Should I take the stunts out of my script?

[RealJasonBourne]

Whats your opinion on stunts for low budget films ($5000)?

The 2 stunts I have so far are (actors are 18+)

Guy runs, rope gets lassoed around his feet, falls down, gets dragged about 5 - 10 feet back.

Guy walks backwards scared, as soon as he turns around he falls into a ditch into a casket (I might forget about the ditch and just make it a random casket on the ground.)

Do you think I shouldnt try to pull these off?

For the fall into casket one, I could start with a medium close up of him walking backwards, then he turns around and falls forward, then what could I cut to? Maybe a camera angle at the bottom of the ditch and hes falling onto cushions?


Is this too advanced for low budget?

Its pretty much the main action and climax of the short film.

Then I have 1 more guy I need to get rid of.

Would it help to have an experienced stunt guy on the set, or no point if hes not going to be doing the stunts?

Thanks

 

[DeJager]

You could easily pull these off with proper editing and cuts.

 

[RealJasonBourne]

You could easily pull these off with proper editing and cuts.

WOO!!! then im going to try hard, thanks

 

[sfoster]

getting dragged is no big deal if you have the right clothes.
look into motorcycle clothes, they're meant to slide around the road

 

[mad_hatter]

Yeah, I'd go with them.

Based on the thread title, I was expecting explosions and car crashes!

 

[RealJasonBourne]

oh ok thanks. I might not do the casket one, I think that might be kind of hard to have someone fall in safely. (since its made out of plywood)

this will be my first time attempting stunts.

 

[cheeseandachallenge]

You should be able to edit around the casket if you use the right shots.

Show him walking backward, then falling out of frame. Then go for a medium cu showing the casket, and him *landing.* He only needs to land from a small height, so have him prop himself up (as if he were doing a press up) then take his arms away, so he *falls* back down. Show the casked side on, you should be able hide some pillows in there so his face doesn't get hurt. Then cut to a top down (or other shot) of him afterward.
So walking->casket med cu(this should be a very quick cut. you can speed it up in post, maybe add a little camera shake, to sell it)->shot of him having landed.

Alternatively, you could just show him falling out of frame, and sell it with sound effects.
So he falls out of frame *thud* *groan* -> Show him in the casket.

Those are probably the two simplest ways I can think of.

 

[Morris]

You can do it with cuts. Start with a wide shot. You can have the person falling onto a mattress in another shot if you only show him falling back with a MS and maybe a CU of the shot on his face. You can then do another shot of him in the coffin.

 

[RealJasonBourne]

Thanks for the tips, i'm going to be coming back to this thread for sure when I start practicing it out.

 

[Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC]

Don't "fix it in post." Your insurance for the stunts will be high if you use actors to drop into the casket. Use a stunt dummy dressed identical to the actor and shoot it from a distance so people won't see it's a dummy. The money you save on the insurance will more than pay for the dummy.

Also, get an experienced stunt coordinator to direct and plan the stunts.