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Welcome
to the Sick
Individual Productions
“Blood
Effects page”. |
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This
page and discussed techniques therein are dedicated to the
greatest character actor and make-up artist that film has
ever seen, Lon Chaney Snr. We owe him, his techniques, his
dedication and movies so much, and never has such a man
influenced so many filmmakers and effects people. |
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Now to the actual
blood effects themselves.
Sick Individual
Productions
has aimed to produce effects for as little money as possible,
this is because we have "as little money as possible!" This is
the
Sick Individual
Productions
way. To solve this I have developed as much as I can from as
little as I could. The recipes below contain mostly what you may
find in your common kitchen cupboard or pantry. They can also be
easily purchased from most convenience stores or supermarkets. |
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Blood Recipes
& Tips
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SIP
Preferred Blood Recipe:
This is the
blood recipe that the technical effects department and I
prefer to use in our productions, and is cheap and very easy
to make.
Instructions:
Golden Syrup, Maple Syrup or Honey
Red Food Dye
Warm Water
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Pour syrup
into your container (I prefer a larger empty plastic
soft drink bottle).
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Add the
warm water, put the cap and the bottle and shake to mix
the quantities well.
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Now simply
add the red food dye. Adjust the consistencies of syrup,
water and
colouring to suit your needs and taste. Sometimes a tiny
bit of green or blue food dye is also added to
manipulate the solid red colour that is produced.
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This
is the most common blood recipe that I employ. The
texture is very sticky and this helps it
cling to the actor really well and it can show a
very good congealed effect if applied thickly and
let to dry for a short time. The
good points about it are that it is edible and some
actors actually love the taste, and secondly I have
found it fairly easy to wash out of clothes and
costumes. You can add blue or green food dye into
the mixture to alter the tone of the fake blood if
you are after a more arterial colour effect. I have
known people to use the same recipe as above but to
substitute the water with smooth peanut butter. |
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Bulk Blood
Recipes:
Other than
expanding the quantity of ingredients of the above recipe,
below are 2 ways of making inexpensive and easy bulk blood.
This is
a good recipe for a large quantity of blood. It is
very easy and fast to make. It effectively makes a
very slimy blood with a slight foamy consistency to
it if shaken.
Instructions:
1 Bucket
Red Food Dye
Bottle of Cheapest Dishwashing Detergent
(and I mean cheap!)
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Pour
the detergent into the bucket.
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Add
the red food dye to the colouring that you
desire.
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Produces a nice smelling and mildly clothed
staining blood,
but
is easily washed out if attended to quickly. I
would only recommend it for external use though,
as it tastes rather ordinary and probably would
not digest very well. Also may sting the eyes.
But for a cheap alternative it works a charm.
Good for big splatters and pools of gore.
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Another
method of making blood in bulk is to use a jelly
crystal recipe.
Instructions:
Packet of Red Jelly
Crystals
Red Food Dye
Green Food Dye
(optional)
Water (amount dependant on desired
consistency)
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Add the jelly crystals to the bucket.
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Add the at least a couple of litres of
water.
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Add the food dyes according to the look you
are after.
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This creates a very thin, runny and
inexpensive bucket of bulk blood. |
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Another
method I have seen used out on set is too simply buy
a 4 litre bottle of tomato sauce and mix up with
water in a bucket to get the desired effect. An
example of this is shown to the left.
Lastly
you could simply make the “SIP Preferred Blood
Recipe” as stated above and add more water to the
mixture to thin it out. |
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Chocolate
Blood:
This is a very
nice and thick fake blood that tastes rather scrumptious even if I
do say myself!
Instructions:
˝ Cup of Water
1 Tablespoon of Cocoa Powder
3 or 4 Teaspoons of Golden Syrup, Maple Syrup or
Honey
Red Food
Dye
Blue, Green, Yellow Food
Dye
(optional - depends on personal colour
preference)
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Mix the cocoa powder thoroughly into
the water making sure there are no
lumps. I prefer using warm water
during this process.
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Now simply add the thickener and
food dye into the concoction mix
well and wait for it to settle.
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Once settled, skim the scum and
bubbly material from the top of the
mixture either by gently pouring it
into another bowl or by using the
edge of a tissue.
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This blood
can be easily consumed by an actor and will nicely trickle
from their mouth if employed to. Chocolate blood will also
set upon the skin and thicken to a congealed manner. It is
also very effective upon clothing and props. |
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Flour Based
Blood:
This
is also a very easy way to make an edible style
of fake blood.
Instructions:
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1 to 1 ˝ Tablespoons of Plain Flour
Water
Red Food Dye
Green Food Dye (optional)
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Add the plain
flour into a bowl
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Mix in the
desired amount of water to get the texture
you require. Mix well and try to get all the
lumps out.
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Bring the
mixture to boil and then simmer for roughly
˝ hour, then letting it cool.
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Then simply
add the red food colouring and some green if
you wish.
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This is a
very organic style of fake blood.
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Basic Blood
Capsules:
This is an
extremely easy way to construct blood capsules that a lot of
people like to use in action films.
Instructions:
Fake Blood
(any type that is edible)
Eyedropper (extremely handy)
Empty Gelatine or Vitamin Capsules (in the
case of a vitamin capsule, simply pull apart and
empty the contents)
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Open the
empty capsule and have it ready for action.
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Fill your
eyedropper or such like with fake blood.
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Gently
squeeze the fake blood into the bottom half
portion of the capsule.
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Now simply
and gently twist on the top half of the
capsule, and there you go, one easy to make
and use blood capsule.
Steps at
Shooting Time:
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Place the capsule into your mouth not long
before use, this is because the capsule will
melt in your saliva after a relatively short
time.
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Bite down on the capsule when you wish the
effect to take place.
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Let the blood trickle from the mouth or spit
out when hit.
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This is an extremely popular and easy to achieve
Hollywood movie effect. The capsule effect is
very handy as it usually lets the actor talk and
interact per normal throughout the shot or scene
without giving the effect away.
One
other way to produce a mouthful of blood is to
simply fill you mouth with fake blood, but make
sure that the cheeks are not puffed out as if
bloated. The actor then lets the blood trickle
and escape under his own control. You could also soak a small sponge with
fake blood and place it under your tongue, then
when you wish for the blood to release simply
squeeze down on the sponge and the blood will
flow. Produces a very nice dribble or spray
effect depending on what you are doing at the
time. |
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Another easy way to produce a dried blood effect is
to simply get a portion of red stage makeup and a
portion of black stage makeup. Mix the 2 quantities
roughly 1/3 red and 2/3 black, then with a small
paintbrush draw or dab on associated trickles or old
wounds.
To also
achieve this gelled blood effect you can simply add
some pre made red jelly to the inside or outside of
the wound and apply some fake blood or make up over
and around it. Gives a nice congealed look. Blood
does congeal very fast out in the open and forms a
jelly like consistency. Looks nice in small
quantities for a clotting feel, especially with
thick, dark blood or make-up. Set
jelly covered in a thick fake blood recipe also
gives a very good mass congealed blood effect. |
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Black and White Blood:
An easy
way to make a blood effect for a black and white
film is to simply use any form of chocolate syrup
that you can get your hands on. You can alter its
consistencies to get the desired tone and thickness
that you require. No need to colour it as no colour
is seen! Hitchcock used this effect in several
movies. Simply paste, pour, paint, spray or smear it
on the areas you want effected. |
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Scab Effects:
A
very simply way of constructing a scab is to use
a 50/50 mixture of water and powdered gelatine.
Instructions:
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Powdered Gelatine (unflavoured is better)
Water
Red & Black Makeup/Fake Blood
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Mix ingredients thoroughly
together over a very low heat, being careful
to not let it boil.
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Let it cool a fraction to a
temperature that is safe and smear it over
the area that you want affected. Swift work
is needed here because generally the mix
will harden really quickly and will loose
its stickiness.
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Once on you can easily work
some red and black makeup and some fake
blood into it. This produces a nice, thick
and crumbly scabby effect.
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The set
gelatine will melt if exposed to hot temperatures or out
in the sun, but sometimes this adds to the overall
effect.
You can also
add some breakfast cereal (oatmeal, cornflakes etc) onto
the scab while it is still sticky. This adds a nice and
disgusting flaky appearance to the effect, which can
then be coloured over. Cereal added in also gives the
effect a terrific textural feel. |
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Don't let the gelatine boil because then
you'll have bubbles in the final product.
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You can speed up the drying of scabs using a
hair dryer, and moulds by sticking them in
the fridge.
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Gelatine will melt in the hot sun.
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Fake Blood
Vessels:
Some gore fans
love to make and use effective techniques to make there
special effects look more realistic and complete. To help
with these fake blood vessels can be easily made. For the
gore experts out there the recipe can be easily adapted to
make Veins (blue), Arteries (red) or Capillaries (purple).
Instructions:
Boiled String Type Spaghetti
Red Food Dye
Blue Food Dye
Purple Food Dye
Liquid Laundry Detergent
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Pour the
desired colour of food colouring for the
blood vessel that you wish to make into an
easily washed bowl.
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Add
the required amount of boiled spaghetti to
the bowl and allow them to soak for a good
10 minutes.
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Add a few
drops of detergent to the mixture to help
seal in the colour and add a slimy feel to
it.
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Because of the detergent, oral use is not
recommended but simply removing the detergent will
enable this to be a safe option. These vessels can be
easily incorporated into other gore effects
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Blood Bags:
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Blood
bags can be made in a variety of ways. A simple way
is to simply use a zip lock lunch bag to hold the
blood in and then squeeze it firmly to release the
gore. You can do this by holding it in your hand
and squeezing over the wound in a fast manner or by
concealing it in the costume and striking it hard
to make it break its seal. Making these actions
very rapid is quite a convincing effect and has been used
extensively in the Kung Fu movie genre.
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For under costumes some people also like
to use condoms that can be pierced or
torn during the action releasing fake
blood very effectively.
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One other
tried and tested way is to fill a finger cut from a
latex glove, fill it about ˝ full with fake blood. Now
simply twist or fold the open end and tie it off with
wire, cotton or a paperclip. This method can be easy
concealed in the palm or a pocket, and swiftly executed
when needed. |
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General Fake
Blood Tips:
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Make blood as close to the point of the shoot as
possible, especially if it may be internally
consumed.
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Always try to avoid any contact with the eyes
with any effect.
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If you are worried about staining then try not
to let the blood effect dry on what is being
worn. Soak and wash ASAP.
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Do not consume any recipe that is toxic!
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