Invisible Rope or Fishing Line (Body Weight)

New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.

Hi All,

Not your average gear request. Maybe one for any keen Anglers??

Looking for recommendations for strong thin line for a short video challenge where I want to fake a levitation. I'll be approx 30-50cm off the ground and can connect to stronger climber gear out of shot. So probably need a length of 3m or so. Will film in lower light to aid the illusion.

Any recommendations? I'm 80kg so probably looking for a minimum 150kg rating even at this really low height.

I need it by Saturday and not looking to spend a lot of money so looking to order today...

Thanks!!!

 Clarence 27 May 2020
In reply to Sandstone Stickman:

You are talking about big game fishing at that size so I have never tried it but you can get 300lb Spectra Braid from Amazon for about a tenner.

Edited to add - I wouldn't trust my life to it though! Should be OK if you are not too far off the floor.

Post edited at 10:43
In reply to Clarence:

Thanks, I'll look that up. Now thinking it could be 75kg mbs as can double up two lines. Looking at attaching to hips on either side so can rotate forward on hip axis.

Yes, will be operating at very very low height. The idea is a spoof comedy version similar to the classic mission imposible scene where he's on a wire just above the floor.

 Toerag 27 May 2020
In reply to Sandstone Stickman:

OK, so you have traditional monofilament fishing line which is available in 'clear' at heavy breaking strains. It's nylon so stretches to absorb shocks.  It's sold in the UK as 'commercial mono' as it's used by commercial fishermen for longline traces. Cheap as chips.

https://www.uk-hooks.com/details.php?selected=214

It is thick though, and may well show up on video, especially if the light catches it.

  Alternatively, you could try modern braided line (essentially dyneema) which is like cotton. This is much thinner, but less shock tolerant.  Available in all sorts of colours, but is expensive and you can't buy short lengths.  It is hard/impossible to find in 150lb breaking strain in the UK, but you could just double/triple up lighter strains.  Braid can be unreliable with the odd spool being mysteriously weak in certain brands, but PowerPro is good:-

https://www.veals.co.uk/acatalog/power-pro-braid-1570.html#SID=10

The choice of dark colours and lack of reflectivity might be useful for your project.  Give your local tackle shop a call to see what they have if it's open.  Braid needs special knots as it's so slippery, but an 8-turn uni knot with a round turn around whatever you're attaching it to should be fine. It also cuts soft things like a cheesewire under tension as it's so thin.  Don't get Fireline as it's very thick.

 artif 27 May 2020
In reply to Sandstone Stickman:

Another option for braided lines is Kite lines

https://www.kiteworld.co.uk/acatalog/Quality_Kite_Line_On_Ring_Spool.html

In reply to Toerag:

Thanks for the info, really useful, especially the knot recommendation which is something I was aware of but yet to research.

Local tackle shop had some 60lb nylon so will double it up and see how I get on. I'll report back

In reply to artif:

Thanks - Good tip, if plan A fails I'll try that. Got a mate with a few big kites so that could be a lead

 Toerag 27 May 2020
In reply to Sandstone Stickman:

https://www.animatedknots.com/uni-knot shows it well.  Moisten it with spit before pulling it into form (pull both the tag and other end at the same time ideally).  It's actually the only knot you need to know for fishing as you can do everything with it (unless you need to join braid to mono, in which case there are better leader knots). You'll be fine with a 4 turn uni in your 60lb mono, but a round turn is always a good idea (unless what you're tying onto is a tiny diameter).

In reply to Toerag:

Thanks! Did some testing last night and 4 strands held me but snapped with a bit of a bounce, Loud Bang!! Going to go for 6 or 8 strands next time using just two knots and running a continuous length back and forth to minimise knotting (and reducing strength).

So, it turns out, hanging in a harness and performing a forward roll to get in a horizontal position is really hard work! I'm using chain links threaded on the waist belt to attach to, so line is on my hips. Harness is hidden under my clothes, now adding extra padding! Have underestimated this!!

 nufkin 28 May 2020
In reply to Sandstone Stickman:

Might be academic by this point, but would greenscreen principles be any good for you? I'm not sure about the software for it, but I understand it's considerably automated as long as you're careful with the colour

 Frank R. 28 May 2020
In reply to Sandstone Stickman:

PP. Post-production

You might even learn some valuable skills, and plenty of editing software got tracking, object removal and stuff like that. I think you could do it (and somewhat automated, with tracking, not just painting them out frame by frame) even with Photoshop or the free version of DaVinci Resolve (IIRC even the free version has Fusion?). Learning something like Nuke would be a huge skill bonus, but probably quite overkill for a fun project  Any wires or "fishing lines" would quite probably need removal in PP anyway, unless black on black background. "Transparent" lines even more so, since these would probably catch light and reflect/refract like crazy.

Post edited at 19:06
 Iamgregp 29 May 2020
In reply to Sandstone Stickman:

I love that mission impossible scene where the french guy starts sweating with the effort of holding all of Tom Cruise's weight on the pulley system they rigged, then that rat turns up...

If only belay devices had been invented back in 1996?! 

 jezb1 29 May 2020
In reply to Sandstone Stickman:

As others have said too, post production. Easy enough if it’s fairly static, more time consuming if there’s much movement.

 muppetfilter 29 May 2020
In reply to Sandstone Stickman:

Black paracord with a black background will work well, you can get 3/4mm paracord with a swl of around 300kg

 Reach>Talent 30 May 2020
In reply to Frank R.:

Would OBS do it, that is free and has green screen type functionality as far as I am aware?

 deepsoup 30 May 2020
In reply to muppetfilter:

> Black paracord with a black background will work well, you can get 3/4mm paracord with a swl of around 300kg

You mean a minimum breaking load of around 300kg presumably? 
(If you know where to get 4mm cord about 5x stronger than that, please do tell!)

 Toerag 30 May 2020
In reply to deepsoup:

> You mean a minimum breaking load of around 300kg presumably? 

> (If you know where to get 4mm cord about 5x stronger than that, please do tell!)


The first link that comes up when you google '4mm dyneema' has a breaking strain of 1500kg.......

https://www.sailingchandlery.com/products/4mm-dyneema-sk78-rope

Post edited at 22:57
 deepsoup 31 May 2020
In reply to Toerag:

Blimey, so it does.  (I was thinking paracord, which typically has a breaking strain of around 250kg.)

 Frank R. 31 May 2020
In reply to Reach>Talent:

> Would OBS do it, that is free and has green screen type functionality as far as I am aware?

I don't think it has any VFX tools, just a basic greenscreen (isn't it for broadcasting?), but frankly, I don't know. 

 tehmarks 01 Jun 2020
In reply to Sandstone Stickman:

From the world of live theatre, where we don't have the ability to chroma key or 'fix it in post' - lighting is a significant factor in making performer flying 'magical' believable. If you are doing it in an environment where you can control the lighting, that will be just as important as the method of suspension if it needs to be done live.

Set design is another huge factor - if you can control the background and the lighting, then I suspect you could easily get away without using 'invisible' line.

 Blue Straggler 01 Jun 2020
In reply to tehmarks:

Wahey you're back! In case you missed it, look at all the trouble I got into thanks to you (absolutely no wrongdoing on your part! Just initially me being a bit of a git, and most of UKC accusing me of being a far greater git than I was). But this became a mini-epic
https://www.ukhillwalking.com/forums/off_belay/im_out-717343?v=1#x9155638

Post edited at 19:14
 tehmarks 01 Jun 2020
In reply to Blue Straggler:

Well, that's the first time I've read that thread since I posted it. Epic. Brilliant.

I never said I was off permanently - just until sanity prevails. Though sanity in this instance is probably helped by ruthlessly hiding every non-climbing-related forum with zero intention of ever switching them back on. Seems like a slight improvement over switching every forum off. I only really switched it all on to see if there were any posts about overcrowding or issues at crags - but I can't help it, people have interesting problems...

I meant it sincerely though - no melodrama intended, and no stress whatsoever on my part - I think it's important to call out shit behaviour when you see it, and virtually every thread I opened led to despair at the attitude contained within. Who'd have thought it could possibly get worse than three years of Brexit arguments?

For what it's worth, I quite like your clever double-entendre. But I think you'll find it's Monday.

 Blue Straggler 01 Jun 2020
In reply to tehmarks:

Cheers! Yes I knew you weren’t leaving “forever”, I just clearly wrongly assumed you’d be back really quickly, not that I know you or your posting habits but just based on every other “flounce” I’ve seen 😃 but it was like a mini civil war that thread !

 GHawksworth 02 Jun 2020
In reply to Sandstone Stickman:

How did it go? Can we see the results?


New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
Loading Notifications...