CHEMISTRY OF

SPECIAL EFFECTS
IN FILMS
Most common
SFXs
1. Fake snow
2. Flame
3. Fire Retardant Gel
 Fake Snow
● Chemists have come up with many
https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/mov
ways to make fake snows from
ies/g1092/snow-job-how-hollywood-fakes-winte
different materials, including paper, r-on-film/

rice or potato starch, plastics, foam,

and Epsom salts (magnesium
sulfate).
● Salt and flour were used in lieu of
snow, and the resulting snowscape
was surprisingly convincing on film.
One example is this Charlie
Chaplin’s film tiled Gold Rush.
 Variations of fake snow

● Snow is one of the hardest natural

substances to mimic.
● Snow Business has come up with a
product made out of polymer
● A substance similar to the one found
in disposable diapers.
● It can absorb up to 300 times its mass
 Sodium Polyacrylate + Water Reaction

Sodium Polyacrylate transforms from a

dry solid to a gel.

Steps:

1. Na atoms linked to O atoms.

2. Link between Na and O broken when
dissolved in water.
3. Na’s absence from polymer chain
makes carboxyl molecules (COO-) in
the polymer chain negatively
charged.
Processes: Real Snow vs. Fake Snow
 FLAMES

- Four components: Fuel, oxygen, heat and chemical reactions.

- The fuel/oxidant mixture, which is commonly propane and air, may be mixed

with small amounts of other fuels that add soot and colour to its clean flame.

- Propane is a hydrocarbon. It can last as long as we need it to.

 Chemical Process: Combustion of Propane
C3H8+5O2(g) → 3CO2(g)+4H2O(g) and Energy

Propane + Oxygen Carbon Dioxide and Water and Energy

Propane is a liquid in its compressed form. When it is

released, it is immediately vaporized and dissipates into
the air,
● Colourless
● Odourless
● Non-toxic
1- The carbon in the hydrocarbon propane, oxidizes with
oxygen to produce carbon dioxide.
2- The hydrogen oxidizes to produce water vapour.
 Burning Houses in movies

● In movies, we do not use a real

house
● We use a fake house made out of
non-flammable material like metals.
● So what really is burning is not the
fake house.
● the “flame projector” consists of a
vertical tube connected to a supply
of combustible gas ignited with an
electric match.

10:00 - 10:50
 Fire Retardant Gel

● 2:00 -3:00
References

“My Site.” Combustion of Propane, combustionofpropane.weebly.com/.

“Equation For Combustion Of Propane.” Propane Lewis Structure, 8 Aug. 2017,

propanehikagin.blogspot.com/2017/08/equation-for-combustion-of-propane.html.