I had an idea I wanted to execute, and it will involve "blood," specifically dripping out of my mouth in large quantities. I was wondering if anyone had any cheap homemade solutions that were non-toxic, and fairly liquidy (I know you can use corn syrup and food coloring, and I've done it, but I remember it being quite viscous. I need something that'll run/drip easily).

Whatcha got?

Josh,

Dilute the corn syrup. three to one.

ah. Interesting. By three to one, you mean one cup water to three cups corn syrup, or the other way around? Never was much good at chemistry.

ah. Interesting. By three to one, you mean one cup water to three cups corn syrup, or the other way around? Never was much good at chemistry.

3 water to 1 syrup if I remember correctly. There are lots of recipies for fake blood, and you might want it thicker depending on the look you want. Best thing is to just keep playing with it...

...Oh yeah, and do it in the bathtub where it is easy to clean...

Well, here's what I'm goin' for:

At first, it'll just sort of trickle out of my mouth. . .and then at the end, I shall open my oral cavity and it shall gush out in a torrent of sanguine beauty.

Dilute syrup and then add coloring? Or does it matter?

After diluting, you might try adding a dash of Hershey's syrup to keep it from getting to transparent. Also, you might want to look at using milk instead of water to dilute it with. It colors nicely.

Josh,

I've used GALLONS of blood in my mouth, from my jousting days. Three cups of water to one of syrup. Add red food coloring... Several drops, and then a tiny bit of blue. Shake well. This will give it that deep rich color. (Some guys like green). Toss in some peanut butter for lung material.

have fun.

Josh,

I've used GALLONS of blood in my mouth, from my jousting days.
have fun.

Ok, there's no way you are getting out of explaining that one!! :)

Dylan,

Long ago, in a galaxy far far away... I owned a jousting company. Produced, directed, performed medieval jousts for renaissance festivals, theme parks and film work.

Sucked up my share of 'fake blood'. Worst mistake ever, switching a 'mouth pack' for a 'body pack'. Mouth packs were, as stated, a syrup/water mix.

Body packs were a baby shampoo mix. (Washes out of costumes, and gives those great bubbling chest wounds.)

Imagine my horror biting down on the wrong pack, the expression and choking only added to the performance I guess... hard to lay still after being killed, all the while wanting to heave.

Awesome story!

Ok, that story lived up to my expectations! :)

I got into filmmaking from wanting to do makeup f/x, and for over 15 years I've been using a bottle of clear corn syrup, a bottle (the big one) of red food coloring and 3 drops of blue. I never had problems with it being to thick coming out of the mouth. And btw, that recipe comes from makeup legend Dick Smith.

heath

You use the whole bottle? Wow.

I'm gonna go buy some stuff and play around with it. 3 drops of blue: is that for the whole bottle of red coloring and corn syrup? I was just going to mix it to taste.

I use the whole bottle, because you may need extra takes. Now keep in mind, there is one large bottle of red food coloring, about 2-3 inches tall, at the supermarket which is what you need for the whole bottle of corn syrup. At the grocery stores in South Florida, you can only buy the red food coloring in the large bottle.

heath

Josh

Add the red first. THEN add the blue, a drop at a time to get what you want. Don't just look at it in the bottle, take an eyedropper, and drip a bit on your wrist to see how it looks against the skin... see how it flows as well as how it reflects the light. It's a subjective thing... but you'll know what looks 'fake' and what looks 'real'.

Funny but true story. In the midst of a fight after we were unhorsed, my partner clocks me in the mouth and nose accidentally. Blood is flowing from my nose and mouth, and some guy in the audience shouts "FAKE". I turn to him, and blow it out of my nose. He probably spent the next hour trying to figure out how I got the 'blood capsule' up my nose.

this is a great site I used for making some blood stuff.
http://www.exposure.co.uk/eejit/blood/index.html
http://www.exposure.co.uk/eejit/blood/blood.html

James

Thanks, guys.

ketchup with black soya sauce (to darken the blood) and addd a little bit of flour to thicken up or add water to loosen it up.

Good recommedation on that "Exposure.co.uk" website, James. Their articles helped me alot with blood fx, gunshots, etc on my last movie.

Well, I did the shoot. What I found, after wasting much time and syrup, is that you need an assload of red, and little bit of blue, per a little bit of syrup. Mix the coloring and syrup first, then dilute to taste. I got a really nice result, in my opinion, but it didn't make very much.

Josh, glad to hear you found a mix that worked for you. I am going to be mixing up a batch later this week for my next short project.

If you ever need a gunshot/exit wound sequence on a low budget the "Exposure" site helped me with that too on my last movie HUNTING CAMP.

Here's a pick of us testing out the setup, it worked quite well in the movie and although its only onscreen for a few frames it shocks the hell out of everyone when they see it:

http://www.the-lyons-den.com/huntingcamp/gallery/pages/IMG_0909.htm