setting out across an Arctic waste land before entering the area so forth, i thought maybe a color shift would do. But then i had this fuzz and film artifact idea as well. Im just worried its an idea thats to "out there" and wont jive with the rest of the film being normally colored and shot. Like someone would walk away thinking "well that was good, but what was up with the camera there a few times, were they having technical issues?" or something along those lines. Because i realize not everyone is probably as obsessed with desolate wastelands, and radiation and what that does to film, and to the human body and so forth.