The new book Bloody Brilliant: How to Develop, Execute, and Clean Up Blood Effects for Live Performance by Jennifer McClure gives you tricks on how you can develop and create blood effects for live performance and theatre.
Covers practical tips and techniques for creating effective and safe blood effects for live theatre, including budgeting, safety, and clean-up. Valuable for prop managers and builders in professional, educational, and regional theatre.
Creating special effects, particularly blood, for live theatre presents its own set of unique challenges. Unlike in film or television, there are no edited takes or reshoots in live theatre – everything is performed in real time and in view of the audience. This book offers valuable guidance, information, techniques, and tricks for producing consistent and reliable blood effects in live theatre. It covers all aspects of the process, from design and budgeting to safety and clean-up. The text is written in clear, easy-to-follow language and features full-color artwork.
Great for both beginners and experienced makeup effects artists, prop makers, and SFX technicians. This book makes a great gift for anyone in these fields.
The book is written by Jennifer McClure, she is the Properties Supervisor for the Yale Repertory Theatre and a lecturer for the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale.
Some highlights include;
- Practical examples budgets for blood effects
- A breakdown of the components for making an original blood recipe, as well as reliable, industry-tested recipes.
- Options for dispensing blood to create different realistic effects for any budget size.
- A comprehensive wash-testing database of over 500 examples of fabrics and blood combinations!
“With all the blood in Shakespeare in the Park or Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson I wish I had this book as a guide to help me navigate some difficult situations. Jen has included some very insightful guidance and great techniques on ago-old problems so they don’t become bloody messes. I suggest every props and special effects and educator have this on their shelf”
Jay Duckworth, Adjunct Professor at Pace University, Props Designer, and Founder of Props Summit
Also check out this post about tips and tricks for blood effects with stage blood.
