Hot Props & SFX How-Tos « Props & SFX

How To: Make your very own sugar glass prop for movies

If you and your friends want to make your own movie and need some cool stunts, this next tutorial should help. In the video, you'll find out how to make your very own sugar glass from scratch. This is perfect for breaking over someone's head and can easily be done within a few hours.

How To: Make a homemade electric chair

Whether you’re pro or con on the death penalty issue, there’s nothing more terrifying than having a real live electric chair in your own home! So you should probably just use these simple steps to create a mock-electric chair to “shock” your guests! This Fear.Net Halloween video shows us how to make a homemade electric chair to frighten the Trick or Treaters this holiday season! Make a homemade electric chair.

How To: Make fake prop plague boils on the skin

Boils are the most visible symptoms of many nasty plagues. They make a person look pretty monestrous and will pretty reliably keep other people at arm's reach. This video will show you how to make a latex appliance of a skin boil, paint it to make it even more boilish, then apply it to the skin of a fried or actor. It looks so real, you might get sent to a plague colony.

How To: Make a fake Glock pistol prop with functional slide, trigger and magazine lock

Using guns in your independent films is risky business, and expensive to boot. Since you probably don't need to actually shoot anything, you can probably get by with a replica prop gun. If you're gonna do that, why not make it yourself? This video will show you how to make a realistic prop Glock handgun with working trigger, slide and magazine lock.

How To: Make fake sperm

This video will show you how to make fake FX sperm out of some household materials.

How To: Build your own Iron Man Repulsor Arm

If you love Iron Man 2 and wish you could have his gadgets or want to have a cool costume for Halloween, you too, can be Iron Man once you're done watching this video. This tutorial will walk you through the steps needed to convert household materials and inexpensive items you can find at virtually any store into an Iron Man suit repulsor arm.

How To: Make Your Very Own Hobbit Pipe—The Only Way to Smoke Pipe-Weed

A new trailer for Peter Jackson's Hobbit movie arrived recently, and it continues to look pretty awesome. If you're gearing up for the midnight premiere on December 14th, why not get into the spirit early by making your very own Hobbit pipe? In the film, the Hobbits smoke from signature rustic, wooden pipes with a very homemade look to them. Instructables user handcraftsup makes his own versions out of tree branches of what he believes real Hobbit pipes would like like. The tools he uses incl...

How To: Create an extreme nose bleed trickle and gush

Here, we unveil a brand new type of BFX episode called "BFX On Location"! We've been invited by directors Giancarlo Fiorentini and Jonathan Grimm to create an extreme nose bleed effect for their film "The Old Man and the Seymour". This movie stars Streeter Seidell, Amir Blumenfeld and a VERY bloody nose. Check out all the action as Erik's skills get a real world test!

How To: Make Realistic Fluffy Cloud Props from Things Around the House

If you need a cloudy background for a photo or video, you can always turn an old aquarium into a DIY cloud tank. But, if you want something more fun and less creepy, these fluffy cloud props by Serena Thompson might be more what you're looking for. It'd even make a good Halloween costume if you tweak it a little. All you need is some balloons, tape, flour, newspaper, and a bunch of pillow stuffing. Serena made them by taping balloons together and applying a mixture of water and flour, then co...

How To: Make cheap moving dragon wings controlled by the body

Check out this video tutorial on how to make cheap dragon wings, controlled by body posture. You can do this project for $18 if you use plastic garbage bags and Scotch tape for the membranes. You'll see how to make very light and strong costume wings. How strong? That strong.

How To: Build a replica .30 Caliber Machine Gun prop for sixty dollars

Here's a great Indy Mogul Backyard FX video that will show you how to build a replica of a .30 Caliber Machine Gun, perfect for your war movie. If you need a mounted machine gun prop for the big battle scene in your backyard Saving Private Ryan, watch this clip.

How To: Make a fake pregnancy belly prop on a budget

If you're a filmmaker on a budget and you've got some farce up your sleeve, this video is for you. Watch Indy Mogul's Backyard FX explain how to build a really realistic looking latex pregnancy belly, so that your romantic comedy can grow!

How To: Build prop break-away furniture cheap

This week on BFX we teach you how to build break-away furniture, because if you break one more real chair over your friend's head, he's never going to act in your movies again!

How To: Make a fake cast

In this tutorial, we learn how to make a fake cast. You will need: thin cardboard, old sock, duct tape, white toilet paper, and paint. First, place the sock over your arm and then cut two holes on the front of the hand and the thumb. Then duct tape the cardboard around your hand and arm and fold the bottom of the sock on. Now make paste on the cardboard and start to layer on the toilet paper to the paste and cardboard. Next, use scissors to make a cut in the cast. Then make paste on the edges...

How To: Build a fake rock movie prop

We all know that movies now-a-days don't use real rocks, but fake rocks for their film sets. Why? Because it's safer, lighter, easier to movie, and you can design them exactly how you want them. So if you need a rock for your indie film project, make it yourself. There's nothing better than imitation. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to build a fake rock movie prop.

How To: Make feet and hand paws for a fursuit or other costume

If you like fur, and you want to make your own fursuit, the head is the hardest part and you may want to just order that from someone. But the hand and feetpaws are much easier, and as this video will demonstrate you can make your own at home. The video explains all of the steps, and should have you all furry in no time.

How To: Simulate a gun shot wound special effect

Watch this short tutorial on how to make a realistic bullet hit to simulate an actor getting shot by a gun. Materials needed include a pressure sprayer, clear tubing that will fit on to the hose of the pressure sprayer, a small Translucent PVC elbow, fake blood, duct tape, a funnel, a shirt you don't mind damaging.

How To: Make DIY fog fluid for a fog machine

If you are an avid party-thrower, moviemaker, or are involved in some other activity that involved you frequently using fog machines, you're probably sick of paying for the fluid to make them work. No more! Watch this video for a guide to making your own cheap DIY fog machine juice / fluid at home.

How To: Create a gruesome skin burn with household products

In this tutorial, learn how to create a bubbling, fresh burn on your skin using cheap, simple products from around the house. This method is cheap and easy and will make one of the most gruesome and painful looking burns you can think of. This is perfect for filmmaking, Halloween or theatre projects!

How To: Make fake and drinkable blood

In this Halloween Science Video Series, Dr. Diana teaches you how to make fake and drinkable blood using ingredients from your kitchen. This recipe is perfect for your Halloween Party. Now all you need is some fangs for that blood to drip down, and you'll have the scariest costume.

How To: Make your own Spider Man web shooters

Are you an enormous fan of Spider Man? So much so you wonder what it'd be like to be him and have his capabilities? In this episode of Indy Mogul's Backyard FX, learn how to make your own Spider Man usable web shooters! Use this prop for a low budget film, Halloween costume, or just for fun and take your Spider Man costume to the next level!

How To: Give yourself a black eye using just a newspaper

In general, no one actually WANTS a black eye. But if you're filming a movie, in a play, or just want to freak out your mom and dad or friends, it's nice to know how to "put on" a fake one.

How To: Make the quick-draw sleeve gun from "Taxi Driver"

This video tutorial from IndyMogul shows you how to make the quick-draw sleeve gun from "Taxi Driver".

How To: Make an easy, cheap green screen with no posterboard

In this video you learn how to make your own green screen for less than $15 in under an hour. The material for the screen is a green felt-like fabric that can be easily found at a local fabric store or Wal-Mart. The fabric itself is just over 1 yard in width and you will need to buy 2 sheets 3 yards in length for a total of 6 yards at a price of about $2.00 per yard. You will also need a way to join the sheets together. For this, the video recommends a tube of Heat'n'Bond fabric joiner which ...

How To: Create the Indiana Jones face melt effect

Welcome to our Indiana Jones special. This week, we've been challenged by Eric Zala, the director of "Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation" to create an awesome face melt effect for cheap! This is probably Indy Mogul's grossest effect yet, so you better not get nauseous or anything, because you might just want to use this for your film!

Make edible prop bodily fluids: poop, vomit, snot, and blood

The human body is full of different kinds of fluids, most of which are either gross or dangerous to remove from a person for use in one of your films. Fortunately, most of them are pretty easy to replicate using household materials. This video will show you how to make edible prop fake blood, feces, vomit, and snot. They all look great, are safe, and will make you movie much more realistic.

How To: Create floating objects and razorblade props

In this tutorial, we learn how to create floating objects and razorblade props. First off, take your object and some double sided tape. Then, place the tape on the object to make it look invisible. After this, tape it to the middle of the plexi-glass. Have someone else help you move this, and then when you record it on video it will look like the object is moving around in the air without anything holding it. This is a great effect that looks even better on video! To create the razorblade pro...

How To: Make a realistic fake severed finger prop

Fingers are the parts of the body most often severed from the rest of it, and if you have any interest in creating violent or edgy films there will probably come a time where you want to cut a finger off for a scene. This video will show you how to make a really realistic-looking fake severed finger prop. It isn't a severed finger technically, but a hand with part of a severed finger still attached, and it looks SO creepy. This prop will make any horror film or Halloween costume much more rea...

How To: Make a time bomb prop and

Time bombs are a stimulating and ubiquitous part of action films. This video features a handy tutorial on how to make a realistic-looking time bomb at home out of basic, cheap materials that can be used to add tension and drama to any of your movies. Warning: do not let the authorities see your bomb without knowing what it is first! It is very realistic.

How To: Make a prop movie bomb

Dynamite your way to movie success with an explosive bomb. A fake explosive bomb, of course. TNT on a timer is a great movie effect for you action flick. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to make a prop movie bomb.

How To: Create a blood squirting "axe in the back" effect

This video tutorial from IndyMogul shows you how to create a blood squirting "axe in the back" effect, just like in Friday the 13th.

How To: Build a zombie explosive head

How do you kill a zombie? Shoot it in the head, of course! Watch this instructional video to learn how to make a blow-up zombie head. This is the first in a 3 part tutorial that teaches you how to build a zombie head that can be rigged to explode. A great effect, for a microscopic budget!

How To: Make a functional alien egg and a ceiling mounted radial dolly

This one is a twofer! The first part of the tutorial shows you how to make a fully functional alien egg out of papier mache and carpet foam. The second tutorial shows you how to make a ceiling mounted radial dolly.

How To: Make your own custom fit vampire fangs at home

You can make your own vampire fangs at home! Or any type of creature fang, really. You'll need to make a mold of your teeth first, which you can do easily by biting into non-toxic clay. Then you can use craft acrylic to mold the fangs to fit your teeth.

How To: Create an ice frozen actor makeup special effect

This video tutorial from IndyMogul shows you how to create an ice frozen actor makeup special effect.

How To: Make a level three foam boffer sword for LARPing

If you're a LARP maniac, or just a fan of LSD-themed (Latter-day Saint) games and activities, then you can't miss out on this. Check this video out to learn how to make a foam-padded sword that is easy and inexpensive. This level three boffer sword will take care of your LARPing opponents like Chuck Norris. If you're a fan of live action role-playing, then this boffer sword is the best of the best for kicking serious ass.