Special Effects - Falling Off a Cliff

[coolkiddtm]

Hi! This is actually my very first post here, so keep in mind that I'm new.

I am going to be making a movie soon in which the climax will unfold on top of a cliff. The main character is going to be killed by his girlfriend. Ideally, I would like her to push him off the cliff and let him plummet to his death. However, I don't know how one might go about doing this. Can you tell me? And if it is impossible or would cost too much, do you have an interesting alternative way for him to die?

 

[SinEater]

An easy and cheap way to go about it would be to film the scene in two different locations. Film most of the scene on the cliff top. Then film the struggle where she'll push her boyfriend off the cliff in a different location, away from danger. You hide the fact that you're somewhere else by filming using hand held shaky closeups. You can also keep the camera down low looking upward so you'll only see the two characters struggling and the sky, no obvious background elements that show you're somewhere else. Just have him fall out of frame during the struggle and then cut to a shot of her on the cliff looking down at his body.

If you're determined to actually see him falling, you could green screen it. This generally looks cheesy, but maybe that's what you're going for. Paint a floor green and have the actor lay back on a chair or box and flail around. You can film this from above and then key this onto a shot looking down from the cliff.

 

[Buddy Greenfield]

It’s not an effect, but maybe you can do it via POV like:

REGULAR CAM SHOT-

Boyfriend stands at the cliff edge filming the view, Girlfriend behind him.


CUT TO:


THE BOYFRIEND’S CAM’S POV-

We see the view from the cliff through the cam.
The view swings around as Boyfriend wants to film Girlfriend.
When the cam has her in frame, she rushes at it and pushes.

“Hey what are hell you ar-“
Tumbling/Shaky view
“Scream!”
Static


CUT TO:


REGULAR CAM SHOT -

The bottom of the canyon (or whatever) looking up.
The Girlfriend looks out over the edge.
She looks around to see if anyone saw her.


TILT DOWN:

The Boyfriend lies dead on the ground.


(You would/could cut between the bottom looking up at her AND from where
she stands at the top looking down THEN also include her POV of the body
AND her POV of looking around to see if anyone saw her.)


-Thanks-

 

[FrostBlue]

Hi,
I was just scribbling something in a paint program when I saw your post...I have made a simple scribble board...

For shot 3 , I think option A should be enough , you could add one shot of him lying on the rocks with blood and all , but without it I think it stays a little mysterious whether he died. Or you could use option B and add option A behind it to reveal the expression on her face...real evil...
To shoot option B , you will need a clean plate of the cliff , I would suggest simple high res stills so you can make a camera move in post. Then shoot actor on a gym bench (or if he could balance himself on a pole) , lying on his belly and flapping his limbs as if he's falling..AAAAaaaa.This will have to be greenscreen.Doesn't have to be great , cuz you are going to scale this image down in post (to look like a moving nazi swastika...)
Also you could use a dummy , with nimble limbs , to throw off a cliff shot from a distance which will not need any post work , just make sure it is from a distance so it doesnt look like a dummy.

With some quick cutting all options should work. Depends on what you want to come across. Thanks for inspiring me to scribbleboard...

 

[Brooksy]

Go out and rent, better yet buy, the movie "Bad Taste". It was Peter Jackson's first feature and has a very, very similar scene take place. He did it on a very low budget but the effect is great.