An air mortar (or debris mortar
) is a device used to create movie
special effects
Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wor ...
, consisting of pressurized air or gas forced through a tube to propel material (dirt, glass,
fake blood
Theatrical blood, stage blood or fake blood is anything used as a substitute for blood in a theatrical or cinematic performance. For example, in the special effects industry, when a director needs to simulate an actor being shot or cut, a wide v ...
) to create a bursting or splattering effect.
A cinema journal from 1941 describes the air mortar as "inaugurated" in the film ''
Caught in the Draft
''Caught in the Draft'' is a 1941 comedy/war film with Bob Hope directed by David Butler.
Plot
Famous Hollywood actor Don Bolton (Hope) is a vain movie star whose biggest fear is to be drafted into the US Army. He definitely lacks the qualities ...
'': "this new development utilizes air blown under pressure through pipes, as well as powder and pyrotechnics, to gain unusual effects."
Other debris mortars may employ
black powder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). Th ...
to launch heavy objects.
References
Special effects
Mortars
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