Why movie explosions look different to real explosions

[Last Hussar]

https://youtu.be/nqJiWbD08Yw

I'm a big fan of Tom Scott's YouTube stuff. He does multiple different threads of stuff. My personal favourite is "Citation Needed" (bit sweary); there is one of these about the invasion of Fishguard.

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Thats a good un - ta la

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Cooooooooooooooooooool 

[FierceKitty]

I wasn't aware real explosions watched movies.

[Last Hussar]

Can we put him through the kitty flap?

[paulr]

Thanks Last Hussar, well worth a re watch

I enjoy most of Tom's work

[Last Hussar]

This is a fun game.

Not one I'd play with some people here...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FJSI7QTAt_o

[paulr]

That was really interesting, particularly seeing the dynamic change

[Aksu]

Good stuff. Back in the 80s in Film school we had a course "pyrotechnics 1" when we were told how to do this, but never got to practice. Some health and safety thing, we were only given squibs to play with to simulate bullet strikes.
Anyway, the guy who did the effects for 1989 version of "The Winter War" movie told that you get realistic artillery strikes when you dig a hole, put some explosives at the bottom and then half a bag of Thomas slag on top. Apparently it looks the part going up and floating down.
Cheers,
Aksu

[Heedless Horseman]

Many games 'Explosion'/'Strike' markers are wrong. More 'Hollywood'!
Instead of 'Flame'... mainly upward... a 'star' shaped, dust or dark'ish smoke coloured, more horizontal... 'Blast' would be better for most lighter HE/Grenades.
Heavier Arty/bombs... penetrating ground... a more vertical component of dirt.

However, they are only 'representation', same as figs/models are. And they look 'pretty'! You don't see many table representations of 'Shell'/'Shrapnel' airbursts... probably the most common use of Arty, cannonballs apart.

[Last Hussar]

Your average H&M film would look boring if cannonballs merely bounced their way through lines.

[Westmarcher]

Your average H&M film would look boring if cannonballs merely bounced their way through lines.

.. merely?

(thinking of maimed, disembowelled, splattered, exploding human flesh and bone). Perhaps too challenging for the CGI guys (or censors)?

[Last Hussar]

Movies do blood and guts anyway. In long shot it wouldn't be the imagery of a bombardment.

There is a description from a British officer (I think at Waterloo) watching a cannonball get closer, and not ducking so he wouldn't give his men a bad example, and it completely decapitating the file next to him. Cannon balls moved slowly enough you could watch them approach with time to think and react!

[Westmarcher]

Cannon balls moved slowly enough you could watch them approach with time to think and react!

Depends on what point you see it in its flight path, I would imagine (obviously, because I've never been a target of such missiles!). For example, I've read of one instance when a soldier thought one was slow enough he could stop it with his foot but ended up losing a leg. But that makes me think that one was nearing the end of its trajectory. For others (at optimum velocity), I imagine there was time to think but not enough time to react in the way you might think ....

... although, watching this video (apparently shell and not solid shot), I'm even struggling to see the incoming projectile! 

[Heedless Horseman]

Nice find, Westmarcher. I could not see the projectiles at all! I suppose that if one was right on track at long range a cannonball might be visible.

As for 'reaction'... not much time there...maybe enough to drop. But 'time' can 'go funny' sometimes! I remember stupidly falling off a horse at canter...and everything seemed to be 'slo-mo' with plenty of time to think... until I hit the damp sand! LOL!

Some decent shooting there. Makes one wonder if rules may err towards 'randomness' sometimes. Certainly, counter battery fire would have a good chance of success... and against inf/cav...

Initially, was thinking that gun might have been rifled... but no, smoothbore. Scruffy blighters, though... not much polishing done there! lol.

A rolling cannonball might not be moving fast... but will still have a LOT of 'stored energy'... so, no, not a good idea to 'stop' it!

As for movies... 'Gettysburg'  seemed pretty good until Pickett's Charge and the 'trampolining' Rebs!