How do you do special effects for Willy Wonka And the Chocolate Factory?
Fabric is about the best way to do the chocolate river – stretched from one side of the stage to the other with two crew members moving it to make it ripple. I don’t have any suggestions for the blueberry part, I’m afraid! When it comes to making Grandpa Joe and Charlie float, the one thing I want to stress is that you must not try and fly them yourselves. There are specialist companies which will come in and rig up a system so that people can be flown, but they don’t come cheap because they know exactly what they’re doing and take safety as their highest priority – and they’re the ONLY people that should ever fly a person. With clever lighting, hidden ladders and a bubble machine, you can make the audience believe that they are flying – think about how to make them look where you want them to look.
