The Use of Hands

[PM2K]

Back again starting another discussion thread on how quicksand scenes go down, so to speak.

The use of hands in scenes is another aspect of this genre which is classic... like the bubbles on the surface as a finale, struggling, and trying to use vines to escape.

Clawing at the thick mire in an effort to escape is a good one... waving and stretching to try and grasp a branch another... you get the idea. The hand waving goodbye as it slips under is a qs cliche, well received.

I'm trying to get an idea of what the community thinks about this. For me, using her hands to claw frantically at the sands or bog holding our trapped heroine adds to the emotion of the scene, telling as much as her wild cries for help how desperate her plight is. Struggling to grasp at anything to use to haul herself out is great in this regard too. I particularly like grasping at grass, reeds or branches and having them snap or rip free, causing our victim to slip backward into the slime, another hope extinguished.

Once she is slipping under, hands become a mixed bag sometimes in scenes. Having her head vanish and the hand staying above for a moment, fingers splayed, then slowly slipping under, or just clench at the surface before vanishing remains a classic for me. Having her arm and hand whip around rapidly like a flapping wing doesn't, as to me, the bog/qs has squeezed her form so much, she'd lack the energy to do that. But again, that's just me.

So, anyone else have any ideas of hand scenes, or the use of hands in scenes?

[Duncan Edwards]

This has always been a big deal for me. Personal faves are after the victim has gone under and still continues to put up a fight with whatever remains above the surface. You never see anyone drowning that just sits there without making some serious effort to grab at anything. There are exceptions of course for certain situations like bondage or erotic scenes but drama virtually requires some of what you are discussing. Some may have noticed increased activity in this area with recent offerings and there is more out there. The nature of studio scenes makes this difficult but there are ways to get around it and producers are learning. I feel confident you will see the envelope around sinking activity continue to expand.

[Fred588]

My earliest memory of a quicksand scene involves such. Although I have never been able to identify the source of that scene I can both limit what the source has to have been and describe it vividly. I was probably about 7 to 9 years old, and saw the scene on television as some sort of trailer for a movie that most likely was circulating in theaters at the time. If I was 7 the year was 1957, so the movie would have to be from that year or earlier. The clip consisted of three scene cuts. First, a woman was retreating backwards, in terror of some sort of creature (this was the fifties) and then she falls backwards into the quicksand. Then there was a cut to the creature, but, of course, I remember nothing of that. Finally there was a brief shot of the woman's arms. She has gone under except for her arms. Her arms alternately rise up and down, with the arms mostly extended straight up, palms open. The arm movement is alternately up and down, which of course is not at all realistic. Its more like a movement one might do in an erotic dance, such as one involving a lateral hip movement as in a very slow hula. I remember (I think) the mud as having quite a bit of undulating movement but it was definitely not water.

In filming scenes we have made a number of attempts to re-produce this. We have had some success but not of the complete variety. The two-hands-in-the-air, vertical submersion has been done a number of times, as has the subsequent arm-sink. I don't think we have yet accomplished the alternate arm movement. I think the reason we have not yet been able to do that is that to do it, the actress has to be genuinely vertical with her head a good six inches below the surface, and that is not at all easy to accomplish except in cork.

[water_bug_62208]

For me, I like it when the damsel uses her hands to grab at one leg then the other and try to pull them free. This shows the powerful grip the quicksand has around her legs.

I also like it when the damsel's hands are clinched to demonstrate the powerful effort she's putting forth to get free of the mire.

And, I like it when the damsel uses her hands to grab a vine, a tree limb, or some cattail to help pull herself out of the goo then suddenly have these items snap in two and allowing her to be sucked back in.

[mudmaiden]

My favorite use of hands is when the girl uses hands and arms to press down into the muck, trying to push her way out. I like seeing those arms just go into the mud,she lifts up just enough and then sinks back in. Makes struggling futile and exciting!

[gvsqsre1]

my favorite use of hands involves 2 women. One women tries to stretch her hand out to grab the other woman's hand, that is also stretching out. I suppose that's why i love rescue scenes so much. Go figure!

[jack c]

I have always found it effective and interesting when the heroine has only reeds, or grass, or vines to grab at. Of course, she does so, but they just pull away and she still sinks. Secondly, I agree with the staple point where, at her waist, she pushes down with both hands, and they go right through and under. Clawing at chest deep is a third good effect. This is why I like "Tarzan's Hidden Jungle" as the best scene. It is hokey, and she really isn't sinking deeper for most of the last portion, but she does all three of these hand motions, plus grabbing her knees when she first plunges. Good thread to post.

[PM2K]

Thanks for the discussion so far... most interesting. I see everyone here has similar views on hands in qs scenes.
One cool thing to note is a nice use of hands in that German documentary on bogs and their victims... over at this thread...

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=6137

In the recreation, shortly after the unfortunate lady disappears, her hand kind of claws at the dark mud a bit before slipping under. A nice touch, I thought.

[spunkee311]

Great thread.

I'm very practical. I would love to see the models hands and arms to be down by their side in the quicksand as they are sinking. A lot of the times, some actresses flare their arms about and it gets distracting.
I would love to see more of this because their are really only a handful of scenes where the actress does this.

[Viridian]

I'm personally not one for too much flailing around. While it does convey a sense of panic, I find that a lot of actresses/models exaggerate that feeling too much. Clawing and reaching is a great way to set the atmosphere, but it's easy to over-act.

I find a calm approach to be more tantalising -- using the hands/arms for balance, probing the surface, gently feeling around. It's much slower and shows a steadier thought processs -- all of which makes the scene more alluring, as being calm often doesn't stop the victim from sinking in any way!