During the
making of the video trailers for Bad Blood and Mall Maze, I got
to make fake blood again. Something I always loved to do during many Halloweens
past. Great fun.
There are various recipes for
making fake blood, using water, flour, corn syrup, chocolate syrup, etc … Through trial and error … a lot
of trial and error … I eventually settled on clear liquid hand soap and food
dye. It’s easier and faster. The soap already has a thick
consistency, with an effect that mimics the slow flow, ooze and drip of real blood.
To make the fake blood, I filled a jar with soap, added
red food dye, then green food dye to darken it. Apply the green dye one drop at a time
as you continue to mix. If you add too much green, the
solution turns brown and you have to dump it out and start over. It’s that simple. Choose the recipe that works best
for you. If you’re going to use my method – remember that it's soap.
Be cautious how you use it. One advantage is that soap and food
dye doesn’t permanently stain clothes. I patch-tested a white washcloth and
it cleaned no problem. The disadvantage is that it’s SOAP. Patch-test to make sure it doesn’t
irritate your skin. Get any in your eyes – it’ll sting. Swallow any – it’ll make you sick. Be mindful and careful.
Remember the pros and cons.
Pros ... it's soap.
Cons ... it's SOAP! For the Bad Blood trailer, in
reference to one of the key chapters in that novel, I repurposed the machete
from my collection of gardening tools and two precision craft knives from my
art tools I use for miniature
model making. In the future, I will be making
videos using miniature models. To make the fake blood flow down
the blade, I used an applicator bottle with the narrow funnel.
You can control the flow better,
with less mess and waste.
I draped one of my plain black T-shirts over the front of the sink.
The black fabric absorbs light and prevents reflection when filming metal surfaces.
My wife
exclaimed: “What the …?!” when she walked into the bathroom and saw I’d used
the fake blood to make a bloody handprint and put some nice smears around the
inside of the tub.
Another advantage of using soap …
it rinses away no problem.
For part of the Mall Maze
trailer, again in reference to part of that novel, I filled my left driving
glove with fake blood and let it ooze out through the seams for the effect of a
wounded hand.
Using the same method of preventing reflection, with black curtains around the camera lens, I made another short film of the jar I’ll be using in a
future video.
I'll be using the same blanketing method when filming and photographing a glass tank, for mixing inks and paints in water.
Below are the trailers for Bad Blood and Mall Maze:
Finally, here’s my assistant,
Bodhi, our crazy Ragdoll cat:
