The Walking Dead Fire Lake Wasn't CGI
looking visuals on TV.Daryl and Glenn fill a lake with gasoline - but the problem is, that actual [...]
In an explosive moment on the mid-season premiere of The Walking Dead, Daryl used an RPG to make his point - and it seemed to set a lake on fire. Well, that wasn't CGI, it was another old school practical effect from a crew that has made a career out of some of the coolest (and most disgusting) looking visuals on TV.
Daryl and Glenn fill a lake with gasoline - but the problem is, that actual lake was near real houses with real people living in them, so the consequences could have been dire.
In a featurette on the effect, AMC producers and SFX supervisors described how they created the effect. Using pontoons full of propane, SFX Supervisor Darrel Pritchett gave them a start for the fire.
"You're actually firing this weapon, and using real fire in the lake? I love doing stuff like that, you know?" said actor Norman Reedus. "You can actually feel the heat!"
Likewise, the walkers who walked toward flames had to have layers of additional safety equipment.
"We're all dorks that want to see this show be the best that it can, so we all huddle around the monitors to see the explosion," Steven Yeun said, "and we go, 'Woah! That's awesome!'"
The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9pm on AMC.
