How are scenes shot in burning buildings?
Actors, Crew and equipment are all valuable -- shooting scenes in a burning building seems particularly impossible to do safely, but at the same time when watching these scenes, it's doesn't appear to (always) be CGI, and of course that wasn't available until recently anyway. To that end, how are scenes in burning buildings filmed?
Best Answer
Bear in mind that even before CGI there were techniques to use different footage sources to make the final composite scene - so "the fire was added afterwards" is always a valid method.
There are, however, various method of being able to put actor and fire in apparent close proximity.
A lot of methods make use of controlled fire, rather than 'wild' - so, gas jets and ceramic objects, not actual burning materials.
The first would be "Use a longer lens"
It's a feature of the focal length of a lens that the longer it is, the more distances appear to be compressed. Putting the actor 10ft behind a real fire and using a long lens will immediately put them closer, from the audience's perspective.
Second would probably be "Don't use an actor"
Stunts have been used in a myriad of scenes where the actor's face isn't clearly seen. Protective clothing, gel and face masks, often a rough cast of the real actor's face, can be worn as protection.
Actors have been known to get involved in this themselves - iirc, Backdraft was one - but they would undertake some proper training first.
Late addition:
I spent a month on a movie this summer which used a lot of controlled fire.
At all times, there is a professional fire crew in attendance, right there, just out of shot. These days they constantly monitor the area with infra-red viewers, checking for hot spots invisible to the naked eye.
Safety first.
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How are fire scenes filmed?
Exterior fires are shot on location, but interior burns are always shot on a controlled stage, dubbed the \u201cBurn Stage,\u201d in a converted warehouse at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios. \u201cIt's impractical to put fire inside a real location,\u201d the cinematographer notes, \u201cso we save all of our interior fires for the Burn Stage.\u201dHow does Chicago Fire film exterior fire scenes?
Crothers goes on to explain that fires that take place outdoors are filmed on location and fires that take place indoors are held in a controlled environment on what is called a \u201cBurn Stage\u201d in a converted warehouse. The cinematographer notes the set-up process can take a long time.How is a scene filmed?
Filming a scene is a five-step process; blocking, lighting, rehearsing, tweaking, and filming. These five steps don't sound like a lot, but the time and consideration that goes into each of these steps can be time-consuming especially if you, as the filmmaker, are wearing many different hats on set.CGI VFX Tutorial : \
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Answer 2
It all used to be done with propane. Sort of like a gas fireplace. Just put bunches of pipes behind, or inside, specially made "logs" that don't burn. The only danger was to actors who got too close to the flames, but there are plenty of people with fire extinguishers just off camera.
For certain scenes where stuntmen are involved they will use real fire, but the stuntmen are usually coated with fire-retardant gel and wearing fire-resistant clothing. Then, again, the people with extinguishers are just off camera waiting for the director to yell "Cut!"
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