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We met a wonderful group of stunt performers a few weeks ago. They were let loose with the safe Air Squib for a few hours testing the unit in a typical stunt environment. These rigs and “gags” are what they came up with in a single afternoon. Imagine what effects you can do in your action production creating simulated bullet hit effects…

No garments were damaged during the filming of this sequence, and no explosives licenses were needed.

The Air Squib is primarily used on actors’ garments creating a hit effect. But it is also possible to rig it so that it shoots the stage blood on the inside of a glass. This effect will look gruesome as the drops trail down the glass in an ominous way. From a visual standpoint, the red splosh is also quite visible even after the actor is “out of the picture” (pun intended!)

Remember, timing the effect is easy as the radio control allows perfect timing while the technician looks at the monitor. This way, the actor is never really certain when the effect will happen, making certain the reaction does not come before the hit appears.

A quick overview of the safe Air Squib system used for simulating bullet hit effects in actors and sceneries without needing a licence. Describes the typical advantages of using the Air Squib if you are in special effects for film, TV- or stage productions, or if you are planning live-action training scenarios.

In a case like this, where the actor’s shirt is red, it makes it less easy to see the red stage blood hit. I suggest you rig the hit using talcum powder, and this will pass between the fibres of a thin shirt, still making it look like a bullet struck the actor. As when rigging a “blood hit” it is just as easy to wash the shirt and re-use it. In other words, the shirt is not damaged.

A quick video showing how easy it is to add a simulated bullet hit effect – a safe Air Squib. I rigged this on myself in only a few minutes.

Si en tus películas trabajas con efectos físicos, de maquillaje… o con escenarios de entrenamiento realistas, seguramente estarás familiarizado con la simulación de efectos de impacto de bala en actores, en paredes, o en el suelo.

A lightning-fast explainer video on what the safe Air Squib is all about.

No matter how exhausted you are, rigging the safe Air Squib is still so quick and so easy. Check out this quick video.

When rigging bullet hit effects, you are often left with tubings not completely empty of stage blood. This is a quick tip from one Air Squib user on how to clean the tubings on the inside, not using your lungs. Clever!

A vast majority of the Air Squib hits we rig are in the upper body or back. However, the Air Squib makes it easy to rig a hit in any part of the body with a garment on. This is an example of a hit in an ankle and is really easy to rig. And did we mention; no licenses?