Factory EXPLOSION miniature scale model and VFX - full walkthrough

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This video is a re-upload! We revisited this effect recently as I was never fully happy with the previous end result, and have done a massive update to improve the quality of this effect.
CAUTION: This is a behind-the-scenes walkthrough but not intended as a tutorial. Don't try this at home!
This is our attempt at recreating a 'factory explosion' using a scale model and pyrotechnics, assisted by After Effects compositing and digital elements. This will be of particular interest to lovers of model special effects, pyro models and miniatures seen in "Thunderbirds" (the 1965 original more than the questionable CGI remake!) or "Team America: World Police".
Professional pyro miniatures are custom built out of specific substances and can break apart easily. We filmed this a few years back and at the time we didn't have the budget for this, and instead tried a basic first test using a kit factory from a model railway, and tried to set up parts of it to break away. As the model was way too small and the flames were way too big, in the end we replaced most of the fire after the initial explosion with digital effects at a better scale. Back when we filmed this we also could only shoot at 60fps and not 120fps which would have been better. But we hope to try something far more ambitious in the coming years, so subscribe to see more!
If you like this you'll enjoy our video on filming Star Wars miniatures: • How to film STAR WARS ...
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[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

Want to get inspired to make your own film? Watch my free webinar here: My Top 10 Tips for making your passion project on a budget 😎www.diymoviemaking.com/pl/2147593183

[@DirWanjez]

The chimney fell too quickly... otherwise its amazing 🔥🔥

[@kevinmthethwa4396]

Was thinking the same thing too

[@patrickpaganini]

Yes, the chimney was the playmobil giveaway.

[@thewildcardperson]

The trick to fixing it is shooting it in slow mo and slowing down the explosion time and debre

[@clurkroberts2650]

True, it should have also crumbled at the base. But overall this shot and edit was very effective.

[@NeonVars]

My first thought, same with the debris. Immediately exposes it as a miniature.

[@hermanrobak1285]

5:13 Bouncing miniatures was addressed in one of the clips at the "piercefilm productions" channel. The remedy was to stick a container (a jar or a plastic bag) of lead pebbles or birdshot immersed in a viscous fluid, like oil, inside the prop that would fall. If the oil-and-lead dampener was well placed, it would make the prop "stick" to the ground.

[@ikhfarakmaltu4472]

Uhh... The brick itself falling and bouncing(it should be slow) already look realistic enough but.... It fell to fast

[@seth-blank]

Man I love this channel. Its exactly up my ally.

[@AUM_3000]

I saw several demonstrations of such works that contain multiple sources of cinematic effects .. This video provides ideas and solutions to how to produce cinematic shots that closely resemble the reality. Your work is beautiful and your explanation is helpful, demonstrating an intelligent and an understanding of the work and of the ways to use the resources you have. Good job

[@brianlagat6637]

Wow, I really like how you break it down into bits. Great work🔥

[@SuperTuna23]

These videos are amazing, you’re doing a great job detailing these alternative methods.

[@UnexpectedCreativeStudios]

Nicely done. Great to see how far you came from the original green screen footage to the final piece.

[@rexsomething4460]

This guys work feels really earnest.

[@mycroft16]

It's actually shocking how simple this sort of thing is. I say simple meaning the technique itself on a broad level. The devil is in the details. Getting the right size model, right frame rates, right lighting, right materials for the model. Having someone ridiculously good at roto. Figuring out all the little details to add in to flesh it out, etc. One of my favorites ever was the helicopter crash into the house from Bond. That one was so well done it was hard to believe it was a miniature at all.

[@Lumibear.]

Impressive! I love stuff like this. For such a basic model the end result really isn’t bad at all.

[@jafarsadiq6226]

Thank you for sharing valuable knowledge and experience of real projects

[@ArealTube]

Very cool and smart. we love it. amazing

[@normanrowe2831]

Special effects personal from the 50s, 60s and 70s would be amazed. Keep up the great work. Thanks.

[@SuperClau07]

Hello, i love your tutorials and i really love that you remake older tutorials with your upgraded skills! I just want to suggest that you try working in a 32-bit linear colour space like aces and composite the fire assets using an add or linear dodge blending mode instead of screen. This is the "proper" way to composite fire because it doesn't become transparent and keeps its colours. Great job, nonetheless! Greetings from Romania!

[@cesarghful]

Love the details in all your videos, thanks man, great job

[@KuruGDI]

Considering the size of the model and the low budget the result is actually surprisingly good :D

[@chiron3463]

My opinion: That chimney falls too quickly - such a huge and heavy building cannot fall this way. And because everything have to seem as a real big houses and flames and smoke and dust clouds, this all has to move more slowly too. Including shock waves. And sound with delay, 300m=1s, with diminshed higher freqs, and with more reflections (echoes) from area around. I am looking forward if you will want to try it with those new settings.

[@plutoyaldnil4750]

Speak english much????

[@mcemtpockets1775]

Damn dude....

[@deltaplan996]

Great work. I'd add a shock wave that come afterwards with a slight delay, specially in the background. Samples from the Beirut port explosion might help ro visualize.

[@JeffreyBlakeney]

I watched both the original upload and this one. In both you mention putting the one building in the foreground to cover up the chimney bouncing. Couldn't you have roto'd the chimney to cut it out and put it on a still of the area it falls into? Doing it this way you could even animate the cut out chimney so that it ends up lying flat on the ground and maybe even roughen the edges of the part that broke off from the building. It is more work but I find the chimney falling over is the part that really makes the shot look like a model.

[@MythicBricks]

this was CRAZY COOL! Love it

[@metafuel]

Fantastic. Thank you for your work.

[@brianbright7501]

Amazing what you all did, I love it

[@abdullahsabawi1202]

This is so inspiring and amazing. Thank you...

[@camrun2011]

just incredible

[@godanswersprayer]

Absolutely fantastic job

[@parkerspringfield]

Thanks for such informative tutorials.

[@VideografiaPopular]

Amazing! Thank for your videos. Very inspiring!

[@ROVIMAKER]

Great class, thank you! 👏👏👏

[@edubuilt3153]

Really amazing techniques

[@mhiguelhorta]

I love miniature and VFX! Very good video!

[@OllisFilmkueche]

Great tutorial! I love this channel!

[@DevotedSentry]

Thanks for making this, it was quite helpful!

[@derrickforeal]

I build larger framed models. I then add texture elements to the real life model by making a matte painting in photoshop. I film my own fire and explosions using the model and scale it back in the composite as well slowing the flame down always helps

[@Jack_Warner]

I spotted an old cardboard goods shed in your set up. This model has been around since the 1970's. I can remember buying that to add to my layout in 1977.

[@jackstevensbass]

So good!

[@modestbeserker36]

Yes!!!

[@brker8964]

wow good job i onestly didn't know that this was the way of creating the explosions !

[@voronOsphere]

I love old school!!!!

[@austinevplab7167]

Great job! A real test would be to plug this amazing work into a scene and not tell people the story behind it. Knowing it is not real, I think people watch the final product with an eye towards spotting everything that doesn’t look right rather than marveling at how well it was done. I had my Yorkie attack a Christmas village, you know all those little shops and scenery pieces people set up at Christmas? I filmed it at 120fps then had a remote control helicopter fight him. Fun!.

[@ericohara2582]

Really enjoyed that, thank you

[@SithikaBalagalla]

dude that's great

[@ranger51262]

So very cool... my old VHS Camera did not have a chance

[@mx472000]

Derek Meddings work inspired me to go into VFX.

[@jim-stacy]

Inspired well done

[@00ta]

I like your work.

[@xandersmith2124]

Wow so good, your channel will blow up any time

[@reynaldsagolili9775]

congratulations!

[@phantomcorps3373]

Pretty good!

[@iliapetrov5761]

I love your channel man, keep it up, amzing work!

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

Thanks, very kind

[@SavageCam_YT]

This is pretty cool on how you did

[@anthonyinabo2382]

so good

[@data_1a]

Amazing

[@sketch8307]

🔥🔥🔥

[@gishoferi8456]

Wow so very good

[@badephprodz2098]

So good

[@zazaazuza6969]

The scale of fire and debris betrayed miniatures.

[@akbgaming1987]

Amazing vfx.

[@vickramreddy8590]

Good explaination

[@blackpowderdan5174]

Couple of things to keep in mind with explosions and debris. Unless it's a gas station or something with lots of flammable substances, there typically won't be a fireball. Even with a building with flammable material, if there is a large bellowing flame, the amount of smoke produced will obscure a majority of the fire. The other thing to keep in mind is that anything with bricks or masonry will crumble either during the explosion or upon landing impact. A majority of the explosion from something like this would be white/grey from the mortar of the bricks disintegrating. The camera pan and frame wobble do a good job at selling the effect, though!

[@SakthivelNadar]

Wow 😍😍😍😍 my dream to recreate this scene!!!!

[@engineerirfan]

AWESOME 💜👍

[@cricket_together]

Im from Bangladesh,, i love your video

[@Thetom5000]

this was a really great video, i feel like the one thing the shot was missing for me was the light fall off from the flames

[@daone543]

awesome

[@hdhmingaproduction5566]

i love to see it

[@boka04]

Very good job :) Pretty nice result :) One idea came up in my mind while I was watching the explosion: some of the cars' alarm system could be activated with light&sound effects :)

[@usman_hassan87]

great, please more miniature scale model and VFX

[@mrstratau6513]

excellent.

[@BoristheBlade]

Awesome video! I wonder if simulating the physics of the building exploding in something like cinema 4d would be an improvement or not

[@Baileyske]

Ok I see the first seconds and I'm like Thunderbirds are GO :D

[@steverileyretired]

Very Clever

[@yank3656]

thanks for sharing Steve Ramsden

[@BojanBojovic]

Great. The only thing missing is the latency of the explosion sound due to slow speed of sound, otherwise it is great. 😃👍

[@latanadeldem]

The fact is: even if the effect is cool etc. a towen would never fall like this after an explosion... check some building collapses, it's completely different

[@garyfox8701]

Thanks for your input Latana. When are we going to see any of your work?

[@thomaswindfeld728]

Awesome! Maybe even better if the added flames were slowed down to, if there was enogh frames ofcorse. Great job

[@GauravSharma-dy8xv]

Dude you should have shot the footage at higher fps and then slowed it down. Huge objects move slowly.

[@Dogmicspane]

Their camera could only shoot at 60fps, but honestly, I'd have just used a smartphone for the improved framerate.

[@NostalgiNorden]

Did you watch the clip?

[@XTheCat]

He did say why he didn't do that you have to the HOLE video not just the finished product to realise that though.

[@GlinFilm]

Bro you didn’t even watch it

[@RoverIAC]

Cooool! -new sub

[@cubingartonline9275]

Nice video

[@zedkay5145]

Wow

[@hairyguysketches9799]

Okay, interesting question. So the key to making the miniatures look bigger is to shoot on wide lenses, but then the audience can kind of tell that you moved inward as a posed to if you shot it in real life. The obvious solution would be to shoot on a longer lens, making it seem far away, but then that reveals the fact that it’s a model. Would a laowa lens fix this issue? Seeing how they try not to distort the image, would that help sell the effect?

[@hytralium]

Very nice! Die you used Production Crate pro?

[@MrsKnickerbater]

Favorite effect is the dolly shot made famous in Jaws - would love to see how that was done.

[@ewellt.rowaway3703]

Definitely

[@Nietzman]

Zooming in whilst moving out. You're welcome.

[@CosminNeagu]

The camera movement really took the realism away a bit. Adding some fine film grain really helps the whole thing.

[@unacertamirada]

Expected the car lights to blink :D I'm joking. Great work!

[@SteveRamsdenYoutube]

Many thanks!

[@nauseruga1067]

Hebat euy 🌟😎👏👏👏

[@dubstepzsi]

Oh my gosh plaster of Paris when you said that it took me back to when i was 12 ( now 47 ) and made a storm trooper with that with a metal mesh to keep the shape man i wish i had the photos to show you. so when filming explosions i guess you would film at 48 or 50 frames per second so when put into post you can slow it down. Yes i work in post production as an film editor and colour grader using DaVinci Resolve.

[@danielconde13]

So damn good.

[@Tn24_vlogs]

Nice

[@hanseljaison]

This video is superb 👍. You should have added the indicator signal(light) in the car while the sound is played. The chimney falling scene if delayed would be perfect. Overall this video was Superb 👌👌❤️.

[@moustopro5170]

That looks interesting to me, could you just make a video in French version please

[@levayfrancis8991]

super

[@theoriginaltommysteward]

George Lucas peeking in is hilarious!

[@Mortom83]

For great effect you should do chimney in 3D with simulation and add in post.

[@hemzaahmed1684]

The fire ball should've been brighter and emit light before disappearing. Some lens flare as well.

[@ethanspaziani1070]

Hey man you might not like it you might think that you could have done better or that you could do better now but damn that is impressive work you have done I love it I hope someday I can do something like this amazing work

[@anotherwolff3650]

Good Work: This looks like an explosion scen from the movie "Team America - World Police"

[@chiennguyenminh4957]

You can do effects Transfiguration of iron man in marvel? Hope you help, thank you so much

[@kingzaynsmyname3634]

Hey Steve, I just want to point something out, so y'know the roof explosion when I exploded the roof has already been damaged, I'm curious why?

[@motog7287]

Sir I want to learn from you. I really like this kind of vfx