Quicksand Fans

Anyone care to share their thoughts on the wearing of long dresses for damsels as they sink? It's not something we see too often and lately I've come to like the idea. Ball gowns? Wedding dresses? Hoop skirts? Any preferences out there?

Duncan Edwards wrote:Anyone care to share their thoughts on the wearing of long dresses for damsels as they sink? It's not something we see too often and lately I've come to like the idea. Ball gowns? Wedding dresses? Hoop skirts? Any preferences out there?

Pretty much in the custom scene category for me. While its cool to look at, its hard for the actress to get back out, its even harder to extract the dress itself, the dress is very likely to tear in the process, and clean up of the dress is a lot of work. Long dresses are also expensive.

Since I prefer mini/micro skirts or hotpants I would vote against long skirts but I suspect others will disagree

Duncan Edwards wrote:Anyone care to share their thoughts on the wearing of long dresses for damsels as they sink? It's not something we see too often and lately I've come to like the idea. Ball gowns? Wedding dresses? Hoop skirts? Any preferences out there?

There would have to be a strong back story for me to be into it.

Scenes like the one in 'The Pavilion' work pretty well. The whole idea is squarely in the DID realm for me.

I, personally, like long dresses and have used a number of them in my videos (e.g. Quicksand Dress Rehearsal; I'm Gonna Get This Movie; 3 Drunks). But then, I really like my damsels "dressed to the hilt" as the saying goes.

However, like Fred said, they become super heavy when covered and saturated with mud. It is much more difficult getting the model out when she is wearing such attire, and, of course, that is a safety issue.

Another issue is that some types of gowns have a tendency to float - that is, bunch up around the model as she sinks. That is one reason I have yet to do a ball-gown or wedding-gown scene.

A muddy dress, clinging to the model's body, can be quite a sexy look - I've got a few photos of that type of scene taken after we finished a video. That is one benefit.

Color contrast with such attire can also be nice. The dress Iris Sekhmet wore in 3 Drunks contrasted nicely with the dark color of the mud. From a photographer's standpoint, such contrast is welcomed.

Some random thoughts...

Mike

Fred588 wrote:... its hard for the actress to get back out...

I think that's become part of the attraction for me. Makes it as difficult as possible. Causes me wonder if it's more of a "look" for some people or the added struggle is the main attraction. Kind of like dragging a ball and chain.

It would depend on the context in the storyline.

Some of my fav film scenes involved long dresses, such as Hound of the Baskervilles (1959), The Moonstone and the like. Granted, they were period pieces, but they work.

If someone wanted to use something more like a wedding dress, there should be some logic to her attire, at least for it to work for me. We could have a bride who gets cold feet, runs from the church or private manor where the ceremony is being held, ends up in a bog, and is rescued by her future husband.

Or, in the horror tradition, she could be a murdered bride come back to haunt the woman who sought to replace her, cornering the bad girl and gradually forcing her into the mire, following her in afterwards, where they both sink from sight. Pushing this further, the ghost bride could show up on the wedding night, chasing the bad girl out of bed (and in whatever state of undress she is in) and into the nearby handy bog, thus saving her man from the harm of being married to someone who killed the first bride, and likely plan to do away with the husband for his money. The new husband, of course, is blissfully ignorant of this, as he is in the washroom brushing his teeth at the time... (and conveniently off camera...)

That's my two cents...

Duncan Edwards wrote:

Fred588 wrote:... its hard for the actress to get back out...

I think that's become part of the attraction for me. Makes it as difficult as possible. Causes me wonder if it's more of a "look" for some people or the added struggle is the main attraction. Kind of like dragging a ball and chain.

That part is also usually after the scene is over so can be observed only by the crew. You might recall a clay scene done in a long dress by Kristine, way back when. As strong as Kristine was, and I presume is, she could not get out of the pit with the dress still on. I rescued the dress the next day and it took more than an hour to do so. I still have it here somewhere, I think.

yeh ive sunk in a long skirt n i cudnt believe how heavy it got whn all wet n muddy! id go for a dress of v. lite material tht mebbe gets a lil sheer whn wet

Duncan Edwards wrote:...Ball gowns? Wedding dresses? Hoop skirts?...

Yes.