I'm helping to make a movie that involves a lot blood and guns. Does anyone have any or would be able to find any techniques for how to make it seem like blood is spurting as someone's get shot? Realistic is the key. Something beyond a bag of blood-like substance being broken. Also blood make-up tips would be good, too. I'm especially hoping for Georgia since I bet she knows something.
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12-24-06, 07:12 PM
babthrower
Maybe a balloon of blood-like-substance? The tension in the skin of the balloon might make it spurt when punctured.

Or you could do like Monty Python, and have a skinny person stand behind a fat person and then after the sound of the gunshot, the skinny person blows b-l-s out from behind the area on the F.P.'s body from which the blood, it is hoped, will appear to spurt?

Oh, go celebrate the eve, why don't you?
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12-24-06, 07:17 PM
jusork
I should go out and have fun, but I haven't been working for near long enough to give myself a break already.

Thanks, I'll pass the spurting from the balloon along. Anyone else have anything before Georgia comes in with her bag of tricks?
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12-24-06, 10:37 PM
gizmogram
Funny you should say that Jusork, I was just going to say "Oh I'll bet Georgia could tell you exactly what to do!" Big Grin
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12-24-06, 10:52 PM
Professor
Re the spurting thing:

I don't know how the pros do it, but I'd use a speed-controlled electric roller pump to force the red liquid through plastic tubing. A computer or other device would vary the motor speed to simulate the cardiac cycle.

Or take the balloon idea above, and fashion a reservoir whose external pressure can be controlled, perhaps using compressed air and fluidics, or maybe some kind of hydraulic squeezer.

Now I'm curious about how it's actually done in the movies!
Try FakeBloodSpurtingApparatus.com. Big Grin

Jusork, I think the first question has to be, "What's your budget?"
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12-25-06, 01:46 AM
Professor
Higher-tech? Go the cgi route. From Cheap Special Effects for Your Homemade Videos (buzzle.com)

quote:
A particle effects program allows you to add cartoons on top of your video. With normal animation it could take ages to draw hundreds of pictures, scan them in, line them up etc, but a particle effects program allows you to make animations in a minute! You can draw smoke coming out of your model rocket ship, sparkles on your white teeth, blood spurting out of the bad guy’s neck.

That last phrase seems relevant here.

Lower-tech: Perhaps the ever-versatile turkey baster could be pressed into service. How about a fireplace bellows filled with ketchup?

As for other liquids that look like blood: I used to live near a professional photo supply store in Chicago in the 1970s that displayed a bottle labeled "Technicolor Blood". Smile
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12-25-06, 11:39 PM
jusork
Our budget is definitely small. The club in which we're doing it doesn't even have any money. That link though looks great though. Thanks, Prof.
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01-05-07, 12:11 PM
Georgia85
Yoohoo...I'm here Smile
Justin, do you want to know how to make blood spurt....or how to make blood shoot our from a gun shot wound? Cuz blood spurts from an arterial cut and "explodes" from a gun shot wound...2 entirely different affects. Have you checked out the trailer for "my" movie yet? There is a scene where a zombie gets shot and her affect was done with a balloon filled with blood, tubing and an air compressor. It's basically a cheaper (and safer) version of a squib which is charged off by gun powder.

Blood squirting is done with tubing and a large syringe. I will be glad to get as detailed as you like but will wait to hear back from you.

Oh, and if you need recipes for different types of blood I can help you with that.

P.S. Have fun!
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01-05-07, 10:19 PM
jusork
I'm thinking of blood shooting out of a gun shot wound. The other thing you're refering to is just the sight of blood spurting through the air? Yeah, not that.

I saw your trailer. I think I remember something like that. Yeah, go into plenty of detail. How many recipes do you have? Let's start with two types of blood that you'd recommend. Thanks a bunch, Georgia.
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01-08-07, 09:40 AM
Georgia85
No, I wasn't referring to blood spurting through the air, I was referring to blood spurting from the skin. But I think I know what you want so I'll try to help you.

First thing, recipes:

Easiest & Cheapest one:
Add a few drops of red food coloring to the cheapest dish washing liquid you can find. Add a drop of blue coloring or some coffee to create a more realistic color. Produces a runny blood that has a slight tendency to foam. Great for those bucket of blood effects. Washes off reasonably well, but tastes foul if you accidentally get it in your mouth.

Easy, Cheap, and tastes good[/[b]
Karo Syrup (Light Corn Syrup)
Black-Cherry Kool-Aid (Powder)
Smooth Peanut Butter (check for allergic reaction)

[b]Dick Smith's Blood Formula #1
This is a basic recipe developed by the legendary makeup artist Dick Smith (THE EXORCIST, TAXI DRIVER, LITTLE BIG MAN to name a few). It is fairly easy to make and shows well:
1 Quart White Corn Syrup
1 Level Tsp Zinc Oxide (any laboratory supply)
2 Oz. Red Food Color
5 Tsp Yellow Food Color
2 Oz. Kodak Photo-Flo *Poisonous* (any photo supply store)
2 Oz. Of Water

Mixing Instructions
Put the zinc oxide into a bowl, add an equal amount of water and stir into a paste. Add the food coloring and stir. (If you are not using Ehler's brand yellow, use only one-half the amount indicated). Then add a little of the corn syrup and mix well. Pour into a container that holds more than the final amount (you have to shake it up before use, as it may separate), add the remaining corn syrup and mix well. Then add the amount of water specified and mix again. This will give you blood with a normal consistency. Keep the blood refrigerated when not in use (or it will grow mold) and mix well before use.

MB2 Blood Formula
This recipe comes from Murr Rhame, moderator of the SHOW-FIRE mailing list. It makes a good base for stage blood. Slightly slimy. Fairly low surface tension. Soaks and spreads well.

Flour Base:
1/2 To 2 Level Teaspoons Plain All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Of Water.
1 Oz. Red Food Coloring
1/8 Teaspoon Green Food Coloring

Mix flour into water completely (no lumps) before heating. Bring to boil then simmer for 30 minutes. Stir frequently. Let cool before adding the food color. Stir in any surface scum.

This is both much more realistic and simpler than the old Karo corn syrup, Hershey's chocolate syrup and food coloring based formula. There is no sugar and very little food in the MB2 formula so it is less attractive to insects. The shelf life is fairly short (days) at room temperature. It does not go rank, but ferments a bit and looses viscosity. This formula will temporarily stain skin, but seems to wash out of most cotton cloths.
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01-08-07, 10:37 AM
Georgia85
Body Hits

This method uses the force of compressed air to blast fake blood from a length of tubing and is relatively cheap.

What you'll need...
A pump-up insecticide sprayer.
Garden Hose - experiment with different lengths for different purposes.
Fake Blood
Gaffer Tape
Sponge - You'll need to rip it into little pieces so buy a cheap car sponge.
Plumber's Putty
Old Shirt

Step One - Cut approx. 6 feet from your garden hose. About an inch up from one end make a hole big enough to put your little finger in. This is where the blood will be ejected from.

Step Two – Use the plumber’s putty to clog up the open end of the hose. This will force the blood to fly out of the extra hole instead of the end of the tube.


Step Three - Unscrew the spray nozzle from the insecticide sprayer. Attach the unmodified end of the hose to the empty sprayer. Give the sprayer about 150 pumps. This energy is being stored as pressure and when you push the trigger all the energy will be released at once, blasting the blood out.

Step Four - Pour in about 1 oz of your fake blood to the hole you made at the modified end of the hose. You may need to thin the blood mixture with water. Tear off small pieces of the sponge and stuff it into the hole. Ideally use red sponge as this will fly out when you trigger the sprayer looking like chunks of flesh.

Step Five - If the actor is going to be shot in the chest, make a hole at the back shirt and feed the tube over the actor's shoulder and down to the area that is going to be 'shot'. Tape the tube in place hole you made in the hose facing forwards. If he's being shot in the back, then feed the hose through the front of the shirt.
VERY IMPORTANT
Have the actor get down on his knees and get an assistant to hold the sprayer as high as possible for 30 seconds. This allows the blood to run down and prime the tube. The blood should now all be in the last part of the tube held back by the bits of sponge.

Step Six – Score the shirt with a knife at the place where the bullet is to hit. The hole that you made in the hose should be lined up with the hole in the shirt. Use gaffer tape on the inside of the shirt to close the shirt up.

Step Seven - Have the assistant who will push the plunger of the sprayer out of the camera shot on the ground. Then let 'er rip!

And then this is the method that we used - it's just a tad bit more complicated and a little more expensive:

Flesh Body Hit
Air Compressor
Medical tubing (can use aquarium tubing)
1-Way Valve
Tape
Sponge Latex piece (or prosthetic)
Spirit Gum

Splice the 1-way valve to the tube right above where you will connect it to the air compressor. Fill the top of the tube (above the valve) with blood, strawberry jam, and anything else that is chunky that you want to use to resemble tissue (we used chilli with beans). Run the tube under the pants leg, under shirt, and up to where ever the bullet hit will be. I'll describe for a throat shot. Attach the tube to the collarbone with tape and cover the edge of the tube with the latex piece or prosthetic. You will use the spirit gum to attach the latex. Apply it to clean skin and touch it with your fingertip until it's "tacky" and then apply the latex piece. And as with the shirt in the above set of instructions, you will want to score the latex piece slightly...above where the end of the tube is.

When you are ready to film (suggest no sound) turn on the compressor and you will get a phenomenal burst of blood from the wound. But this method is extremely messy so cover the camera with plastic the best that you can and try to avoid using this method inside. For the shooting scene of the zombies inside, blood was splattered on the ceiling, walls, hallway...it was a mess to clean up!
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01-08-07, 01:56 PM
babthrower
Okay, now how do you simulate the head-spinning-around-on-the-neck thing?
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01-08-07, 05:21 PM
jusork
Wow! That is perfect, Georgia. That should be very helpful. Thanks bunches.
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01-09-07, 08:37 AM
Georgia85

quote:
Originally posted by babthrower:
Okay, now how do you simulate the head-spinning-around-on-the-neck thing?


Are you joking or do you really want to know? lol
In the old environment when special effects were really special effects it would have been done with a mold of a body and a perfectly replicated head achieved from a cast. In the new environment where special effects are done digitally, a rotating head would be filmed in front of a green screen, with the body clothed in green. Then the footage of the head rotating would be superimposed over the body and the neck would be digitally enhanced to look like it was twisting with the head.

Justin, glad I could help and if you need any more info feel free to hollar!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,