Why Hollywood explosions don't look like real explosions

Summary by Krater

Tom Scott and a chartered explosives engineer demonstrate how Hollywood films create dramatic, large explosions using minimal actual explosives like Semtex and detonation cord combined with fuel vapor clouds, and how to film the scene to maximize the visual effect safely.

From the video

Answers: How do Hollywood movies make explosions look so big?

• Hollywood explosion special effects
• Semtex plastic explosive
• detonating cord
• fuel vapor cloud explosions
• camera angles and slow motion for explosions

What it concludes

• Hollywood effect uses minimal explosives combined with fuel vapor clouds to create large visible effects.
• Explosive charges in mortar pots must be separated from the steel pot with foam to prevent structural damage.
• Moving the camera back and zooming in creates the illusion that the actor is much closer to the explosion.