Directions: Drama: plans for SFX


SFX MOOD BOARD

Here is a mood board I have created, specifically looking at the special effects side of the chosen scene. As this is a major part of the scene and the entire show as whole, I really wanted to put in the extra effort and learn how to create my own special effects that I believe to be of a good standard. I feel that if i can successfully pull off some believable special effects, it could really raise the quality of the production as a whole. I am trying to steer clear from creating a piece that seems like a laughable horror sketch. I really want it to have the scare factor and so I really want to put in that extra effort. 

 Since the new scene that I have chosen to do includes only two "zombies" (one female,one male) I think I have the time to put in that extra effort. I went ahead and looked at how the actual make up artists for the Walking Dead create their looks. Of course they had an overwhelming amount of tools and ingredients used when creating the special effects. However, I noticed that they used an abundance of prosthetics and most of which contained liquid latex. This is an easy material to source so I wanted to know how I could create my own prosthetics but on a budget.  

 I found a youtube video which told me that in order to create prosthetics for a person, you need to make a cast for their face in order to model the prosthetic onto. The steps are as follows; 
  • cover all facial hair with Vaseline, keep hair away from face
  • using Modroc, apply layers of this over the face, leaving the nostrils free.
  • after that has dried, take it off the face, cover the nostrils with more Modroc.

  • fill the Modroc mask with plaster of paris and let it dry.

  • Peel off the Modroc, revealing a solid cast of the face. 

And now you have a full face cast to add the prosthetics on.

  • Using the oil based clay, mould the desired effect you want onto the cast.

  • Add Layers of liquid latex onto the mould, leaving the sides thin, let it dry.



  • After its dried, peel it off gently. Adding powder so it won't stick to itself.



It may seem like a long, unachievable process but I honestly believe I can create this. Even if I don't create a full face cast for both zombies, there are other ways around that with a fake mannequin head. I started sourcing the materials and found that it shouldn't be too expensive if I want to create prosthetics.

As shown in the mood board, for The Walking Dead, they usually focus on prosthetics for protruding cheekbones, which I can imagine would be to heighten that sunken in, dead effect. With some grey make up and red eye shadow for the under eyes and bruises, I think I will be able to make some decent prosthetics for the production. 

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