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So you're doing a play, making a film, staging a zombie massacre for Halloween or whatever, and you need a special effect to simulate a person being shot. You don't have access to a licensed pyrotechnician, so explosive squibs like they use in the movies are not an option. You're on a limited budget, but you still want a good-looking, energetic effect that doesn't require complicated materials or rigging, leaves your actor free to move around, and doesn't require any big, bulky equipment to hide in your actor's costume. It has to be safe. You need this by tomorrow. WHAT DO YOU DO?
Well, here's one solution: Using inexpensive, readily available off-the-shelf materials, you assemble an actor-operated, CO2 cartridge powered squib that can create a blood spray up to 12 feet away, and you do it for around $30. The project is saved! Here's how you do it.
NEW! Check out this great video from member timlogik showing the effect in use by Amber's Sweets, his Repo! The Genetic Opera live performance cast. Thanks, Tim!
Well, here's one solution: Using inexpensive, readily available off-the-shelf materials, you assemble an actor-operated, CO2 cartridge powered squib that can create a blood spray up to 12 feet away, and you do it for around $30. The project is saved! Here's how you do it.
NEW! Check out this great video from member timlogik showing the effect in use by Amber's Sweets, his Repo! The Genetic Opera live performance cast. Thanks, Tim!
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Signing UpStep 1You Will Need:
Materials:
One CO2 bike tire inflator *
One CO2 cartridge that fits your inflator
One Hose Barb air nozzle adaptor **
Three feet of 1/2" vinyl tubing
One push-fit splice connector for 1/2" vinyl tubing (optional) ***
Duct Tape
One small hose clamp (optional, but recommended - not pictured)
Vinyl cement
Blu-tack or low-tack masking tape
a banana (not pictured)
Some fake blood
Tools:
A hobby knife
Scissors
A vise, or a set of locking pliers
A marinating needle or large hypodermic needle
* You want an inflator that has a trigger valve as opposed to a push-to-fill valve. Also, you want one that screws into the Schrader valve on the bike tire, and ideally one that can accept multiple sizes of CO2 cartridge with both threaded and non-threaded tops. Mine cost $20.00 at the local bike shop, but they can be found cheaper at places like Walmart, or online.
** Usually found in packages of pneumatic air nozzle accessories - about $3.00 at Lowe's
*** This is just to make loading the banana plugs easier. If you don't mind taking the tube off of the hose barb to reload, you can skip it.
One CO2 bike tire inflator *
One CO2 cartridge that fits your inflator
One Hose Barb air nozzle adaptor **
Three feet of 1/2" vinyl tubing
One push-fit splice connector for 1/2" vinyl tubing (optional) ***
Duct Tape
One small hose clamp (optional, but recommended - not pictured)
Vinyl cement
Blu-tack or low-tack masking tape
a banana (not pictured)
Some fake blood
Tools:
A hobby knife
Scissors
A vise, or a set of locking pliers
A marinating needle or large hypodermic needle
* You want an inflator that has a trigger valve as opposed to a push-to-fill valve. Also, you want one that screws into the Schrader valve on the bike tire, and ideally one that can accept multiple sizes of CO2 cartridge with both threaded and non-threaded tops. Mine cost $20.00 at the local bike shop, but they can be found cheaper at places like Walmart, or online.
** Usually found in packages of pneumatic air nozzle accessories - about $3.00 at Lowe's
*** This is just to make loading the banana plugs easier. If you don't mind taking the tube off of the hose barb to reload, you can skip it.
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any way it is a great instructable and i cant wait to build it 'cause i love movie making.
At a school, the mall, or on the street, I'd have to go with -10. No prank is worth dying or going to jail for.
Now if you loaded it with yellow goo, placed the effect tube as close to your face as possible and faked a sneeze...
Those are not CO2, but they would probably still generate enough pressure to fire the squib. The tradeoff would be that the canister is bigger and harder to conceal, but if that's not an issue for you, go for it.
So, to summarize: I didn't steal your idea, and I won't be crediting you in my post. If you can do it better, write your own Instructable.
Wow... Seriously? Because no one in the world besides you could possibly have thought of swapping one pressure source for another in a commonly used blood effect? And silly me, I thought that your original post was condescending and arrogant..... Congrats on raising the bar.
I'm going to let you in on a little secret: Substituting a CO2 inflator for a Hudson sprayer is not world-shaking innovation, it's a minor tweak. It just happens to be a useful minor tweak that increases the portability and concealability of a widely used effect technique. You didn't "invent" the effect, you just came up with a workable substitution for the pressure source, same as I did, same as Yokozuna apparently did in 1999, same as who knows how many others have done. Your refusal to accept the possibility that others may have had the same simple idea independently of you is both irritating and kind of sad.
I will say this one more time, as simply as I can. I have never heard of you, seen your work, or watched your YouTube video prior to this exchange. I did watch your video this evening, and I don't recall you crediting anyone for any of the other pressure sources you use in your demonstrations. I will assume that the credits for those ideas were lost in the edits, and not that you are also claiming to have invented fire extinguishers and Hudson sprayers.
As a professional in the field since 1989, I fully appreciate the etiquette of giving credit where credit is due, and do so whenever credit is actually due. I didn't credit you because you and your work played absolutely no part in the development of my device. If you want to believe that I'm lying, I can't stop you. I am, however, done arguing about it. Best of luck in your future endeavors.
If you read the comments in that instructable, you will see the development of the idea based on the instructable that he does credit. You may want to direct your claim to the other author and question where he got the idea.
My point exactly. Thanks for illustrating it so well. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go claim to have invented wind resistance and paper so Kiteman has to credit me on a bunch of his Instructables.
1 do it in front of girl friend or someone who cares about you
2 strap this dohickey on.
3 have a friend shoot at you with a starter pistol with blanks in it
4 engage CO2 device.
5 fall on floor.
6 laugh.