Page 1 of 2

Dungeoneers falling to their death

Posted: 23 Apr 2004, 16:32
by bill
Apologies if this has been covered before, but how did the programme makers get dungeoneers to look like they were falling when they stepped off a ledge etc. to their death? Obviously, they weren't falling but do you think somebody standing slightly out of shot would tell them if they had died and to start flailing their aims about to make it look more convincing???

Re:Dungeoneers falling to their death

Posted: 23 Apr 2004, 17:43
by Drassil
My friend was an advisor on Team 3 of Series 7. When their dungeoneer died on Play Your Cards Right, a member of the production crew shouted 'Jump!' at him, and he had to jump off the stage he was standing on.

Re:Dungeoneers falling to their death

Posted: 23 Apr 2004, 22:42
by Purgatory
of course the really fell off and died.. it was a real dungeon you know ;)

Re:Dungeoneers falling to their death

Posted: 24 Apr 2004, 02:21
by Fear
bill wrote: Apologies if this has been covered before, but how did the programme makers get dungeoneers to look like they were falling when they stepped off a ledge etc. to their death? Obviously, they weren't falling but do you think somebody standing slightly out of shot would tell them if they had died and to start flailing their aims about to make it look more convincing???
makes you think i always thought they may have been stood on say a floor which is rotable & a small drop onto some netting or something.

Re:Dungeoneers falling to their death

Posted: 24 Apr 2004, 02:46
by Elita
Well, in the fatal falls in Series 3, most notably Teams 5 and 6, it looks like they simply took a freeze-frame of the Dungeoneer as he stepped off, and 'dropped' that. (there's prolly a better technical description, but hell if I know what it is) So there wasn't an actual fall at all.

Re:Dungeoneers falling to their death

Posted: 24 Apr 2004, 03:47
by Kieran
Most falls from earlier seasons were simply snap shots of a static dungeoneer, as time passed, technology did, so we had proper dungeoneers.

Re:Dungeoneers falling to their death

Posted: 26 Apr 2004, 13:34
by Snowcat
Check the 'Slowhand' clip and the KM.com page that goes with it. That may help explain what went on.

In fairness, I used to think that they ACTUALLY dropped dungeoneers through the floor as well. Perhaps using a raised blue-screen stage with trapdoors or similar. Sadly, it isn't the case. ;)

death question

Posted: 02 Jan 2009, 02:31
by patrick_bateman
hiya folks, big knightmare fan and thought id join, i have one question.

when a dungeoneer dies do they re-do the scene? im asking as obviously the dungeoneer is in a type of blue or green screen floor space with no pits or holes etc etc but when they fall down a chasm they do a thing with arms and body to replicate the motion of falling.

did a floor manager or producer give them a cue when to do the fall movement etc, its the only logical thing i can think of.

Re:death question

Posted: 02 Jan 2009, 11:28
by HStorm
Welcome aboard.

In the first few seasons they clearly didn't do anything very much at all with falls. The image of the dungeoneer would just be frozen on the spot and it would then 'fall' off the bottom of the screen, which all looked very static and unconvincing.

In later seasons they seemed to add in a flailing arm or two, which I suspect was done in a re-take, but I can't say for sure.

Re:death question

Posted: 02 Jan 2009, 12:38
by Helvellyn
I dimly recall seeing a clip or a photo of what looked like the someone in the production crew showing a dungeoneer what to do for what looked like a fall (the dungeoneer was standing on a blue box). It mades me wonder if "Sidestep to the left" was possibly not quite as bad as it looked.

Re:death question

Posted: 02 Jan 2009, 13:21
by Mystara
When our team falls through the trap door, our dungeoneer is quite clearly seen "falling" in to the next room.

This was done by having our dungeoneer jump from a small (one or two foot high) block of blue wood which was placed on the floor of the blue room.
It was rehearsed for a full half hour before the room was used. However, that may simply have been because they had to do the room in one take :)

My suspicion is that it was added afterwards, if there was time, if the team hadn't stormed off in a sulk and if it was appropriate for the player death.

The ongoing team usually had so much prep (briefings, makeup and so on) there should have been enough time to film any such 'extras'

Re:death question

Posted: 02 Jan 2009, 19:16
by Drassil
With a name like patrick_bateman, I suppose you would be interested in death. ;) Here are some quotations from Knightmare contestants on the subject:
Scott_series_3 wrote: when i died they just said stop ur dead, unsurprisingly i didnt suddenly turn 2D, fold up and flutter down the hole like a piece of paper as the death scene would have u belive :'(
Andrea, Series 5 wrote: We were just figuring out where to go next from the sword, and the screen went blank. We didn't actually know what had happened. They put on the hexagon falling with Jenna afterwards.
Jim wrote: Quote from Andrea on another forum:
(Remember, I thought Sword was a defensive symbol...) What they actually did at that point was cut the screen black (as soon as we went wrong) then started clapping. Later they filmed my sister in the blue room - she had to drop to the ground and fling her arms up in the air. Then they spliced the two bits together so she falls and spins...
deaddungeoneer, a.k.a. Jenna wrote: For my death, I stood in the blue room, someone said one, two, three, and I just had to put both arms in the air and lean to one side! Very exciting!
pixie, a.k.a. Sumayya, Series 6 wrote:I could hear everything through my ear piece, so I heard the Dreadnort/Dreadnaught's (pre-recorded)voice. When it was over they cut the sound to my microphone so anything I said couldn't be transmitted, well I had just died of course. I remember just before it happened one of my advisors shouted, 'Run Sumayya! Run!' Lol! I wish it'd been that simple!
Helvellyn wrote: I dimly recall seeing a clip or a photo of what looked like the someone in the production crew showing a dungeoneer what to do for what looked like a fall (the dungeoneer was standing on a blue box).
Is this what you were recalling?
Helvellyn wrote:It mades me wonder if "Sidestep to the left" was possibly not quite as bad as it looked.
I rate that as a possibility too...
Drassil wrote:We see Simon in the Block & Tackle when the floor falls away, then his advisors and the infamous command, then it cuts back to Simon for the sidestep: Click here to play Spot The Difference...

Re:death question

Posted: 03 Jan 2009, 00:12
by patrick_bateman
thanks for all the info, another thing, where can i buy dvds for knightmare?

Re:death question

Posted: 03 Jan 2009, 01:55
by HStorm

Re:death question

Posted: 04 Jan 2009, 01:27
by patrick_bateman
that sucks, i thought someone would have chucked them all on a dvd, i wanna show my son it. :-[