ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

6 years, 9 months ago - Alwyne Kennedy

Apparently, this vid shows 6 ways to make fake blood -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-gH7f7mQoY

6 years, 9 months ago - Ray Brady

Again YouTube link, but just an instructional video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmrTNqkhk8U

6 years, 9 months ago - Zoe Cunningham

Thanks Alwyne and Ray. I'd rather just buy ready made blood if at all possible - or is it just too hard to find a good one?

6 years, 9 months ago - Marlom Tander

Blood isn't just blood. Is it bright red, dark, new and runny or solidifying? If blood is in a scene then blood that looks right for the scene is essential. Def make your own. But if darker is all you want just experiment with food colourings (black food colouring is a thing, though blue might be better for that purplish tinge) and (and I might have been getting wound up here by the guy who told me this) HP sauce.

6 years, 9 months ago - Zoe Cunningham

Thanks everyone!

6 years, 9 months ago - Richard Anthony Dunford

Dempsey's stage blood is a brand I've used on my stuff before. Quite dark and thick and not too expensive. Google it and you should find a few online stores

6 years, 9 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

Screenface have a good range - not the cheapest but all types of blood - fresh, congeled, allergen tested, nonstaining, etc... http://www.screenface.co.uk/sfx/blood-sweat-tears/blood/

6 years, 9 months ago - Simon Ellis

If it isn't required to go in someone's mouth then you can't beat the recipe of hair gel, coffee, and cochineal food colouring.

I haven't needed blood on a film for years but I used to use this recipe a LOT and I recently found a 20 year old bottle (!) of it in my attic. Use the cheapo hair gel you find in old-school tubs, as opposed to more expensive tubes. Gradually add instant coffee granules to thin it appropriately, then add the cochineal for the desired colour (red colouring is too, well, red).

I recommend making a small batch to begin with so you can test how well it washes out of clothes etc. I never used to have problems with cleaning but one filmmaker I recommended it to had more difficulty, which might have been his choice of coffee. I just used to use the cheapest supermarket-brand instant granules I could find.