A scene with broken glass or a broken window pane? There are clever ways to do it.
Film production really hides a lot of secrets that can amaze even the biggest movie buffs. Although people are becoming increasingly aware of how certain dangerous or life-threatening scenes are created or recorded, some of the directors’ secrets are still inaccessible to the ordinary viewer.
Usually, specially trained stuntmen are available on set to do the so-called “dirty work” so as not to endanger the actors’ health or lives. However, some situations, such as playing with glass, are dangerous for everyone, and sometimes it is simply easy to have an unplanned accident. That’s why there are alternatives to these types of props.
How to safely record a scene with glass?
It is known that playing with glass is dangerous and sometimes it is really easy to have a simple mishap, especially if the glass is broken. However, in the movies we still see plenty of scenes in which someone easily throws a glass bottle at someone or escapes through a window, thus breaking the glass. In such situations, even stuntmen are at risk of great injury, so what can be done to maximize their safety on set?
Props and objects designed to mimic broken glass come to the rescue. Sometimes it’s just silicone or a simple gel compound that looks like broken glass. An actor who falls on it or comes into contact with it in any other way is completely safe and will not be injured.
Source: https://www.tiktok.com/@elise.m0v/video/7209374178795998507
Other times it is imitation glass made from so-called sugar glass or candy glass, a sugar mixture that is also completely safe to use.
Source: https://www.tiktok.com/@meganprops/video/6961888803296431365
Of course, on set, there are also sometimes props of glass things that do not break, such as bottles made of silicone or plastic. Then all the magic is handled by editors. Ways to record individual film scenes are really a whole bunch, and some ideas are so creative that it’s hard to think of them at all.