How would you have filmed it?...

[jagfiles]

Here's a hypothetical question.
Just suppose you had the chance for a movie or tv show episode to reshoot a quicksand scene and do it differently from the way it was shown on tv or theater which scene would it be and what would you do differently?

[kham]

Thats a pretty broad stroke there; no doubt as far as sinking scenes go, there are dozens, or more different takes on how any given scene could have been done (change character(s), type of scene, outcome, costume, etc etc.) The possibilities are endless...

[Nessie]

Slowwwwwwwwww down!

Just about all of the scenes produced by the mainstream media go too fast.

Also, one should never hide the "point of sinkage" (defined as that area where mud meets skin). I whined when I saw a quicksand scene filmed in a bit of a hole, and the quicksand was supposed to be down in the hole; and they lowered the camera far enough so all you saw was the actor's body going down and no mud.

Bad. Bad. Betcha he was just bending his knees.

Also...don't have the actor/actress bend knees in a lake and tell me that there is quicksand at the bottom. If nothing else...TRY to afford some cork!

Nessie

[Fred588]

I'd re-do the Guns of Darkness scene. There would be two females and a male instead of the reverse and the two principle roles would go to the females and at least one of them would be completely under before ultimately being rescued.

For added drama and action, all three characters would also be under attack during the sinking by some sort of natives, pirates, or other baddies using arrows or blowguns.

Finally, the heroine would lose most or all of her top in the process.

And, if we ever solve the problem of sinking a vehicle in a scene I won't just say what I would film, I'd really do it.

[Duncan Edwards]

I'd redo Guns of Darkness with a busload of cheerleaders.

[Nessie]

I'd redo Guns of Darkness with a busload of cheerleaders.

Is the bus going to be in the quicksand too?

I think it should go down butt-first with its nose in the air...just like a broken ship.

Nessie

[Duncan Edwards]

I'd redo Guns of Darkness with a busload of cheerleaders.

Is the bus going to be in the quicksand too?

I think it should go down butt-first with its nose in the air...just like a broken ship.

Nessie

I thought about that. The heavy engine is up front and all the empty space is in the rear so it would have to sink nose first. Aside from all that the emergency exit is in the rear and we can get lingering shots of them ripping their clothes off as they spill out the door. I've even thought about casting. Kristine has a CDL so we'd get her to be the driver. You want to be a coach or trainer or somebody? I mean, c'mon...we want this to be totally realistic.

[Nessie]

You want to be a coach or trainer or somebody? I mean, c'mon...we want this to be totally realistic.

Who, me?

With...THEM?

Nah. I'm riding the bus with the football team.

Nessie

[dlodoski]

I'd redo Guns of Darkness with a busload of cheerleaders.

And I'll make sure we film it properly. In fact, I've already met the tow truck driver in Canada (another misadventure) that will pull it out when we're done.

Part of the trick is have the body connected to the chassis with explosive bolts. That way, you can pull them out separately.

Now, in the spirit of the topic at hand - which is a good one btw,

I would have filmed When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth exactly the same, but, the sink would have lasted two minutes, instead of six seconds (see Nessie, above).

The gal would have started at knee deep and struggled her brains out. And the guy would have been slowed down by a giant crab or something. The raft actually would have gotten demolished by the tidal wave because the whole end of the movie would have been about that hot babe sinking in the quicksand.

[bbjohn]

All this talk about a bus load of cheerleaders in quicksand. I believe Acid Tester did one of his works featuring that subject. I saw it on Down Under's website. As I recall it, the bus went in nose first. Some of the girls are in the process of going under, others are clinging to the bus or each other, and still others are floundering about. I know I have the picture somewhere, but I'd have to look it up.

As for scenes I'd redo, that would include any scene where a female sinks immediately up to her chest or neck. A slow sink where she goes in gradually always works better for me.

Big Bad John